Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-02-28


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ter was the more trying. The wan
and sickly daylight lasted a bare I
| hours out Of the "a. For the rest of
| the time we were plunged In complete
| darkness, a cold, hailsmitten dark
ness, black as the Earl of Hell's riding
boots.
Day after day the sou'westerly gale
stormed at us and we surged through
mountainous seas, with snow and hail
squalls beating down on us with dam.
nable iteration. We worked and ate
and slept in our oilskins. Little use
they We're, though, for all the clothes
we possessed We're soaked, and some
Of the harder spirits gave up the pre-
tense of wearing oilsk!ns at all. Life
alternated between wet hunks and
wetter decks. punctuated by icy spells
aloft, with wearisome monotony.
The Arethusa was at her best in
stormy weather and behaved nobly
At times a fiercer squat than usual
would lay her over almost on her
beam ENDS, while the winds note rose
to a scream and the kissing, hail-whip.
ped water SWirled in over the lee bull
warks. Green seas like cliffs crashed
over the weather-rail and made a
maelstrom of the decks. forcing all
hands to jump and hang on for their
lives.
The sea was a wonderful, magnifi-
cent sight. The rollers, high as our
foreyard and stretching north and
south as far as the eye could reach
were titanic in their grandeur. Under
the lash of the hurricane squalls the
seas turned to fields Of snow just
streaked with ribbons Of dull green
There no longer seemed to be any
waves, the whole surface of the sea as
sumed constantly changing inclines
and the bark's plunges grew larger
and steadier through her very insig.
Inificance compared to those undulating
mountains of water. 1t was impossi-
BILE to estimate their height. but so
feet would certainly be- no exaggera-
ton.
AS the bark slid down some foam.
topped, lea-long slope. the water ahead
rose higher than the foreyard. Next
ward and her stern fell into the
trough, with a mighty wall of water
rising up behind.
1t is a nerve shaking sight to look
astern and see a kissing roller, as
steep as the side Of house and as
high. rushing toward the ship. Just
when it seems it must fall with a cata,
clysmic crash and OverWhelm her, her
stern rises swiftly TO 1t and the foam.
ing crest rushes under her counter
and surges for ard, balancing the bark
like cork on its crest.
This storm blew itself out. but for
four weeks the wind hardly ever drop
ped below the force of q fresh gale.
Once a sea broke aboard with such
force that the spray was dashed as
high as the lower top'sl yard-a full 70
feet-and drenched the clew of the
upper1topsl
HARD, stormy weather followed us
till near the ninetieth meridian
when we hauled up and steered more
to the nor ard. One dark, moonleSS
night just before we got clear of the
"forties." with a fresh breeze blowing
and the ship running quietly along un-
der tgallant-s'lS, there occurred a
most uncanny experience.
1t was about four bells in the mid
die watch, the "churchyard" watch, as
the four hours after midnight is
called, that 1t happened. We of the
mates watch were on deck-the men
| for'ard. Burton and l under the
break, and Mr. Thomas pacing the
poop above our heads.
Suddenly. apparently close aboard
on the port hand, there came bowling
out of the darkness a most frightful
wailing cry, ghastly in its agony and
intensity. Not of overpowering vol
ume--a score of men shouting to
gether could have raised as loud a
hail-it was the indescribable callber
and agony of the shrek that almost
froze the blood in our veins.
We rushed to the rail, the mate and
the men, too, and stared searchingly
into the blackness to wind ard. The
starbowlineS, who a moment before
had been sleeping the sleep of tired
men in their hunks below, rushed out
on deck. Shipwreck would hardly
| bring foremost Jack out before he
was called, but that cry reused him
! like the last summons. If ever men
were horror struck" we were.
Even the old man was awakened by
| it and came up on deck. Every one
was listening intensely straining their
eyes into the blackness that en-
veloped US.
| A moment or two passed, and then
as we listened, wondering and silent
| again that appalling scream rang out
rising to the point Of almost unbear
able torture and dying crafty away In
| broken Whimperings.
No one did anything, or even spoke
| We stood Ike stones, simply staring
into the mystery-laden gloom. How
! long we peered and listened, waiting
| for repetition of the sound, / do not
know. But minutes passed and still il
did not come, and slowly, like mer
coming out of a trance, we began tC
move about and speak to each other
again.
! We heard 1t no more, and gradual
| ly, one at a time, trickled back tC
foc'sle and half-deck. AS far as the
occupants of the latter were con
cerned, no one evinced any inclination
to turn in, and we sat around, smok
ing and discussing what the sound we
had heard could possibly be. Nobody
slept much more that night, and
thankful we We're when the gray dawr
broke over the tumbling, untenantec
sea.
| Who and what it was that caused Il
we never learnt. We hazarded a va
riety of guesses. many of them far
fetched enough. The cry of a whale
was suggested, but / never heard {
lwhale utter any sounds with It: