I had been told
that the island to which the captain intended to take his boats
lay about thirty miles south of the point where we left the
steamer.
that the island to which the captain intended to take his boats
lay about thirty miles south of the point where we left the
steamer.
Warner - World's Best Literature - v24 - Sta to Tal
Aleshine.
< It
may
be best to get
used to it by degrees, but I must say I wish I was home. ”
As for me, I would have much preferred to jump overboard
at once, instead of waiting in this cold-blooded manner; but as
my companions had so far preserved their presence of mind, I
did not wish to do anything which might throw them into a
panic. I believed there would be no danger from the suction
caused by the sinking of a small boat like this; and if we took
care not to entangle ourselves with it in any way, we might as
well follow Mrs. Lecks's advice as not. So we all stood up, Mrs.
Lecks in the stern, I in the bow, and Mrs. Aleshine on a thwart
between us. The last did not appear to have quite room enough
for a steady footing; but as she remarked, it did not matter very
much, as the footing, broad or narrow, would not be there very
long
I am used to swimming, and have never hesitated to take
a plunge into river or ocean; but I must admit that it was
very trying to my nerves to stand up this way and wait for a
boat to sink beneath me. How the two women were affected I
do not know. They said nothing; but their faces indicated that
something disagreeable was about to happen, and that the less
that was said about it the better.
The boat had now sunk so much that the water was around
Mrs. Aleshine's feet, her standing-place being rather lower than
ours. I made myself certain that there were no ropes nor any
other means of entanglement near my companions or myself, and
then I waited. There seemed to be a good deal of buoyancy in
the bow and stern of the boat, and it was a frightfully long time
in sinking. The suspense became so utterly unendurable that I
was tempted to put one foot on the edge of the boat, and by
tipping it, put an end to this nerve-rack; but I refrained, for I
probably should throw the women off their balance, when they
might fall against some part of the boat and do themselves
a hurt. I had just relinquished this intention, when two little
waves seemed to rise one on each side of Mrs. Aleshine; and
gently flowing over the side of the boat, they flooded her feet
with water.
## p. 14005 (#191) ##########################################
FRANK R. STOCKTON
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ward me,
"Hold your breaths! ” I shouted. And now I experienced a
sensation which must have been very like that which comes to a
condemned criminal at the first indication of the pulling of the
drop. Then there was a horrible sinking, a gurgle, and a swash;
and the ocean, over which I had been gazing, appeared to rise
up and envelop me.
In a moment, however, my head was out of the water; and
looking hastily about me, I saw close by the heads and shoulders
of Mrs. Lecks and Mrs. Aleshine. The latter was vigorously
winking her eyes and blowing from her mouth some sea-water
that had got into it; but as soon as her eyes fell upon me she
exclaimed, “That was ever so much more suddint than I thought
it was goin' to be! ”
"Are you both all right? ”
"I suppose I am," said Mrs. Aleshine; “but I never thought
that a person with a life-preserver on would go clean under the
water. ”
"But since you've come up again, you ought to be satisfied,”
said Mrs. Lecks. "And now,” she added, turning her face to-
which way ought we to try to swim ? and have we
got everythin' we want to take with us ? »
“What we haven't got we can't get,” remarked Mrs. Aleshine;
"and as for swimmin', I expect I'm goin' to make a poor hand
at it. ”
I had a hope, which was not quite strong enough to be a
belief, that, supported by their life-preservers, the two women
might paddle themselves along; and that by giving them in turn
a helping hand, I might eventually get them to the steamer.
There was a strong probability that I should not succeed, but I
did not care to think of that.
I now swam in front of my companions, and endeavored to
instruct them in the best method of propelling themselves with
their arms and their hands. If they succeeded in this, I thought
I would give them some further lessons in striking out with their
feet. After watching me attentively, Mrs. Lecks did manage to
move herself slowly through the smooth water; but poor Mrs.
Aleshine could do nothing but splash.
“If there was anythin' to take hold of,” she said to me, “I
might get along; but I can't get any grip on the water, though
you seem to do it well enough. Look there! ” she added in a
higher voice. “Isn't that an oar floatin' over there? If you can
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14006
FRANK R. STOCKTON
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get that for ine, I believe I can row myself much better than I
can swim. ”
This seemed an odd idea; but I swam over to the floating oar,
and brought it her. I was about to show her how she could
best use it, but she declined my advice.
« If I do it at all,” she said, “I must do it in my own way. ”
And taking the oar in her strong hands, she began to ply it on
the water, very much in the way in which she would handle a
broom. At first she dipped the blade too deeply, but correcting
this error, she soon began to paddle herself along at a slow but
steady rate.
"Capital! I cried. « You do that admirably! ”
"Anybody who's swept as many rooms as I have,” she said,
“ought to be able to handle anythin' that can be used like a
broom.
Isn't there another oar ? ” cried Mrs. Lecks, who had now
been left a little distance behind us. “If there is, I want one. ”
Looking about me, I soon discovered another floating oar, and
brought it to Mrs. Lecks; who, after holding it in various posi-
tions, so as to get "the hang of it,” as she said, soon began to
use it with as much skill as that shown by her friend. If either
of them had been obliged to use an oar in the ordinary way, I
fear they would have had a bad time of it; but considering the
implement in the light of a broom, its use immediately became
familiar to them, and they got on remarkably well.
I now took a position a little in advance of my companions,
and as I swam slowly they were easily able to keep up with
me. Mrs. Aleshine, being so stout, floated much higher out of the
water than either Mrs. Lecks or I, and this permitted her to use
her oar with a great deal of freedom. Sometimes she would give
such a vigorous brush to the water that she would turn herself
almost entirely around; but after a little practice she learned to
avoid undue efforts of this kind.
I was not positively sure that we were going in the right
direction, for my position did not allow me to see very far over
the water; but I remembered that when I was standing up in
the boat and made my discovery, the sun was just about to rise
in front of me, while the dark spot on the ocean lay to my left.
Judging, therefore, from the present position of the sun, which
was not very high, I concluded that we were moving toward
the north, and therefore in the right direction. How far off the
## p. 14007 (#193) ##########################################
FRANK R. STOCKTON
14007
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steamer might be, I had no idea, for I was not accustomed to
judging distances at sea; but I believed that if we were careful
of our strength, and if the ocean continued as smooth as it now
was, we might eventually reach the vessel, provided she were yet
afloat.
"After you are fairly in the water,” said Mrs. Aleshine, as
she swept along, although without the velocity which that phrase
usually implies, “it isn't half so bad as I thought it would be.
For one thing, it don't feel a bit salt, although I must say it
tasted horribly that way when I first went into it. ”
“You didn't expect to find pickle-brine, did you ? ” said Mrs.
Lecks. “Though if it was, I suppose we could float on it set-
tin”. »
"And as to bein' cold,” said Mrs. Aleshine, “the part of me
that's in is actually more comfortable than that which is out. ”
« There's one thing I would have been afraid of,” said Mrs.
Lecks, “if we hadn't made preparations for it, and that's sharks. ”
« Preparations! I exclaimed. «How in the world did you
prepare for sharks ? »
Easy enough,” said Mrs. Lecks. “When we went down into
our room to get ready to go away in the boats, we both put on
black stockin's. I've read that sharks never bite colored people,
although if they see a white man in the water they'll snap him
up as quick as lightnin'; and black stockin's was the nearest we
could come to it. You see, I thought as like as not we'd have
some sort of an upset before we got through. ”
“It's a great comfort,” remarked Mrs. Aleshine; "and I'm
(
very glad you thought of it, Mrs. Lecks. After this I shall make
it a rule: Black stockin's for sharks. ”
“I suppose in your case,” said Mrs. Lecks, addressing me,
« dark trousers will do as well. ”
To which I answered that I sincerely hoped they would.
"Another thing I'm thankful for,” said Mrs. Aleshine, “is that
I thought to put on a flannel skeert. ”
"And what's the good of it,” said Mrs. Lecks, “when it's sop-
pin' wet ? »
“Flannel's flannel,” replied her friend, “whether it's wet or
dry; and if you'd had the rheumatism as much as I have, you'd
know it. ”
To this Mrs. Lecks replied with a sniff, and asked me how
soon I thought we would get sight of the ship; for if we were
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## p. 14008 (#194) ##########################################
14008
FRANK R. STOCKTON
we
(
that way.
