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

| ironwork Of Sripes Clanked and crash
ed. a steward tossed blankets up to
| the fiddley from the after doorway
| Of the saloon. The merry-eyed ap-
prentice on the navigation bridge was
hastily fastening on u life belt and
shaking with excitement and some de-
gree of alarm.
| THE captain. was standing motion.
less. He might have been mar
| BILE image. The chief came pounding
up the companion. The ole blasted
bottom must've dropped out of her
. Well have to get away"
| The captain looked at him.
Aye. abandon ship he said calmly.
We've done our best"
Water was slappng against the
very bulkhead of the bridge house
1t was swirlinS into the open matches.
| The ship began to settle to an even
keel as the other holds filled. There
was an explosion below that shook
every plank and rivet. The captain
turned and went into the chartroom.
He saw the apprentice standing by,
and rasped: Get out of herer The
boy ran. The captain emerged from
the chart room, stuffing papers in his
pockets.
The helmsman was standing at the
wheel, squirting up at the sky. He
had seen ships go before. The can.
tain said: "Thatll do. Collins. Get in
my boat. And you might take
look and see if everythings there"
The man nodded and moved away.
The captain and the chief went down
together to the lower bridge. The
captain went into his room, knocked
the neck from bottle and poured a
! drink. In silence he handed the bot
tie to the chief, who took drink also.
More papers were gathered. The cap
tain took an armful of coats and
blankets and carried between his
teeth by the handle a small tin black.
Japanned box that held his few valu.
ahles. Loaded also. the chief followed
him to the main deck. nearly awash,
and to the boats. They climbed in,
pushing through the men who were
arranging provisions and clothes and
blankets.
A brief period of confusion and the
boats pushed off. The mems eyes
turned to the ship, watched her sink
lower. take a perfectly even keel She
was quite Is minutes disappearing.
falling away, shuddering visibly to
her very trucks. And then she was
few fragments of what had once been
a ship.
THE boats tossed and rolled. The
men turned white faces to the
captain. He met the eyes Of the
men. The sag that had crept to his
shoulders vanished. The slackness
that had crept to his lips gave way
to a grim tightness. There was no
manner OF question that he COM
manded them. The iron Of him went
out to challenge any rebellion.
He had walked among them through
many days. tireless, calm, guiding
them, thinking for them, holding
them safe. He had lost his ship, but
there was small blame. He had done
his best. He had done all that mortal
head, heart and hand could do The
elements conspired to thwart him.
Yet he had faced them, calm and COM
handing as ever.
The boat tossed. Frozen spray
whipped over the gunnels and caked
the stretchers, caked the unshipped
oars, the line of the sea anchor, the
forms of huddled men,. In the stern
sheets one figure was upright, facing
unfiinching into the snow. Wrapped
in blankets. only the captains face
was to be seen, his beard caked with
ice and frozen snow, his eyes mere
Sits through a frozen mask. his nit
tened hands grasping the tiller more
from instinct than from necessity. He
seemed actually alone in the universe.
The other boats had vanished in
snow squall. The men in the cap
tain's boat did not know or care what
had become of them. The only
thought they had. beyond those of
their bodily sufferings, was that they
were a scant handful of men, tossing
in an Arctic storm and trying to get
south.
Something's one Of them. stirring and
settling himself farther into his