THE STTXDAT OREGOXIAX, PORTLATfD, MAT 22, 1921
7T Tv irr
tlehiRg Wilson
UJ-
Jl ML.
w T THEN Martin Hubbard's nam
11 was announced as master o
tbe fast and comfortable line
Enterprise, Samuel Garfinkle removed
a small, neatly taped packet of pa
pers from a pigeonhole in his desk
and locked it op In the small steel
box ha always carried with him on
busjness trips.
"Why," I protested, "do you load
yourself- down with the dull record
of a perfectly honest, capable and
successful seaman? The Enterprise
is a worthy vessel. Hubbard never
bad an accident. ' Tour busiifess lies
only with the sinister side of ship
ping'. Yet here the papers tell ui
Hubbard has got promotion and you
dig up his story and pack your k't
and prepare to be off. Surely, you
have nothing against Hubbard?"
Garfinkle smiled faintly. "Did you
ever bear tfiat old classic about the
man who lay awake for hours waiting
for the lodger npstairs to drop his
other shoe?" .
Did er Martin Tlubbard drop a
hoe?" I asked with some hesitation.
"Have you been waiting all this tme
to catch him a second time?"
"I never lie awake I over such
things," Garfinkle responded tartly
"It's Captain Hubbard who's been
listening all these years." ,
He looked at the locked box a mo
ment, then seized tt and opened 1..
He removed the packet of papers ac
had just stowed away, untaped it, and
spread the documents carefully on hi
desk. He chose one and handed it to
me.
"That was my first notice of the ex
istence of Martin Hubbard." Garfinkle
murmured. I read the letter, which
was signed by the then head of a
large line long forgotten. It ran:
San Francisco, 17 th April, 1901,
Capt S. Garfinkle.
Supt Bureau Marine Investigations
Dear Sir:
For eight months our SS. Vulture
has been under command of Captain
Martin Hubbard running as regularly
as possible between this port and the
Columbia river.
We note that Captain Hubbard her
twice insisted upon the discharge o!
mates. In both instances the mat?s,
men of good reputation, have report
ed sighting a small boat adrift with
a body or bodies in it off, the bell
buoy near Pt Reyes. Captain 'Hub
bard denies that he has ever, while
command of the Vulture, sighted such
small boats nor has he at any time
omitted to report anything in that
nature that has come under bis ob
servation.
Mr. Z. Taine, at present mate of the
Vulture, has secretly reported to U3
that on the last voyage of the S3.
Vulture. No. S4, at 4 A. M-, weather
thick, sky overcast, with a heavy sei
running, a whaleboat appeared out
of the mist and hailed the Vulture
Captain Hubbard, who had come to
the -bridge at 1:30 A. M., and who
had been apparently anxious, refuse.
tJ acknowledge seeing this small
boat and kept his course.
In view of these facts, and of our
desire to retain Captain Hubbard in
our employ, we beg to submit tin
matter to you for a report in due
course. .
Tours, &c, 4c. .
I laid the letter down and said
sharply. "No man that I know-ever
accused Martin Hubbard of turning
aside from the plain duty of ever?
seaman to rescue those perishing on
deep waters." ,
Garfinkle nodded. "I Investigated
the matter and made my report
which is here add which I'll sum
marize. I need not ' say that the
owners of the Vulture retained Cap
tain Hubbard as master. But on my
advice they gave him another run."
"And he saved Mis money, earned
further promotion, got into the pas
senger trade, and now has the En
terprise," I remarked.
My friend was silent Presently
I went on.
"But how did you explain the mat
ter of those three different boats
adrift off Pt. Reyes which Hubbard
wore he didn't see?"
"I didn't explain 'em," Garfinkle
returned quietly. "I found both the
mates who had been discharged and
got their stories. They were utrly
preyuBLcruus, uivreuiuie ana ine men
were ashamed themselves when they
repeated . them. But Taine s was
exactly similar. I gathered one point
IV . . . . . ' , ' . i I
liWIII
.wvviiia.viiv. I
. . - . ;- 5 .,X y.j rW:.'-fe.V
" .ViS,-.-; SS-S-;SMfcit.iKiVf f V
"Os all three occasions tbe solitary llvlnc person in the boat rose and called shrilly a name.
from these recitals and briefly It is
this: On all three occasions the soli
tary living person In the boat rose
and called shrilly a name which was
variously given me by tbe three men
as Luke Ashmun, Lute Ashton and
Lucy Ashton. In each case the Vul
ture kept her course under Hub
bard's direction and the boat each
time disappeared in the mist astern
The exact location of the incident
was the same on every occasion-
some eight miles off Pt. Reyes. The
weather was always the same
heavy sea, light wind and thick." v
"Tou asked Hubbard about it?"