Do you
going the wrong way, and had to turn round and go back, it
would certainly be very provoking.
I should have been happy indeed to be able to give a satis-
factory answer to this question. Every time that we rose upon
a swell I threw a rapid glance around the whole circle of the
horizon; and at last, not a quarter of an hour after Mrs. Lecks's
question, I was rejoiced to see, almost in the direction in which
I supposed it ought to be, the dark spot which I had before
discovered. I shouted the glad news, and as rose again
my companions strained their eyes in the direction to which I
pointed. They both saw it, and were greatly satisfied.
“Now then,” said Mrs. Aleshine, “it seems as if there was
somethin' to work for ”; and she began to sweep her oar with
great vigor.
"If you want to tire yourself out before you get there,
Barb'ry Aleshine," said Mrs. Lecks, "you'd better go on in
Now what I advise is, that we stop rowin' altogether
and have somethin' to eat; for I'm sure we need it to keep up
our strength. ”
“Eat! » I cried. “What are you going to eat ?
expect to catch fish ? »
"And eat 'em raw? ” said Mrs. Lecks. “I should think not.
But do you suppose, Mr. Craig, that Mrs. Aleshine and me would
go off and leave that ship without takin' somethin' to eat by the
Let's all gether here in a bunch, and see what sort of a
meal we can make. And now, Barb'ry Aleshine, if you lay your
oar down there on the water, I recommend you to tie it to one
of your bonnet-strings, or it'll be floatin' away, and you won't get
it again. "
As she said this, Mrs. Lecks put her right hand down into
the water and fumbled about, apparently in search of a pocket.
I could not but smile, as I thought of the condition of food
when for an hour or more it had been a couple of feet under
the surface of the ocean; but my ideas on the subject were
entirely changed when I saw Mrs. Lecks hold up in the air two
German sausages, and shake the briny drops from their smooth
and glittering surfaces.
“There's nothin',” she said, "like sausages for shipwreck and
that kind o' thing. They're very sustainin'; and bein' covered
with a tight skin, water can't get at 'em, no matter how you
carry 'em. I wouldn't bring these out in the boat, because havin'
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## p. 14009 (#195) ##########################################
FRANK R. STOCKTON
14009
the beans we might as well eat them. Have you a knife about
you, Mr. Craig ? ”
I produced a dripping jack-knife; and after the open blade
had been waved in the air to dry it a little, Mrs. Lecks pro-
ceeded to divide one of the sausages, handing the other to me to
hold meanwhile.
“Now don't go eatin' sausages without bread, if you don't
want 'em to give you dyspepsy,” said Mrs. Aleshine, who was
tugging at a submarine pocket.
« I'm very much afraid your bread is all soaked,” said Mrs.
Lecks.
To which her friend replied that that remained to be seen,
and forth with produced with a splash a glass preserve-jar with a
metal top.
(
>
"I saw this nearly empty as I looked into the ship's pantry,
and I stuffed into it all the soft biscuits it would hold. There
was some sort of jam left at the bottom, so that the one who
gets the last biscuit will have somethin' of a little spread on
it. And now, Mrs. Lecks,” she continued triumphantly, as she
unscrewed the top, “that rubber ring has kept 'em as dry as
chips. I'm mighty glad of it, for I had trouble enough gettin
this jar into my pocket, - and gettin' it out, too, for that matter. ”
Floating thus, with our hands and shoulders above the water,
we made a very good meal from the sausages and soft biscuit.
« Barb'ry Aleshine,” said Mrs. Lecks, as her friend proceeded
to cut the second sausage, “don't you lay that knife down when
you've done with it, as if 't was an oar; for if you do it'll sink,
as like as not, about six miles. I've read that the ocean is as
deep as that in some places. ”
“Goodness gracious me! ” exclaimed Mrs. Aleshine, “I hope
we are not over one of them deep spots. ”
“There's no knowin',” said Mrs. Lecks; “but if it's more com-
fortin' to think it's shallerer, we'll make up our minds that way.
Now then,” she continued, "we'll finish off this meal with a little
somethin' to drink. I'm not given to takin' spirits; but I never
travel without a little whisky, ready mixed with water, to take if
it should be needed. ”
So saying, she produced from one of her pockets a whisky
flask tightly corked, and of its contents we each took a sip; Mrs.
Aleshine remarking that leaving out being chilled or colicky, we
were never likely to need it more than now.
## p. 14010 (#196) ##########################################
14010
FRANK R. STOCKTON
Thus refreshed and strengthened, Mrs. Lecks and Mrs. Ale-
shine took up their oars, while I swam slightly in advance, as
before. When, with occasional intermissions of rest, and a good
deal of desultory conversation, we had swept and swam for about
an hour, Mrs. Lecks suddenly exclaimed, “I can see that thing
ever so much plainer now, and I don't believe it's a ship at all.
To me it looks like bushes. ”
“You're mighty long-sighted without your specs,” said Mrs.
Aleshine, “and I'm not sure but what you're right. ”
For ten minutes or more I had been puzzling over the shape
of the dark spot, which was now nearly all the time in sight. Its
peculiar form had filled me with a dreadful fear that it was the
steamer, bottom upward; although I knew enough about nautical
matters to have no good reason to suppose that this could be
the case.
I am not far-sighted; but when Mrs. Lecks suggested
bushes, I gazed at the distant object with totally different ideas,
and soon began to believe that it was not a ship, either right
side up or wrong side up, but that it might be an island. This
belief I proclaimed to my companions; and for some time we all
worked with increased energy, in the desire to get near enough
to make ourselves certain in regard to this point.
"As true as I'm standin' here,” said Mrs. Lecks, who, although
she could not read without spectacles, had remarkably good sight
at long range, “them is trees and bushes that I see before me,
though they do seem to be growin' right out of the water. ”
« There's an island under them; you may be sure of that! ”
I cried. “And isn't this ever so much better than a sinking
ship? ”
“I'm not so sure about that,” said Mrs. Aleshine. « I'm used
to the ship, and as long as it didn't sink I'd prefer it. There's
plenty to eat on board of it, and good beds to sleep on, which
is more than can be expected on a little bushy place like that
ahead of us. But then the ship might sink all of a suddint, -
beds, victuals, and all. ”
"Do you suppose that is the island the other boats went to ? »
asked Mrs. Lecks.
This question I had already asked of myself.
I had been told
that the island to which the captain intended to take his boats
lay about thirty miles south of the point where we left the
steamer. Now, I knew very well that we had not come thirty
miles; and had reasons to believe, moreover, that the greater part
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## p. 14011 (#197) ##########################################
FRANK R. STOCKTON
14011
of the progress we had made had been toward the north. It was
not at all probable that the position of this island was unknown
to our captain; and it must therefore have been considered by
him as an unsuitable place for the landing of his passengers.
There might be many reasons for this unsuitableness: the island
might be totally barren and desolate; it might be the abode of
unpleasant natives; and more important than anything else, it
was in all probability a spot where steamers never touched.
But whatever its disadvantages, I was most wildly desirous to
reach it; more so, I believe, than either of my companions. I do
not mean that they were not sensible of their danger, and desir-
ous to be freed from it; but they were women who had probably
had a rough time of it during a great part of their lives, and on
emerging from their little circle of rural experiences accepted
with equanimity, and almost as a matter of course, the rough
times which come to people in the great outside world.
