The Argosy, Volume XLIV — page 232: what you’re looking at

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

228 “T séarcely know what to think. ertainly, as I said before, she would not be lying with no hghts and no sails unless there was something the matter with her. IL can scarcely believe she is a pirate, for a pirate would not permit herself to become helpless at night by having no sails spread. And this is out of the path of ships for which a pirate would be looking. “1 recall once going from Java to Calcutta, and passing just such a ves- sel, and the one I was on steered a wide course. I asked what the cause was and received the answer in one word— plague. Now, if that ship has been de- serted because there was certain death awaiting those who remaimed in her, we want as little to do with her as possible. ‘There is another thing that occurs to me. If she is deserted for any cause, of what use would it be to us to board her? She is, as you see, a large ship. There are not enough of us to manage her safely. In a severe gale I fancy that this raft would be safer. 1 suggest, as we are doing well enough, to say noth- ing to any one else about it, and go on.” “And so, with the big black hull gTOW- ing less and less behind us, we sailed on in the quiet darkness of the tropical night. ND CHAPTER ALV. THE HEROISM OF MARY DONALDSON. I REMAINED alone in charge of the raft for the remainder of the might. The breeze was not so strong that ‘the sail needed any attention. All there was to do was to keep the raft in her course. I stood most of the time at the tiller, smoking a cigar and thinking of Mary Donaldson. ‘Toward morning the breeze began to die away. By daylight we were in a dead calm. | While Mary was getting breakfast, and the professor was feeding the two kaybees, the rest of us stood around the deck considering the possibility of a long calm. We knew that this would be of serious portent to us. Mr. Donaldson told us he had known six days to pass without’ breath of air. He understood the phenomena of winds rere gle THE ARGOSY. and currents better than we did, and the professor was able to debate with him upon the probabilities. “ Anvhow,” said Hoss, after one of these debates, in which Donaldson took a pessimistic view and the professor preached hope, “we are here. We are not yet reduced to a condition where we need worry. Let’s not worry. Let’s have a game of poker.” Mary from the door of the cabin an- nounced that breakfast was ready. There was a troubled look on her face, and she seemed to search mine for some expression to guide her. But 1 did not wish to worry her, and tried to be as cheerful as Ross.» We were drifting, that we knew, and not in the direction we had been sailing. After rection had been best. The current car- ried us westward. ‘ We knew, or at least the professor informed us, that if the drift continued we would eventually reach a point on the coast of Africa, many miles south of our present latitude. All that day we looked and hoped for a breeze, but none came. The air was hot as well as still, and everybodv be- came uncomitortahle. That night Ross, Foster, and I re- mained on deck throughout the dreary hours. Every one of them” seemed to increase the heat. Now and then one of us would im- agine he felt a breeze, but the sail showed no sions of it. Morning caine and found us still be- calmed. Mr. Donaldson was not disappointed, for he had expected this, but he was despondent. He seemed to dread that we were destined to remain in that con- dition so long that all on board would suffer materially. “T fear for Mary, ~ he said. “ She has, of course, been reared in what may he called an atmosphere of expectation and disappointment. But, neverthe- less, her hfe has been a comfortable one. There was not a dav in which there was not plenty of food. Now, if we come to such a pass that we have nothing to eat, I fear for her.” - Ross sat down and looked glumly a the water. Foster walked to and tro, awa GOI OOoO ail, none of us knew that our di- - SS (GO) awa