The Argosy, Volume XLIV — page 233: what you’re looking at

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

THE CRUISE OF THE HANDICAP. having nothing to say. Mary herself seemed the most cheerful member of the company. | I do not remember that she said a word about the calm. She seemed to divine that we were anxious, and did the best she could to make the situation supportable. At night our supper was less elabo- rate. Of her own intuition she had put us on short rations. The two kaybees consumed enormous quantities of food, and the professor was sO anxious concerning them that he did not limit their supply. But Mary was the master of the situation. “ Professor,” she said, when he went to take a quantity of cooked meat, “ you are feeding those birds too much. We do not know how long we shall be here, and we must make the best of what we have. I have given all on board but half of what we had before. If we can stand it, so can those ridiculous birds.” , “T fear they will not survive,” said the professor. “Suppose they don’t,” she replied, with a practical nod of her shapely head. “ Suppose, after all, they died. What of it? Is not human life more precious ? ” “Oh, of course, if that is the ques- tion,” said the professor. I was surprised, upon going into the cabin, to hear Mary humming. “You don’t seem to be very anxious over the calm,” I said. “I am glad you take the matter so philosophically.” “T have heard my father speak of philosophers,” she replied. “ But I do not think I am one. I hope for the best.” “That,” I said, “is the best philos- ophy of all.” | But the hours and the days passed on and no breeze came to fill the sail. Ross lost his wit and humor. foster became morose, and ,Mr. Donaldson de- spondent. The professor tried to keep up the appearance of good cheer, but it was difficult. Thus we passed five days, and the raft lay inert upon the sea. We were, upon the evening of the fifth day, called to supper by Mary. She was, if such a thing was possible, more radiant and cheerful than ever. C; OUgle 229 We had for supper a bit of sago bread, some pieces of roast pig, or an animal that resembled pig, and some berry wine. “Mr. Ross,” said Mary, “I think we have been gloomy long enough. Let us cheer up.” I looked at her in amazement. She had a beautiful flush on her cheeks, her eyes were bright, and her voice steady, but at the same time I realized that something was wrong. “My dear Miss Donaldson,” he said, ‘““T am the most cheerful fellow in the world, but a humorist must have a change of audience. Take a comic opera. It won’t last forever in one place. They spread it around. Now, that is what I’d like. Id like to be spread around. If I had my choice, I should say New York would be the next place to stop at.” We ate our supper, with less than half enough to stop our hunger. Then Mary stood before us with a calm but very serious face. “Gentlemen,” she said, “ I am sorry to inform you that our food is all gone.” “There is still hope,” spoke up the professor. “These calms do not last forever.” Our supply of cigars had not given out, and we smoked on deck. Mary, as usual, took a seat near me. “Ts it true,” she asked, “that in London there is a railroad beneath the ground ? ” “Yes,” I answered. “It runs in a tunnel. It is a great piece of engineer- ing.” “And does a railroad carry many people? Tell me about it. -Tell me about things I never saw.” She smiled at me, and my amazement at her cool courage grew. I knew she was trying to get my mind off our situation. No heroine in fiction stood out with stronger colors than did Mary Donaldson in that calm, after our food had gone. I told her about the railways of the world. I told her how people lived in cities, and in the country. I told her about Niagara Falls, about the bound- aries of countries, about the various forms of government. I knew she must have heard all this GOHMGOOo SS (GO) awa