"I do not believe," I said, in answer to Mrs. Lecks, that
that is the island to which the captain would have taken us; but
whatever it is, it is dry land, and we must get there as soon as
we can. ”
“That's true," said Mrs. Aleshine, “for I'd like to have ground
nearer to my feet than six miles; and if we don't find anythin'
to eat and any place to sleep when we get there, it's no
than can be said of where we are now. ”
“You're too particular, Barb'ry Aleshine,” said Mrs. Lecks,
"about your comforts. If you find the ground too hard to sleep
on when you get there, you can put on your life-preserver, and
go to bed in the water. »
“Very good,” said Mrs. Aleshine; and if these islands are
made of coral, as I've heard they was, and if they're as full of
small p’ints as some coral I've got at home, you'll be glad to
take a berth by me, Mrs. Lecks. ”
I counseled my companions to follow me as rapidly as pos-
sible, and we all pushed vigorously forward. When we had ap-
proached near enough to the island to see what sort of place it
really was, we perceived that it was a low-lying spot, apparently
covered with verdure, and surrounded, as far as we could see as
we rose on the swells, by a rocky reef, against which a tolerably
high surf was running. I knew enough of the formation of these
coral islands to suppose that within this reef was a lagoon of
smooth water, into which there were openings through the rocky
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## p. 14012 (#198) ##########################################
14012
FRANK R. STOCKTON
a
barrier. It was necessary to try to find one of these; for it would
be difficult and perhaps dangerous to attempt to land through
the surf.
Before us we could see a continuous line of white-capped
breakers; and so I led my little party to the right, hoping that
we should soon see signs of an opening in the reef.
We swam and paddled, however, for a long time, and still
the surf rolled menacingly on the rocks before us.
We were
now as close to the island as we could approach with safety; and
I determined to circumnavigate it, if necessary, before I would
attempt with these two women to land upon that jagged reef.
At last we perceived, at no great distance before us, a spot where
there seemed to be no breakers; and when we reached it we
found, to our unutterable delight, that here was smooth water
flowing through a wide opening in the reef. The rocks were
piled up quite high, and the reef, at this point at least, was
wide one; for as we neared the opening we found that it nar-
rowed very soon and made a turn to the left, so that from the
outside we could not see into the lagoon.
I swam into this smooth water, followed close by Mrs. Lecks
and Mrs. Aleshine, — who however soon became unable to use
their oars, owing to the proximity of the rocks. Dropping
these useful implements, they managed to paddle after me with
their hands; and they were as much astonished as I was when,
just after making the slight turn, we found stretched across the
narrow passage a great iron bar about eight or ten inches above
the water. A little farther on, and two or three feet above the
water, another iron bar extended from one rocky wall to the
other. Without uttering a word I examined the lower bar, and
found one end of it fastened by means of a huge padlock to a
great staple driven into the rock. The lock was securely wrapped
in what appeared to be tarred canvas. A staple through an eye-
hole in the bar secured the other end of it to the rocks.
« These bars were put here,” I exclaimed, "to keep out boats,
whether at high or low water. You see they can only be thrown
out of the way by taking off the padlocks. ”
“They won't keep us out,” said Mrs. Lecks, "for we can duck
under. I suppose whoever put 'em here didn't expect anybody
to arrive on life-preservers. ”
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14013
ELIZABETH BARSTOW STODDARD
(1823-)
E
>
(
>
LIZABETH BARSTOW, the wife of Richard Henry Stoddard, was
born in Massachusetts, May 6th, 1823. She was married to
the poet in 1851; and a few years later began to write sto-
ries and poems so intense and individual, that though anonymous
they were recognized at once as the work of a new writer. The
Morgesons' appeared in 1862, “Two Men'in 1865, and Temple House'
in 1867, a new edition being issued in 1888.
In advance of her time by a generation, Mrs. Stoddard belongs
to the school of Maeterlinck and Ibsen rather than to the romantic
period of fiction of the day in which she wrote. Whether she records
humble life in a New England village, as in “Two Men'; or the story
of an ancestral mansion in an American seaport town, as in “Temple
House”; or the history of a “queer” family, as in “The Morgesons,'-
her work is metaphysical like Ibsen's. Her men and women repro-
duce types not infrequently found in forgotten New England towns.
They are strong self-centred characters, in whom an active intellect
and intense nervous energy, compressed by narrow surroundings, pro-
duce numberless idiosyncrasies. In their moral isolation, they are
still grim Puritans in everything but creed. Mrs. Stoddard draws
them with a wonderful comprehension of the hidden springs of their
action. Like Ibsen, she exemplifies life and illustrates her dramatic
force in breathless tragic episodes.
It is true, however, that before she is a dramatist, she is a psy-
chologist: a sphinx sitting on the stony way to the temple, and
looking with unquestioning eyes into life's problem. That method of
suggestion which is our latest fashion in literature, Mrs. Stoddard
used when it was not a fashion, but a form of reticence. There are
descriptions in her novels cut with a chisel; others in which nature
is used as a background to scenes of intense thought, in moments
of outward stillness. She was a realist before the word had been
defined. She dwells in shadows as grim as those of Wuthering
Heights,' in an atmosphere so dense that we see the movements of
her characters as through a thick glass screen; but each person, each
scene, is touched with a gleam of poetic light.
It is as a poet, perhaps, that she has gained her highest fame;
though no book of the time, according to the great English critic,
## p. 14014 (#200) ##########################################
14014
ELIZABETH BARSTOW STODDARD
Mr. Leslie Stephen, is more remarkable than her (Temple House. '
Mrs. Stoddard has been writing and publishing poems since her girl-
hood, but they were not collected until 1896. In them is reflected
the spirit of her fiction, the tragic atmosphere with which her novels
are surcharged. Burning with intensity, if a spirit so hopeless may
be said to burn, these strange, reserved, yet passionately regretful
lyrics have for their theme the pain of quiet endurance, the disap-
pointment of an ardent fancy, and the sorrow of an unsatisfied heart.
Those written in early youth might have been penned by Maeterlinck,
— tragical, musical, introspective; Stoddard himself might have taught
her the ringing, forcible strains in The House by the Sea, or in
(Xanthos) and Achilles,' — poems in blank verse, sonorous, dignified,
individual. The highest expression of her poetic gift is found per-
haps in short poems, like Mercedes,' where passion, sullen, deep, and
pitiless, veils itself in tropical beauty.
In both her poems and her novels is reflected her sense of the
beauty and aloofness of nature; of the dusty answers to the clam-
ors of impetuous human souls.
-
)
THE GREAT GALE
M
From «Temple House. Copyright 1888, by 0. M. Dunham. Published by the
Cassell Publishing Company
AT SUTCLIFFE announced to Argus one morning that spring
had come. The ice on the shores and inside the bay was
giving way. And he asked Argus if gales were not to be
looked for? They compared notes about the weather, and con-
cluded to look for southerly storms.
The weather softened so that very day that Tempe threw
aside her shawl, and Roxalana made the tour of all the rooms,
and by way of a walk went up to the attic to look over the
fields and bay. She remarked to Argus, on coming down, that
she had never seen the White Flat so plainly: it appeared to be
stretching across the harbor's mouth.
« The ice made it look so, probably,” he replied.
The snow around the house began to melt, and in the still-
ness they heard the water trickling everywhere.
“Soon,” said Roxalana, the buds will begin to swell. ”
At sunset the atmosphere was spongy and rotten. Masses of
vapor rolled up from the south, extinguishing a pale brassy band
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ELIZABETH BARSTOW STODDARD
14015
were
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of light in the west; and a strange wind rose in the upper air,
and closed with night.
Early in the evening Argus shook the iron bars of the shut-
ters on the harbor side, and fastened them; he foresaw the storm,
and would have shut out its fury for Roxalana's sake, who ap-
peared perturbed and melancholy, as if disasters at sea
threatened.
“The wind must be rising,” she said, holding up her hand:
"I feel streams of air from everywhere. The candles flare; but
I don't hear the surf. ”
« You will hear it presently,” he replied.
“I don't care if it blows half the town down,” said Tempe.
« Don't spare the other half: let the whole go, and be damned,
if you wish so,” he answered.
A tremendous hiss passed through the crevices of the outer
doors, which was met by a roar in the chimney. An irruption
of white flaky ashes followed and covered the hearth. Next, the
roof and walls of the house were taken as a coign of vantage by
the shrieking wind to hang out its viewless banners, which shiv-
ered, flapped, and tore to tatters in raging impotence.
