A Queer Race: The Story of a Strange People — page 48: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

A QUEER RACE. | 45 ‘Batten down the hatches and fumigate her with sulphur; then put a crew aboard, bend fresh sails to her, and send her home under charge of Mr. Bucklow. If there should be any fever-germs left—and I don’t believe there will be—the cold will soon kill them.” Had I been unduly alarmed, after all? There was no communication between the two ships; it was hardly pos- sible for the infection to fly across the streak of water that separated them; and yellow fever being generally confined to certain localities, the sea must necessarily be unfavorable to its development. When two days passed and nobody seemed any the worse—not even Bill Bailey, who had handled the dead body—I began to think that I had been unduly alarmed; my spirits revived, and albeit none of us passengers (nor probably any of the crew) particularly liked the prox. imity of the fever ship, we soon ceased to trouble about her, and our lives went on as usual. In the meanwhite the wind had fallen, and though everv stitch of canvas was spread, we could not make more than four knots an hour, even with the help of our tiny screw, much to Peyton’s annnoyance. ‘‘ At this rate,” he said, ‘‘ we shall not reach the Ber- mudas for two or three weeks. However, it might be worse. If it had come on to blow, we should have had to cast the Lady Jane off; and if we were quite becalmed we should soon be without coal. I wish Nassau was a few hundred miles nearer. It is a good stretch out of our way.” . ‘I'he responsibility he had incurred by deviating from his course was evidently preying on his mind. If all went on smoothly, if he got safely to Nassau and disposed of the Lady Jane to advantage, or sent her home, good and well—his co-owners would be more than satisfied, and praise his enterprise and pluck,and he would put money in their pockets and his own. But if, after pro- longing his voyage two or three weeks, he had to aban- don his prize, they wouJd probably have something to say that he might not quite like. So far as | was personally concerned, I had no objection inthe world to make a call at the Bermudas. Not know- ing when, if ever, | should be able to make another long voyage, I wanted to see all I coald. Gomicbooks (Ele) m