Insisted.
Garfinkle frowned. "Not yet.
found out a little that made me un
derstand he would deny the matter
strongly. So I simply filed it and
waited." He paused and stared at
me with a profound and meaning
look. "I knew that some day again
Hubbard would catch sight of a small
boat adrift. The other shoe will drop.
Because I must avert a disaster to the
Enterprise, and because I can trust
yon -and need your help, I'm" telling
you what no other man besides my
self knows. . I nor any other man
knows all of Martin Hubbard's se
creL But I know enough of bis to
put two and two together and it
makes four." - - .
"Four what?" I demanded.
"Four men."
"You and I and Hubbard and
f nd ?"
Garfinkle picked another paper
from the rat spread on the desk and
handed it to me. It was a clipping
from tbe Duncan's Mills News, dated
March, 189. It read:
"On-Thursday of this week the body
of the young woman which was
washed op on the beach on Tuesday
was buried by benevolent citizens.
Nothing could be ascertained about
her history, and her identity is still
a mystery. Deputy Sheriff Henley
reported that the clew of the check
found in her pocket had led to noth
ing. It was apparently drawn to the
order of Th. Howard and Indorsed by
him to L. Ashton. So this tragedy of
the sea adds one more to the In
soluble mysteries of the Pacific"
"Tou Identify this unknown girl,
then, as the Aston, Ashmun or Ash
ton reported by the three mates of
the Vulture," I remarked. "But who
the dickens fwas this Th. Howard?" .
Garfinkle. drew out a little bit of
paper neatly written over In his own
handwriting. Consulting it, 'he said:
"In May, 1901, on the night of the
26th, I was smoking my pipe In the
after smoking room of the Mail liner
City of Pekin when a young man 1
took to be a seaman , entered (there
was no one else there), banded me a
letter, and asked me to post It for
him in Hongkong. He explained that
he was leaving the City of Pekin at
Yokohama. His name was Theodore
Howard. The letter was addressed
to Martin Hubbard. From the man's
manner l saw that be was much
overwrought. I ordered the steward
to give him a drink. But I gained
nothing except a casual remark from
this Theodore. Howard that 'some day
Mart Hubbard would stop.' I mailed
the letter and took occasion long
after to ask Captain Hubbard in a
perfectly matter of fact way whether
he had ever known a seaman named
Howard Theodore Howard. He de
Died that he had. Later he returned
to the subject and asked me. In turn,
what I knew about Theodbre How
ard. Naturally I knew nothing, and
said so."
"Well?" I suggested
Garfinkle pressed a button and his
factotum, the excellent and discreet
Henry, appeared.
"Bring me the last report of the
tug Gleaner," Garfinkle ordered.
This brought, my friend thrust it
under my nose, and I read a long
crew list, some memoranda -about
stores, and. looked up-In bewilder
ment. Garfinkle- frowned and laid
his finger tip on the first Item he
wished me to see:
"Th. Howard, master."
"All right." I admitted. "Suppose
such to be the case and the two men
Identical. Here we have the man who
Indorsed the .check, aver to the girl,
Lucy Aston, and who afterward wrote
a letter to Martin : Hubbard, which
you p'oste-d in Hongkong. He is skip
'per of the rotten old tug Gleaner.
Hubbard is commander of the big
liner Enterprise. Nearly a score of
years are past; what's the answer?"
Garfinkle pointed out another Hem:
.' ."Stores supplied tug Gleaner by M.
T. P. Coy: 330 fathom 3 stud ca
ble, 118 tons."
"God heavens!" I murmured. "What
can a steam schooner like tbe Gleaner
want, of an anchor chain cable that
would bold a superdreadnaught in a
gale of wind?"
"That's your end of It," Garfinkle
returnedr-and summoned Henry again.
He gave his orders curtly: "I'm
away for 40 days and 40 nights.
Henry. If you want me wireless me
the steamship Enterprise, first cabin.
I sail for Honolulu on the Sonoma at
noon tomorrow. . I Join the Enterprise
as a passenger 10 days hence. The
Enterprise is due in San Francisco
six days thereafter."
"That," said the capable Henry, "ac
counts for 17 days. Where shall you
be the other 237'
Garfinkle rose. "That is what pus
sies me, he remarked. He turned to
me. "Please go down to Oakland
leng wharf, where the - Gleaner is
loading cement for Astoria. Captain
"Howard needs a mate. Sign on with
him for the voyage and stay with
Mm till you hear from me."
"What If he won't have me?"
Garfinkle shook- his head reprov
ingly. "If you are as wise as I think
you are you will convince him that
you are a first chop tugboat man.