“We must put out this fire, Argus,” said Roxalana, or we
shall be on fire inside the house. "
“Better put yourselves in bed: I will take care of the fire. ”
Acting upon this suggestion, they left him alone. A short
time afterwards 'he went out on the lawn. The dull thunder of
the surf now broke so furiously on the bar 'that the ground be-
neath his feet reverberated.
« The bay is champing its jaws on that devilish White Flat,
and any sail coming this way is lost. ”
Looking overhead, he discovered in the milky darkness of the
obscured moon deep vague rifts in the sky, like the chasm in
Orion. The frenzied, overdriven spirits of the storm took refuge
in the piling, tumbling folds of the clouds, which hovered over
and fell into the abyss. While he stood there, the elms bowed
from bole to topmost bough, and brushed his face as if they paid
him homage. No sound came from the town side; he could not
see a single light. Opposite the lawn, King's Hill reared its black
summit; from thence, if he climbed, he could obtain a view of
the wailing, howling bay, and - perchance of some vessel seek-
ing harbor. He preferred to go back and shut himself up in the
house.
## p. 14016 (#202) ##########################################
14016
ELIZABETH BARSTOW STODDARD
can be.
Though the storm raged the next morning as storm had not
raged for years, Argus remained in the green room, and pored
over the book of plays, so well remembered by Virginia. About
noon Mat Sutcliffe burst in, with his tarpaulin jammed over his
head, and carrying an immense spy-glass in a canvas case. His
tidings did not astonish Argus. A vessel putting into the bay
the night before had dragged her anchors and struck on the
White Flat; her flag was flying from the rigging, and there were
men there: it being low water when she struck, her quarter-deck
might afford temporary safety, provided the cold did not increase
and freeze the crew to death.
« What is the town doing, Mat ? ” asked Roxalana.
"A great many people are out doing nothing. They are
on the wharves, on the top of King's Hill, the hair blowing off
their heads; and I believe there's a gang along-shore some-
where,” he replied.
«No boat can live if put out,” said Argus. « How low down
the bar did the vessel drive on ? »
“As near to Bass Headland as
If the wind would
chop round, somebody might get out there. ”
"So the sailors must drown,” cried Tempe, notwithstanding
she had put her fingers in her ears, not to hear. “I'll shut my-
self up in the cellar till it is all over. ”
“I thought,” continued Mat, looking hard at Argus, it might
be best to look at the shingle below here: the ice is about gone
there. If we could start under the lee of Bass Headland, a boat
might slant -->
Argus gave such a shrug and grimace that Mat suddenly
stopped, and without another word abruptly left the room.
"Argus,” said Roxalana with great composure, “I shall not
get you a mouthful of dinner to-day. ”
“I trust you will consent to do your share in disposing of the
poor corpses,” added Tempe sharply.
For reply, Argus rose, book in hand, opened the shutter of
the window towards the quay, sat down by it, and went on with
his comedy.
Tempe telegraphed to her mother her opinion that he was a
beast of an uncle; and even Roxalana was moved to eye him with
a mild, doubting severity.
But he was on the alert. When he heard drops of rain splash
on the window ledge, he shut his fingers in his book, and looked
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## p. 14017 (#203) ##########################################
ELIZABETH BARSTOW STODDARD
14017
»
into the fire. A shower came down, which was neither hail nor
snow,
but warm rain. He started up, stretched his arms like
one who had long been cramped and weary, and sat down again
with an indifferent air, and opened his book.
Roxalana came in from the kitchen, and said that the vane
on the summer-house had veered slightly, and there was less
noise from the wind.
«The gale is moderating, luckily. ”
Something in his tone struck her. She raised her eyes to his,
and he smiled ironically; it made her feel like asking his pardon.
“Can I have any dinner ? ” he asked.
« I think so: what shall it be ? »
“Brandy and cigars. ”
She disappeared.
Mat came in late in the afternoon, with as little ceremony as
before, and said roughly to Argus, “You are wanted. ”
"I won't go. ”
Captain, if we don't get across within twelve hours, every
soul on board that vessel now will be in hell. ”
"I supposed so. ”
«She's bilged, and the White Flat begins to hug her. It's
flood tide, and the waves must be washing the main deck: a few
hours of that work will settle their hash. ”
«What's doing with the life-boat ? »
« The loons have tried to launch her; but there's something
wrong, and they are trying to tinker her up. The will of folks
is good enough, but they can't get out there, - that's the long
and short on't. Bill Bayley swore he'd go out alone: his cock-
boat swamped first thing, and they had to throw him a rope.
He swore at the man who threw it, - at the boat, at the bay,
the wreck, and the Almighty,- and then he cried. I never liked
Bill so well. ”
Mat spit into the fire furiously, and stumped round the room,
a shoe on one foot and a boot on the other, his trousers settling
over his hips in spite of his tight leather belt. He was growing
frantic with excitement.
Argus laughed.
Mat made an energetic, beseeching motion towards the door;
he would have put up his soul for sale for the sake of seeing
Argus move with the intention he wished to inspire him with.
XXIV—877
>
## p. 14018 (#204) ##########################################
14018
ELIZABETH BARSTOW STODDARD
)
»
Argus turned back his sleeves, baring a snow-white wrist, and
abstractedly felt his pulse and the muscles of his arms.
“Push ahead," he said.
"Aye, aye, sir,” Mat shouted, turning very pale, and lurching
towards the door.
Stop: where is Roxalana ? »
« Roxalana! ” Mat shouted.
“What is it, Mat? ” she answered, coming with a bottle.
"Yes; give us a dram, old girl,"continued Mat, utterly
,
oblivious of the proprieties.
Argus laughed again, and asked for his mackintosh.
“Now then,” said Mat, having swallowed nearly a tumbler of
brandy. Argus drank a little, and poured the rest of the bottle
into a flask which he buttoned inside his coat. Tempe ran down
to the door as they passed out, and Argus looking back called
out:
“Where is your crape veil, Tempe ? ”
“Where the courage of Kent is,- shut up in a bandbox,”
she answered.
Roxalana, after gazing at her a moment, took her by the
arm and dragged her into the green room.
“I believe,” she said, in a breathless undertone, “that you
are possessed sometimes. Do you know that your uncle Argus
may have gone for his shroud ? »
« Was that why he inquired for the veil ? ”
« Could you choose no other moment to express your insensi-
bility? Are you never to be anything but a child ? »
“Mother, you must be crazy. You don't mean to say that
you are going to protest against the Gates character,- as I rep-
resent it ? »
Roxalana said no more, but went her way, feeling a painful
excitement. She replenished the fires, hung kettles of water
over them, collected blankets, cordials, and liquors, and then went
to the kitchen to bake bread.
Twilight brought Mary Sutcliffe and her youngest boys.
Dumping them in a corner of the kitchen as if they were sacks,
and threatening them with a whipping if they moved, she rolled
up her sleeves, and said that she thought the fathers of families
had better stay at home, instead of risking themselves to save
nobody knew who. Another boat had started since Mat had got
(
«
## p. 14019 (#205) ##########################################
· ELIZABETH BARSTOW STODDARD
14019
under way, and she guessed the wreck would turn out to be
a great cry and little wool: she did not think there would be
much drowning this time. She wondered if the good folks in
Kent had stirred themselves,— your religious Drakes, and your
pious Brandes, and the rest of the church.
"Hold your tongue, Mary Sutcliffe,” ordered Tempe.
Then Mary whim pered, sobbed, and shrieked, declaring she
had known all along she should never set eyes on Mat Sutcliffe
again, who was well enough, considering what he was. And who
else would have done what he was doing ? and she gloried in his
spunk. Drying her eyes with her fat hands, and shaking out her
apron, she begged Roxalana to let her make the bread, and put
the house to rights,- in case there were bodies coming in.
