Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-09-18

showers of freezing spray across nef
decks The smoke from her tunnel
sprawled greasily downwind, twisting.
lifting, falling and widening, to merge
at last with the smoky sky. Some
times il showed. The ship staggered
and reeled. helpless shell of steel in
the grin of the waters, and yet, In
some amazing ia shion moving dogged-
IL and holding to a set direction. al
most as if thing of sense and Will.
Her captain came out of his cabin
on the lower bridge and shivered. set
:ing his hands in the pockets of his
sreatcoat, while his eyes searched the
horizon.
At the wheel. an open affair. sea
man stood and stamped on the graf
ing, his face half covered with
haavy wooden scarf.
The second officer stopped beside tho
captain and peered at him, as If
vaguely wondering who he was and
where he had come from. Then both
men looked through the snow to the
hills of climbing water ahead. They
~ere motionless save for the auto
natic swaying and twisting of their
hndies to meet the lunges of the deck.
6I don't like it." said the captain
last, a little grim. We're too far
north We've had no sight since the
fog. and the compa sses are off.
"Yes. sir muttered the second Off
Ger, gazing blankly ahead. He wished
his watch was over. 1t was con-
foundedly cold. He tried to look wor-
ried and concerned. hut failed. He
could only think of his warm bunk
below and the game of cards that was
certai nly going on in the third engi-
neer's room.
Man in the nest?" snapped the cap.
tain abruptly.
The second officer cast his eyes up
toward the crows nest that huddled
against the mast
Aye. sir. The men're relieving
every hour. Can't stay still up there
too long"
The snow blew to windward, disap.
peared. The horizon cleared some
what. One of the apprentices came
mp from the lower bridge wrapped in
a greatcoat with oilskins outside. His
face was blue and his normally merry
brown eyes distressed. He carried the
wooden holder of the thermometer.
He had been sent to draw a bucket of
water and get a reading.
What is it?' said the captain,
checking the boy. He mumbled the
figures and the captain nodded. Hard
~ necessary to take a reading at all.
That was for ships on the regular
lanes. His ship was far north of the
regular lanes, how far he wished he
knew. She was plowing south now,
blindly, steadily. The apprentice
rubbed his chilled nose with the sleeve
of his oilskins and mumbled some
thing about its being cold. He was a
favorite of the captains.
Aye" The captain smiled little.
1.-THE sea isn't what you thought, son.
But We'll make you an officer yet.
It's during things like this you'll
learn the secret of command" He
nodded in the direction of the horizon,
from which a new snow squall was
hurrylng down.
The boy ventured, Command, sir?
] didn't think"
1T was any secreto No, perhaps 1t
isn't" The captain smiled again.
wintry. unmirthful parting of the lips
behind his beard. His eyes were
bleak. as if he were seeing something
far away that was bitter and held no
enjoyment. The apprentice stood
gaping. The captain was not given
to rambling.
THE night came, black and cold and
fearful. The engines were slowed
until the ship had just enough on her
TO keep her course true. What with
the snow, the driven spray and the |
was useless. and it was impossible for
one to stand on the fo'c'slehead. The |
steamer CROPPED blindly The officers
on watch succeeded each other, numb |
ed and sunk into a sort of apathy, i'm. |
potent in the face of circumstance and
content that the sturdy man with the |
dark beard should do the worrying.
He appeared to them at intervals
10 shout few words. to ask a ques-
ton perhaps, TO stand silent with
them and stare into the darkness.
The officers slept when their watch
ended, only an hour or two. but still
enough to soak in warmth again and
to Danish the ache of whipped
muscles. The captain prowled, as
restless as a ghost, sleepless, i'm.
pervfous to the elements, drawn in
some inscrutable fashion into himself
and tormented into restlessness by the
insistent. never-sleeping voice of re-
sponsibility that called from the
reaches of his heart.
nAWN came. wan and sullen. The
swells went down until they re-
sembled more long, low, undula ting
plain Of pale green and shifting
shadows than sea. troubled and
uneasy. uttering to the winds that
half-heard, half-guessed low moaning
that talks Of gales afar and threatens
abrupt disaster.
1t began to snow again. but grew
warmer. 1t was impossible 10 see
more than half cables length over
side. There was a lookout in the
crows nest again. The hours dragged
and the snow kept the white curtain
drawn around the ship. Toward 10
o'clock the captain was in the chart
room. checking and rechecking his
dead reckoning. Woefully off from
true position he knew it was.
At 1880 the CAPTAIN came out of
the chart room. He had barely lifted
his boot over the storm step when a
FAR took his feet from under him and
he went forward in n long. staggering
sprawl. until checked by the rail. He
chung to that and choked for breath.
The ship lifted and twisted, lunSed
and Jared again. Then she seemed
to settle, cant a little to port, and
surge in the heavy. sickening fashion
of a vessel aground. The telesraphs
rang. The officer on watch had
jumped for them. The captain could
hear the engine thra shing and going
astern. The snow baf1ed him. con
fused him. He set his jaw under his
heard and fought way to the for'ard
rail. where tho chief was pnering.
white faced and alarmed, into the
smother ahead
Men were shouting. There was a
noise of rushing water. that grew and
then subsidized. The second and third
officers doomed through the snow. For
a moment there was a babbling. ques
tions. cries. Then the captains voice.
rasping. cold solid. The second
dropped down the companion and ran
for ard. The third went to gather
men and clear the boats. Nothing
was certain. but precautions must be