You have good papers and plenty of
experience. . While the v fact is un
announced and -you will not. allow
him to suspect that you have any
Inkling of if. I have good reason to
believe that Howard is going to tackle
a big job where such a man as (you
will represent yourself to be would
be extremely valuable. Besides, you
are an utter stranger to him which
Is so much the better."
"But if he doesn't want me."
Garfinkle stopped In his prepara
tions to leave and met my eyes
squarely.
'Just let drop that you were quar
termaster with Hubbard some' years
ago. Don't be specific."
I left his office puzzling heartily
over the intrigue that seemed ripen
Ing about the Enterprise. With all
the facts that Garfinkle had supplied
me with I made little of it. I had
long since learned that my frlen
worked- slowly until he had made all
possible deductions from his painfully
gathered data. Then he acted with
a swiftness which none could follow
until the event Made the affair clea
as water. But what he would ever
make of that far-away drowned girl,
the. mystery of three boats adrift a
long intervals in the same spot, th
calling out three times of a nam
which was still in doubt, a half sug
gested feud between Martin Hubbard
and Theodore Howard, and 330 fathom
of huge chain . cable on a steam
schooner-tug baffled me. The gist of
IL was he suspected peril to the En
terprise and her passengers and cargo
and was bent on averting It. But
how? Where? When?
I gave the problem up, and went to
Oakland and sought the Gleaner.
found her lying in the shoals on the
west side of the long -wharf. A small
force of stevedores were loading
cement into her half empty hold.
cursory glance told me that when all
the barrels in sight had been put
aboard their steam schooner would be
less than half laden. I went on board
and discovered Howard in his little
cabin aft under the bridge.
Garfinkle's talk had built up for me
a mental picture of a Theodore Ho-.v-
Bffd who was a patient, tireless, vigil
ant, single-minded seeker of revenge.
The Captain Howard who received
me was a middle-aged seaman of mild
and worried expression; a little awk
ward in bis movements, ungainly of
figure, and sparing of speech. As he
sat in the cramped room and studied
my credentials he gave me the im
pression of beiirg fatigued by the end
less endeavor to make profit out oi
petty voyages. There was nothing
large about him; nothing dashing nor
imaginative. He frowned pver me like
an old woman confronted with a bar
gain In an article badly needed and
ill-afforded. He questioned me about
my experience, about my knowledge
of handling cargo. He suggested that
the Gleaner was small, unhandy and
difficult "An unsatisfactory kind of
ship" was his expression.
While I thought over all that Gar
finkle had suggested about this man
I answered, his questions, professed
my competence, and signified my will:
ingness to put up with his ship. At
last Howard pushed my papers back
to me.
I need a mate, mister," he said.
and tbe compact was made.
The rest of the day I spent getting
acquainted with the steam schooner.
She was fitted with little that was
modern, and was, in factrone of tiie
old-fashioned craft constructed to
carry cargo up and down the coast
on the least possible draft -and with
the least possible expenditure of coal.
I judged her gait to be about eight
knots an hour, and fancied that
against a heavy nor'wester she would
do well to keep steerage- way. She
was dirty, also, as old ships get for
lack of paint and minor repairs. Bat
for all her commonplaces she had one
astonishing feature; a modern towing
machine Installed aft, where the su
perstructure had been cut away. A
new and very heavy wire hawser com
pleted this outfit.
It struck me, "Where is that chain
cable?"
I found it stowed In No. 2 bold.
No man of womanlike feeling can
look at a huge anchor cable without
profound interest It is so unbeliev
ably tremendous. Each link weighs
so much, Is so carefully forged. From
shackle to shackle it is marked with
the hieroglyphics of workmen who
warrant their 'Job, who offer their
honor in pledge of the Integrity of
their handiwork. It represents the
ultimate of human faithfulness and
material endurance, strength and loy
alty. I looked up to find Howard gloom
ily watching me. I remarked on the
oddity of seeing such a cable on the
Gleaner, and he told me soberly that
it was consigned to a firm in Astoria, j
"It's second hand," he went on
devil of a job It was to stow It'
"Since when are they building
dreadnauerhts in the Columbia?'
asked, with an attempt to be humor
ous.
"Freight is what pays the bills of
tnis pacKet, mister.
So we sailed for the north on what
was to prove the final episode In the
dread history of Theodore Howard.
It was the beginning of the-northwest
weather, and the old steam schooner
bucked the driving seas day long with
dogged and almost futile persistence
As we gained northing the air grew
chiller and the gale fresher. Off
Heceta Head we came to a standstill.
and Howard cursed. It was my first
glimpse of the smoldering fires that
ate at his vitals.
"One must expect this kind of slant
this time of year," I reminded him.
"One never gets over hoping for
better luck," he confessed, sobering
instantly. He slumped down on the
rail. "I've never found luck on my
side," he said In an altered tone. "A
man gets sick of it." .