"Do, Mrs. Gates,” she pleaded. "I feel as strong as a giant
to-night: I can wrestle with any amount of work. '
"If you will stop whining, Mary, I will accept your services:
for to tell the truth, my head is not very clear just now; I am
afraid I may spoil something. "
"Likely as not,” replied Mary: "go right into your sitting-
room, sit down in your own chair, and you'll come to. It won't
do for you, of all persons, to be upset, Mrs. Gates.
may
be best to get
used to it by degrees, but I must say I wish I was home. ”
As for me, I would have much preferred to jump overboard
at once, instead of waiting in this cold-blooded manner; but as
my companions had so far preserved their presence of mind, I
did not wish to do anything which might throw them into a
panic. I believed there would be no danger from the suction
caused by the sinking of a small boat like this; and if we took
care not to entangle ourselves with it in any way, we might as
well follow Mrs. Lecks's advice as not. So we all stood up, Mrs.
Lecks in the stern, I in the bow, and Mrs. Aleshine on a thwart
between us. The last did not appear to have quite room enough
for a steady footing; but as she remarked, it did not matter very
much, as the footing, broad or narrow, would not be there very
long
I am used to swimming, and have never hesitated to take
a plunge into river or ocean; but I must admit that it was
very trying to my nerves to stand up this way and wait for a
boat to sink beneath me. How the two women were affected I
do not know. They said nothing; but their faces indicated that
something disagreeable was about to happen, and that the less
that was said about it the better.
The boat had now sunk so much that the water was around
Mrs. Aleshine's feet, her standing-place being rather lower than
ours. I made myself certain that there were no ropes nor any
other means of entanglement near my companions or myself, and
then I waited. There seemed to be a good deal of buoyancy in
the bow and stern of the boat, and it was a frightfully long time
in sinking. The suspense became so utterly unendurable that I
was tempted to put one foot on the edge of the boat, and by
tipping it, put an end to this nerve-rack; but I refrained, for I
probably should throw the women off their balance, when they
might fall against some part of the boat and do themselves
a hurt. I had just relinquished this intention, when two little
waves seemed to rise one on each side of Mrs. Aleshine; and
gently flowing over the side of the boat, they flooded her feet
with water.
## p. 14005 (#191) ##########################################
FRANK R. STOCKTON
14005
C
»
ward me,
"Hold your breaths! ” I shouted. And now I experienced a
sensation which must have been very like that which comes to a
condemned criminal at the first indication of the pulling of the
drop. Then there was a horrible sinking, a gurgle, and a swash;
and the ocean, over which I had been gazing, appeared to rise
up and envelop me.
In a moment, however, my head was out of the water; and
looking hastily about me, I saw close by the heads and shoulders
of Mrs. Lecks and Mrs. Aleshine. The latter was vigorously
winking her eyes and blowing from her mouth some sea-water
that had got into it; but as soon as her eyes fell upon me she
exclaimed, “That was ever so much more suddint than I thought
it was goin' to be! ”
"Are you both all right? ”
"I suppose I am," said Mrs. Aleshine; “but I never thought
that a person with a life-preserver on would go clean under the
water. ”
"But since you've come up again, you ought to be satisfied,”
said Mrs. Lecks. "And now,” she added, turning her face to-
which way ought we to try to swim ? and have we
got everythin' we want to take with us ? »
“What we haven't got we can't get,” remarked Mrs. Aleshine;
"and as for swimmin', I expect I'm goin' to make a poor hand
at it. ”
I had a hope, which was not quite strong enough to be a
belief, that, supported by their life-preservers, the two women
might paddle themselves along; and that by giving them in turn
a helping hand, I might eventually get them to the steamer.
There was a strong probability that I should not succeed, but I
did not care to think of that.
I now swam in front of my companions, and endeavored to
instruct them in the best method of propelling themselves with
their arms and their hands. If they succeeded in this, I thought
I would give them some further lessons in striking out with their
feet. After watching me attentively, Mrs. Lecks did manage to
move herself slowly through the smooth water; but poor Mrs.
Aleshine could do nothing but splash.
“If there was anythin' to take hold of,” she said to me, “I
might get along; but I can't get any grip on the water, though
you seem to do it well enough. Look there! ” she added in a
higher voice. “Isn't that an oar floatin' over there? If you can
((
## p. 14006 (#192) ##########################################
14006
FRANK R. STOCKTON
»
>>>
C
>>
get that for ine, I believe I can row myself much better than I
can swim. ”
This seemed an odd idea; but I swam over to the floating oar,
and brought it her. I was about to show her how she could
best use it, but she declined my advice.
« If I do it at all,” she said, “I must do it in my own way. ”
And taking the oar in her strong hands, she began to ply it on
the water, very much in the way in which she would handle a
broom. At first she dipped the blade too deeply, but correcting
this error, she soon began to paddle herself along at a slow but
steady rate.
"Capital! I cried. « You do that admirably! ”
"Anybody who's swept as many rooms as I have,” she said,
“ought to be able to handle anythin' that can be used like a
broom.
Isn't there another oar ? ” cried Mrs. Lecks, who had now
been left a little distance behind us. “If there is, I want one. ”
Looking about me, I soon discovered another floating oar, and
brought it to Mrs. Lecks; who, after holding it in various posi-
tions, so as to get "the hang of it,” as she said, soon began to
use it with as much skill as that shown by her friend. If either
of them had been obliged to use an oar in the ordinary way, I
fear they would have had a bad time of it; but considering the
implement in the light of a broom, its use immediately became
familiar to them, and they got on remarkably well.
I now took a position a little in advance of my companions,
and as I swam slowly they were easily able to keep up with
me. Mrs. Aleshine, being so stout, floated much higher out of the
water than either Mrs. Lecks or I, and this permitted her to use
her oar with a great deal of freedom. Sometimes she would give
such a vigorous brush to the water that she would turn herself
almost entirely around; but after a little practice she learned to
avoid undue efforts of this kind.
I was not positively sure that we were going in the right
direction, for my position did not allow me to see very far over
the water; but I remembered that when I was standing up in
the boat and made my discovery, the sun was just about to rise
in front of me, while the dark spot on the ocean lay to my left.
Judging, therefore, from the present position of the sun, which
was not very high, I concluded that we were moving toward
the north, and therefore in the right direction. How far off the
## p. 14007 (#193) ##########################################
FRANK R. STOCKTON
14007
»
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steamer might be, I had no idea, for I was not accustomed to
judging distances at sea; but I believed that if we were careful
of our strength, and if the ocean continued as smooth as it now
was, we might eventually reach the vessel, provided she were yet
afloat.
"After you are fairly in the water,” said Mrs. Aleshine, as
she swept along, although without the velocity which that phrase
usually implies, “it isn't half so bad as I thought it would be.
For one thing, it don't feel a bit salt, although I must say it
tasted horribly that way when I first went into it. ”
“You didn't expect to find pickle-brine, did you ? ” said Mrs.
Lecks. “Though if it was, I suppose we could float on it set-
tin”. »
"And as to bein' cold,” said Mrs. Aleshine, “the part of me
that's in is actually more comfortable than that which is out. ”
« There's one thing I would have been afraid of,” said Mrs.
Lecks, “if we hadn't made preparations for it, and that's sharks. ”
« Preparations! I exclaimed. «How in the world did you
prepare for sharks ? »
Easy enough,” said Mrs. Lecks. “When we went down into
our room to get ready to go away in the boats, we both put on
black stockin's. I've read that sharks never bite colored people,
although if they see a white man in the water they'll snap him
up as quick as lightnin'; and black stockin's was the nearest we
could come to it. You see, I thought as like as not we'd have
some sort of an upset before we got through. ”
“It's a great comfort,” remarked Mrs. Aleshine; "and I'm
(
very glad you thought of it, Mrs. Lecks. After this I shall make
it a rule: Black stockin's for sharks. ”
“I suppose in your case,” said Mrs. Lecks, addressing me,
« dark trousers will do as well. ”
To which I answered that I sincerely hoped they would.
"Another thing I'm thankful for,” said Mrs. Aleshine, “is that
I thought to put on a flannel skeert. ”
"And what's the good of it,” said Mrs. Lecks, “when it's sop-
pin' wet ? »
“Flannel's flannel,” replied her friend, “whether it's wet or
dry; and if you'd had the rheumatism as much as I have, you'd
know it. ”
To this Mrs. Lecks replied with a sniff, and asked me how
soon I thought we would get sight of the ship; for if we were
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## p. 14008 (#194) ##########################################
14008
FRANK R. STOCKTON
we
(
that way.
