The Argosy, Vol. XXIV, No. 1 — page 135: what you’re looking at

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

THE MUTINY ON THE FLYING CLOUD. 135 He was full of commiseration for the two young people, both having taken a strong hold upon his warm and kindly heart, and he scarcely knew which to pity more—whether Sibyl, cruelly and perhaps permanently cut off from all intercourse with her own sex and constantly in association with a band of lawless men; or Ned, likewise a prisoner, with all his life’s prospects blighted, and in addition to this the never ceasing care, anxiety and watchfulness which he must endure on Sibyl’s account. Most people would have been disposed to say unhesitatingly that the girl’s lot was infinitely the worse of the two. But the skipper did not ; he under- stood pretty well, or thought he did, the position of affairs on board the Flying Cloud; and he. knew to absolute certainty that so long as Ned had life and strength to protect her, Sibyl was reasonably secure. But Ned, he repeated to himself, would always have her safety and well being upon his mind in addition; to his other cares and anxieties. It was a miserable plight for both of them, he mused, and he didn’t see how they were to get out of it—unless, indeed, they could manage to steal away in a boat and give them the slip some fine dark night. And what would become of them then? the captain asked himself. What chance of ultimate escape would they have? He knew Ned well enough to feel assured he would never attempt so extreme a step without first making the fullest provision for the safety of his companion and himself; but when all was done, what prospect would they have of being picked up in those seas? He pictured them to himself drifting helplessly hither and thither, exposed to the scorching rays of the sun all day and the pelting rain at night; their provisions consumed, their water breaker empty, and hope slowly giving way to despair as day and night succeeded each other, with no friendly sail to cheer their failing sight and drive away the horrible visions which haunt those who are perishing of hunger and thirst. He saw Ned’s stalwart form grow gaunt and lean, and Sibyl’s rounded outlines sharpen and waste away under the fierce fires of hunger; and his soul sickened within him as their moans of anguish smote upon his ear. And at last he heard Sibyl, in her agony and despair, entreat Ned to take away the life which had become a burden to her. And he sawand heard, too, how Ned, his speech thick and inarticulate with torturing thirst, first tried unavailingly to soothe and comfort and encourage the suffering girl; and how at last, in sheer pity for her and her mad desperation at their hopeless state, the lad drew forth his knife and stealthily tested the keenness of its edge and point. And as he watched, with feverish interest, yet unspeakable anxiety and horror, he saw that the long protracted suffering had at last proved too much for the poor lad and that his brain was giving way; for look! the baleful light of madness gleams in his bloodshot eyes! Madness gives new strength to his nerveless limbs as he rises and bends over his companion. ‘The blade quivers and flashes in the sunlight, and Captain Blake,-with a cry of horror, starts forward—to awake at the sound of his own voice and to find himself at the edge of the raft, in the very act of leaping into the jaws of a shark which is eyeing him hungrily from the water alongside ! Comicooolks 5