Do you
going the wrong way, and had to turn round and go back, it
would certainly be very provoking.
I should have been happy indeed to be able to give a satis-
factory answer to this question. Every time that we rose upon
a swell I threw a rapid glance around the whole circle of the
horizon; and at last, not a quarter of an hour after Mrs. Lecks's
question, I was rejoiced to see, almost in the direction in which
I supposed it ought to be, the dark spot which I had before
discovered. I shouted the glad news, and as rose again
my companions strained their eyes in the direction to which I
pointed. They both saw it, and were greatly satisfied.
“Now then,” said Mrs. Aleshine, “it seems as if there was
somethin' to work for ”; and she began to sweep her oar with
great vigor.
"If you want to tire yourself out before you get there,
Barb'ry Aleshine," said Mrs. Lecks, "you'd better go on in
Now what I advise is, that we stop rowin' altogether
and have somethin' to eat; for I'm sure we need it to keep up
our strength. ”
“Eat! » I cried. “What are you going to eat ?
expect to catch fish ? »
"And eat 'em raw? ” said Mrs. Lecks. “I should think not.
But do you suppose, Mr. Craig, that Mrs. Aleshine and me would
go off and leave that ship without takin' somethin' to eat by the
Let's all gether here in a bunch, and see what sort of a
meal we can make. And now, Barb'ry Aleshine, if you lay your
oar down there on the water, I recommend you to tie it to one
of your bonnet-strings, or it'll be floatin' away, and you won't get
it again. "
As she said this, Mrs. Lecks put her right hand down into
the water and fumbled about, apparently in search of a pocket.
I could not but smile, as I thought of the condition of food
when for an hour or more it had been a couple of feet under
the surface of the ocean; but my ideas on the subject were
entirely changed when I saw Mrs. Lecks hold up in the air two
German sausages, and shake the briny drops from their smooth
and glittering surfaces.
“There's nothin',” she said, "like sausages for shipwreck and
that kind o' thing. They're very sustainin'; and bein' covered
with a tight skin, water can't get at 'em, no matter how you
carry 'em. I wouldn't bring these out in the boat, because havin'
(
way?
## p. 14009 (#195) ##########################################
FRANK R. STOCKTON
14009
the beans we might as well eat them. Have you a knife about
you, Mr. Craig ? ”
I produced a dripping jack-knife; and after the open blade
had been waved in the air to dry it a little, Mrs. Lecks pro-
ceeded to divide one of the sausages, handing the other to me to
hold meanwhile.
“Now don't go eatin' sausages without bread, if you don't
want 'em to give you dyspepsy,” said Mrs. Aleshine, who was
tugging at a submarine pocket.
« I'm very much afraid your bread is all soaked,” said Mrs.
Lecks.
To which her friend replied that that remained to be seen,
and forth with produced with a splash a glass preserve-jar with a
metal top.
(
>
"I saw this nearly empty as I looked into the ship's pantry,
and I stuffed into it all the soft biscuits it would hold. There
was some sort of jam left at the bottom, so that the one who
gets the last biscuit will have somethin' of a little spread on
it. And now, Mrs. Lecks,” she continued triumphantly, as she
unscrewed the top, “that rubber ring has kept 'em as dry as
chips. I'm mighty glad of it, for I had trouble enough gettin
this jar into my pocket, - and gettin' it out, too, for that matter. ”
Floating thus, with our hands and shoulders above the water,
we made a very good meal from the sausages and soft biscuit.
« Barb'ry Aleshine,” said Mrs. Lecks, as her friend proceeded
to cut the second sausage, “don't you lay that knife down when
you've done with it, as if 't was an oar; for if you do it'll sink,
as like as not, about six miles. I've read that the ocean is as
deep as that in some places. ”
“Goodness gracious me! ” exclaimed Mrs. Aleshine, “I hope
we are not over one of them deep spots. ”
“There's no knowin',” said Mrs. Lecks; “but if it's more com-
fortin' to think it's shallerer, we'll make up our minds that way.
Now then,” she continued, "we'll finish off this meal with a little
somethin' to drink. I'm not given to takin' spirits; but I never
travel without a little whisky, ready mixed with water, to take if
it should be needed. ”
So saying, she produced from one of her pockets a whisky
flask tightly corked, and of its contents we each took a sip; Mrs.
Aleshine remarking that leaving out being chilled or colicky, we
were never likely to need it more than now.
## p. 14010 (#196) ##########################################
14010
FRANK R. STOCKTON
Thus refreshed and strengthened, Mrs. Lecks and Mrs. Ale-
shine took up their oars, while I swam slightly in advance, as
before. When, with occasional intermissions of rest, and a good
deal of desultory conversation, we had swept and swam for about
an hour, Mrs. Lecks suddenly exclaimed, “I can see that thing
ever so much plainer now, and I don't believe it's a ship at all.
To me it looks like bushes. ”
“You're mighty long-sighted without your specs,” said Mrs.
Aleshine, “and I'm not sure but what you're right. ”
For ten minutes or more I had been puzzling over the shape
of the dark spot, which was now nearly all the time in sight. Its
peculiar form had filled me with a dreadful fear that it was the
steamer, bottom upward; although I knew enough about nautical
matters to have no good reason to suppose that this could be
the case.
I am not far-sighted; but when Mrs. Lecks suggested
bushes, I gazed at the distant object with totally different ideas,
and soon began to believe that it was not a ship, either right
side up or wrong side up, but that it might be an island. This
belief I proclaimed to my companions; and for some time we all
worked with increased energy, in the desire to get near enough
to make ourselves certain in regard to this point.
"As true as I'm standin' here,” said Mrs. Lecks, who, although
she could not read without spectacles, had remarkably good sight
at long range, “them is trees and bushes that I see before me,
though they do seem to be growin' right out of the water. ”
« There's an island under them; you may be sure of that! ”
I cried. “And isn't this ever so much better than a sinking
ship? ”
“I'm not so sure about that,” said Mrs. Aleshine. « I'm used
to the ship, and as long as it didn't sink I'd prefer it. There's
plenty to eat on board of it, and good beds to sleep on, which
is more than can be expected on a little bushy place like that
ahead of us. But then the ship might sink all of a suddint, -
beds, victuals, and all. ”
"Do you suppose that is the island the other boats went to ? »
asked Mrs. Lecks.
This question I had already asked of myself.
I had been told
that the island to which the captain intended to take his boats
lay about thirty miles south of the point where we left the
steamer. Now, I knew very well that we had not come thirty
miles; and had reasons to believe, moreover, that the greater part
(
((
## p. 14011 (#197) ##########################################
FRANK R. STOCKTON
14011
of the progress we had made had been toward the north. It was
not at all probable that the position of this island was unknown
to our captain; and it must therefore have been considered by
him as an unsuitable place for the landing of his passengers.
There might be many reasons for this unsuitableness: the island
might be totally barren and desolate; it might be the abode of
unpleasant natives; and more important than anything else, it
was in all probability a spot where steamers never touched.
But whatever its disadvantages, I was most wildly desirous to
reach it; more so, I believe, than either of my companions. I do
not mean that they were not sensible of their danger, and desir-
ous to be freed from it; but they were women who had probably
had a rough time of it during a great part of their lives, and on
emerging from their little circle of rural experiences accepted
with equanimity, and almost as a matter of course, the rough
times which come to people in the great outside world.
"I do not believe," I said, in answer to Mrs. Lecks, that
that is the island to which the captain would have taken us; but
whatever it is, it is dry land, and we must get there as soon as
we can. ”
“That's true," said Mrs. Aleshine, “for I'd like to have ground
nearer to my feet than six miles; and if we don't find anythin'
to eat and any place to sleep when we get there, it's no
than can be said of where we are now. ”
“You're too particular, Barb'ry Aleshine,” said Mrs. Lecks,
"about your comforts. If you find the ground too hard to sleep
on when you get there, you can put on your life-preserver, and
go to bed in the water. »
“Very good,” said Mrs. Aleshine; and if these islands are
made of coral, as I've heard they was, and if they're as full of
small p’ints as some coral I've got at home, you'll be glad to
take a berth by me, Mrs. Lecks. ”
I counseled my companions to follow me as rapidly as pos-
sible, and we all pushed vigorously forward. When we had ap-
proached near enough to the island to see what sort of place it
really was, we perceived that it was a low-lying spot, apparently
covered with verdure, and surrounded, as far as we could see as
we rose on the swells, by a rocky reef, against which a tolerably
high surf was running. I knew enough of the formation of these
coral islands to suppose that within this reef was a lagoon of
smooth water, into which there were openings through the rocky
(
## p. 14012 (#198) ##########################################
14012
FRANK R. STOCKTON
a
barrier. It was necessary to try to find one of these; for it would
be difficult and perhaps dangerous to attempt to land through
the surf.
Before us we could see a continuous line of white-capped
breakers; and so I led my little party to the right, hoping that
we should soon see signs of an opening in the reef.
We swam and paddled, however, for a long time, and still
the surf rolled menacingly on the rocks before us.
We were
now as close to the island as we could approach with safety; and
I determined to circumnavigate it, if necessary, before I would
attempt with these two women to land upon that jagged reef.
At last we perceived, at no great distance before us, a spot where
there seemed to be no breakers; and when we reached it we
found, to our unutterable delight, that here was smooth water
flowing through a wide opening in the reef. The rocks were
piled up quite high, and the reef, at this point at least, was
wide one; for as we neared the opening we found that it nar-
rowed very soon and made a turn to the left, so that from the
outside we could not see into the lagoon.
I swam into this smooth water, followed close by Mrs. Lecks
and Mrs. Aleshine, — who however soon became unable to use
their oars, owing to the proximity of the rocks. Dropping
these useful implements, they managed to paddle after me with
their hands; and they were as much astonished as I was when,
just after making the slight turn, we found stretched across the
narrow passage a great iron bar about eight or ten inches above
the water. A little farther on, and two or three feet above the
water, another iron bar extended from one rocky wall to the
other. Without uttering a word I examined the lower bar, and
found one end of it fastened by means of a huge padlock to a
great staple driven into the rock. The lock was securely wrapped
in what appeared to be tarred canvas. A staple through an eye-
hole in the bar secured the other end of it to the rocks.
« These bars were put here,” I exclaimed, "to keep out boats,
whether at high or low water. You see they can only be thrown
out of the way by taking off the padlocks. ”
“They won't keep us out,” said Mrs. Lecks, "for we can duck
under. I suppose whoever put 'em here didn't expect anybody
to arrive on life-preservers. ”
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14013
ELIZABETH BARSTOW STODDARD
(1823-)
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LIZABETH BARSTOW, the wife of Richard Henry Stoddard, was
born in Massachusetts, May 6th, 1823. She was married to
the poet in 1851; and a few years later began to write sto-
ries and poems so intense and individual, that though anonymous
they were recognized at once as the work of a new writer. The
Morgesons' appeared in 1862, “Two Men'in 1865, and Temple House'
in 1867, a new edition being issued in 1888.
In advance of her time by a generation, Mrs. Stoddard belongs
to the school of Maeterlinck and Ibsen rather than to the romantic
period of fiction of the day in which she wrote. Whether she records
humble life in a New England village, as in “Two Men'; or the story
of an ancestral mansion in an American seaport town, as in “Temple
House”; or the history of a “queer” family, as in “The Morgesons,'-
her work is metaphysical like Ibsen's. Her men and women repro-
duce types not infrequently found in forgotten New England towns.
They are strong self-centred characters, in whom an active intellect
and intense nervous energy, compressed by narrow surroundings, pro-
duce numberless idiosyncrasies. In their moral isolation, they are
still grim Puritans in everything but creed. Mrs. Stoddard draws
them with a wonderful comprehension of the hidden springs of their
action. Like Ibsen, she exemplifies life and illustrates her dramatic
force in breathless tragic episodes.
It is true, however, that before she is a dramatist, she is a psy-
chologist: a sphinx sitting on the stony way to the temple, and
looking with unquestioning eyes into life's problem. That method of
suggestion which is our latest fashion in literature, Mrs. Stoddard
used when it was not a fashion, but a form of reticence. There are
descriptions in her novels cut with a chisel; others in which nature
is used as a background to scenes of intense thought, in moments
of outward stillness. She was a realist before the word had been
defined. She dwells in shadows as grim as those of Wuthering
Heights,' in an atmosphere so dense that we see the movements of
her characters as through a thick glass screen; but each person, each
scene, is touched with a gleam of poetic light.
It is as a poet, perhaps, that she has gained her highest fame;
though no book of the time, according to the great English critic,
## p. 14014 (#200) ##########################################
14014
ELIZABETH BARSTOW STODDARD
Mr. Leslie Stephen, is more remarkable than her (Temple House. '
Mrs. Stoddard has been writing and publishing poems since her girl-
hood, but they were not collected until 1896. In them is reflected
the spirit of her fiction, the tragic atmosphere with which her novels
are surcharged. Burning with intensity, if a spirit so hopeless may
be said to burn, these strange, reserved, yet passionately regretful
lyrics have for their theme the pain of quiet endurance, the disap-
pointment of an ardent fancy, and the sorrow of an unsatisfied heart.
Those written in early youth might have been penned by Maeterlinck,
— tragical, musical, introspective; Stoddard himself might have taught
her the ringing, forcible strains in The House by the Sea, or in
(Xanthos) and Achilles,' — poems in blank verse, sonorous, dignified,
individual. The highest expression of her poetic gift is found per-
haps in short poems, like Mercedes,' where passion, sullen, deep, and
pitiless, veils itself in tropical beauty.
In both her poems and her novels is reflected her sense of the
beauty and aloofness of nature; of the dusty answers to the clam-
ors of impetuous human souls.
-
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THE GREAT GALE
M
From «Temple House. Copyright 1888, by 0. M. Dunham. Published by the
Cassell Publishing Company
AT SUTCLIFFE announced to Argus one morning that spring
had come. The ice on the shores and inside the bay was
giving way. And he asked Argus if gales were not to be
looked for? They compared notes about the weather, and con-
cluded to look for southerly storms.
The weather softened so that very day that Tempe threw
aside her shawl, and Roxalana made the tour of all the rooms,
and by way of a walk went up to the attic to look over the
fields and bay. She remarked to Argus, on coming down, that
she had never seen the White Flat so plainly: it appeared to be
stretching across the harbor's mouth.
« The ice made it look so, probably,” he replied.
The snow around the house began to melt, and in the still-
ness they heard the water trickling everywhere.
“Soon,” said Roxalana, the buds will begin to swell. ”
At sunset the atmosphere was spongy and rotten. Masses of
vapor rolled up from the south, extinguishing a pale brassy band
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## p. 14015 (#201) ##########################################
ELIZABETH BARSTOW STODDARD
14015
were
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of light in the west; and a strange wind rose in the upper air,
and closed with night.
Early in the evening Argus shook the iron bars of the shut-
ters on the harbor side, and fastened them; he foresaw the storm,
and would have shut out its fury for Roxalana's sake, who ap-
peared perturbed and melancholy, as if disasters at sea
threatened.
“The wind must be rising,” she said, holding up her hand:
"I feel streams of air from everywhere. The candles flare; but
I don't hear the surf. ”
« You will hear it presently,” he replied.
“I don't care if it blows half the town down,” said Tempe.
« Don't spare the other half: let the whole go, and be damned,
if you wish so,” he answered.
A tremendous hiss passed through the crevices of the outer
doors, which was met by a roar in the chimney. An irruption
of white flaky ashes followed and covered the hearth. Next, the
roof and walls of the house were taken as a coign of vantage by
the shrieking wind to hang out its viewless banners, which shiv-
ered, flapped, and tore to tatters in raging impotence.
“We must put out this fire, Argus,” said Roxalana, or we
shall be on fire inside the house. "
“Better put yourselves in bed: I will take care of the fire. ”
Acting upon this suggestion, they left him alone. A short
time afterwards 'he went out on the lawn. The dull thunder of
the surf now broke so furiously on the bar 'that the ground be-
neath his feet reverberated.
« The bay is champing its jaws on that devilish White Flat,
and any sail coming this way is lost. ”
Looking overhead, he discovered in the milky darkness of the
obscured moon deep vague rifts in the sky, like the chasm in
Orion. The frenzied, overdriven spirits of the storm took refuge
in the piling, tumbling folds of the clouds, which hovered over
and fell into the abyss. While he stood there, the elms bowed
from bole to topmost bough, and brushed his face as if they paid
him homage. No sound came from the town side; he could not
see a single light. Opposite the lawn, King's Hill reared its black
summit; from thence, if he climbed, he could obtain a view of
the wailing, howling bay, and - perchance of some vessel seek-
ing harbor. He preferred to go back and shut himself up in the
house.
## p. 14016 (#202) ##########################################
14016
ELIZABETH BARSTOW STODDARD
can be.
Though the storm raged the next morning as storm had not
raged for years, Argus remained in the green room, and pored
over the book of plays, so well remembered by Virginia. About
noon Mat Sutcliffe burst in, with his tarpaulin jammed over his
head, and carrying an immense spy-glass in a canvas case. His
tidings did not astonish Argus. A vessel putting into the bay
the night before had dragged her anchors and struck on the
White Flat; her flag was flying from the rigging, and there were
men there: it being low water when she struck, her quarter-deck
might afford temporary safety, provided the cold did not increase
and freeze the crew to death.
« What is the town doing, Mat ? ” asked Roxalana.
"A great many people are out doing nothing. They are
on the wharves, on the top of King's Hill, the hair blowing off
their heads; and I believe there's a gang along-shore some-
where,” he replied.
«No boat can live if put out,” said Argus. « How low down
the bar did the vessel drive on ? »
“As near to Bass Headland as
If the wind would
chop round, somebody might get out there. ”
"So the sailors must drown,” cried Tempe, notwithstanding
she had put her fingers in her ears, not to hear. “I'll shut my-
self up in the cellar till it is all over. ”
“I thought,” continued Mat, looking hard at Argus, it might
be best to look at the shingle below here: the ice is about gone
there. If we could start under the lee of Bass Headland, a boat
might slant -->
Argus gave such a shrug and grimace that Mat suddenly
stopped, and without another word abruptly left the room.
"Argus,” said Roxalana with great composure, “I shall not
get you a mouthful of dinner to-day. ”
“I trust you will consent to do your share in disposing of the
poor corpses,” added Tempe sharply.
For reply, Argus rose, book in hand, opened the shutter of
the window towards the quay, sat down by it, and went on with
his comedy.
Tempe telegraphed to her mother her opinion that he was a
beast of an uncle; and even Roxalana was moved to eye him with
a mild, doubting severity.
But he was on the alert. When he heard drops of rain splash
on the window ledge, he shut his fingers in his book, and looked
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## p. 14017 (#203) ##########################################
ELIZABETH BARSTOW STODDARD
14017
»
into the fire. A shower came down, which was neither hail nor
snow,
but warm rain. He started up, stretched his arms like
one who had long been cramped and weary, and sat down again
with an indifferent air, and opened his book.
Roxalana came in from the kitchen, and said that the vane
on the summer-house had veered slightly, and there was less
noise from the wind.
«The gale is moderating, luckily. ”
Something in his tone struck her. She raised her eyes to his,
and he smiled ironically; it made her feel like asking his pardon.
“Can I have any dinner ? ” he asked.
« I think so: what shall it be ? »
“Brandy and cigars. ”
She disappeared.
Mat came in late in the afternoon, with as little ceremony as
before, and said roughly to Argus, “You are wanted. ”
"I won't go. ”
Captain, if we don't get across within twelve hours, every
soul on board that vessel now will be in hell. ”
"I supposed so. ”
«She's bilged, and the White Flat begins to hug her. It's
flood tide, and the waves must be washing the main deck: a few
hours of that work will settle their hash. ”
«What's doing with the life-boat ? »
« The loons have tried to launch her; but there's something
wrong, and they are trying to tinker her up. The will of folks
is good enough, but they can't get out there, - that's the long
and short on't. Bill Bayley swore he'd go out alone: his cock-
boat swamped first thing, and they had to throw him a rope.
He swore at the man who threw it, - at the boat, at the bay,
the wreck, and the Almighty,- and then he cried. I never liked
Bill so well. ”
Mat spit into the fire furiously, and stumped round the room,
a shoe on one foot and a boot on the other, his trousers settling
over his hips in spite of his tight leather belt. He was growing
frantic with excitement.
Argus laughed.
Mat made an energetic, beseeching motion towards the door;
he would have put up his soul for sale for the sake of seeing
Argus move with the intention he wished to inspire him with.
XXIV—877
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## p. 14018 (#204) ##########################################
14018
ELIZABETH BARSTOW STODDARD
)
»
Argus turned back his sleeves, baring a snow-white wrist, and
abstractedly felt his pulse and the muscles of his arms.
“Push ahead," he said.
"Aye, aye, sir,” Mat shouted, turning very pale, and lurching
towards the door.
Stop: where is Roxalana ? »
« Roxalana! ” Mat shouted.
“What is it, Mat? ” she answered, coming with a bottle.
"Yes; give us a dram, old girl,"continued Mat, utterly
,
oblivious of the proprieties.
Argus laughed again, and asked for his mackintosh.
“Now then,” said Mat, having swallowed nearly a tumbler of
brandy. Argus drank a little, and poured the rest of the bottle
into a flask which he buttoned inside his coat. Tempe ran down
to the door as they passed out, and Argus looking back called
out:
“Where is your crape veil, Tempe ? ”
“Where the courage of Kent is,- shut up in a bandbox,”
she answered.
Roxalana, after gazing at her a moment, took her by the
arm and dragged her into the green room.
“I believe,” she said, in a breathless undertone, “that you
are possessed sometimes. Do you know that your uncle Argus
may have gone for his shroud ? »
« Was that why he inquired for the veil ? ”
« Could you choose no other moment to express your insensi-
bility? Are you never to be anything but a child ? »
“Mother, you must be crazy. You don't mean to say that
you are going to protest against the Gates character,- as I rep-
resent it ? »
Roxalana said no more, but went her way, feeling a painful
excitement. She replenished the fires, hung kettles of water
over them, collected blankets, cordials, and liquors, and then went
to the kitchen to bake bread.
Twilight brought Mary Sutcliffe and her youngest boys.
Dumping them in a corner of the kitchen as if they were sacks,
and threatening them with a whipping if they moved, she rolled
up her sleeves, and said that she thought the fathers of families
had better stay at home, instead of risking themselves to save
nobody knew who. Another boat had started since Mat had got
(
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## p. 14019 (#205) ##########################################
· ELIZABETH BARSTOW STODDARD
14019
under way, and she guessed the wreck would turn out to be
a great cry and little wool: she did not think there would be
much drowning this time. She wondered if the good folks in
Kent had stirred themselves,— your religious Drakes, and your
pious Brandes, and the rest of the church.
"Hold your tongue, Mary Sutcliffe,” ordered Tempe.
Then Mary whim pered, sobbed, and shrieked, declaring she
had known all along she should never set eyes on Mat Sutcliffe
again, who was well enough, considering what he was. And who
else would have done what he was doing ? and she gloried in his
spunk. Drying her eyes with her fat hands, and shaking out her
apron, she begged Roxalana to let her make the bread, and put
the house to rights,- in case there were bodies coming in.
"Do, Mrs. Gates,” she pleaded. "I feel as strong as a giant
to-night: I can wrestle with any amount of work. '
"If you will stop whining, Mary, I will accept your services:
for to tell the truth, my head is not very clear just now; I am
afraid I may spoil something. "
"Likely as not,” replied Mary: "go right into your sitting-
room, sit down in your own chair, and you'll come to. It won't
do for you, of all persons, to be upset, Mrs. Gates.