Later he remarked: 1 "I've - always
missed things by an hour. Only by
an hour! Now, if a man is a day late.
or a week out of his reckoning, he
can't blame himself so much. But an
hour hell Is full of men an hour
late!"
That reminds me "of the etory of
Cap'n Hall," I remarked, with very
intent to divert his mind. "You re
member "
Howard's fingers dug into my arm
and his furious face was thrust close
to mine.
"Remember?" he shouted. "I do
nothing but remember It!" And he
flung away and went below. '
Later he came up and muttered
an apology.
'The truth Is, I have a little scheme
on to make some good money," he
told me. "I don't make much on this
craft, owning her as I do."
Mentally I said, "And you paid
(25,000 for' a chain cable which you
try to make me believe is freight for
Astoria." Aloud I responded, "I hope
this won't interfere, air."
There's an eight-hundred foot log
raft lying in the Columbia waiting
for some vessel to tow it down south,
he went on, "Everybody steers clear
of the Job. Thejte's thirty thousand
In it for the mr who can manage It'
I laughed. Garfinkle's carefully de
tected plot simmered down to nothing
at all; the Gleaner was going on a
perfectly legitimate errand, which
might use even that enormous chain
cable. Howard had invested heavily
on the chance of getting the job that
other and more careful owners had
shied at' I felt a sudden relief from
strain. - '
"Can the Gleaner handle one of
those rafts?" I asked, and promptly
added, "We can try, at all events."
If we get there in time!" he ans
wered. He went on to explain that
the raft, which was eight hundred
feet long and drew thirty-six feet
of water, had been bar bound against
rising market for logs for a month.
Those scary skippers and timid
owners are letting the money lie.
They won't ante," he told me. "I
reckoned I'd just bet a little -anil
draw cards for the pot"
We discussed the matter during the
next two days, and called tbe chief
engineer up to have his opinion. He
pooh-poohed us both, and signified
that he would quit rather than risk
weak engines and , untrustworthy
boilers on such a job. '"Better found
steamships have beenjosf trying It,"
he concluded. .
"No help there," I told Howard.
' He shut his lips in a grim line.
"Tou stick, mister! We'll show 'em!"
We arrived in tbe Columbia over a
dirty bar and entered at Astoria. The
log. raft was still there, lying at
anchor below the Mfddle Sands, and
(we were actually Informed) likely
to go permanently aground any hour.
"That makes It the bettTrfor us."
Howard said with hardly repressed
glee. "Those log raft owners will
jump at my offer."
To make a long story short, Howard
toward the leaden skies. I was at ray
wits' ends. We were nearing the
crowded channel off Point Reyes and
the weather was growing worse.
The Gleaner was steadily steaming
ahead though her seams were opening.
her boilers leaking and the engineer
desperate. But something loyal and
faithful kept us at our work. After
all (we told each other) Howard had
toiled for years without much recom
pense. Now a fortune was within h's
grasp. To land the great raft inside
the Golden Gate would be a triumph
indeed. In which we 6hould have our
share. That he was demented waj
true, but it was a temporary crass
Induced by sleeplessness, worry and
strain. And the Gleaner drove slowly
on Into the misty, veiled waters
where the tides take hold among the
reefs and shoals that guard the Golden
Gate.
Within 20 hours of our goal Howard
rang the machines to stand- still and
ordered me to go aboard the raft and
shackle the lengths of the cable up
and pay it out after making fast to
the great chain filings that held the
logs Into a compact cigar-shaped
bulk. He gave me a perfectly Reason
able explanation: the Gleaner must
go on to port for fuel. We would
leave the raft to drift slowly to the
drag of this tremendous chain and be
back to pick it up before It could
have got into ehoal water.
"We're a good 30 miles off any pos
sible trouble," he told me. "We can
be back here Inside eight hours."
. I, of course, obeyed him and spent
the remainder of a dark misty day on
my nauseating toll. When I had fin.
lshed I came back to the Gleaner.
Howard promptly hauled in the haw
ser, stowed it and steamed for San
Francisco. We procured fuel, and
.n h.ev at our place by 8 of a
rainy morning. I expected to be in
stantly set tj get in the chain cable
and uass the hawser. Instead How-,
ard ordered me to lay off the raft.and
keen a (rood lookout
, That nisrht the chief englnee
glanced up at me with an odd embar
rassment and remarked:
"Between tou and me, mister.
hate Win out here. We're right In
the road of all the craft dropping In
from the oDen sea and they don t ex
pect to have an 800-foot combination
rock, reef and Island in tneir pain,
Besides., it's thick as wool out here.
Why doesn't the old man ramble on
in and collect the 140,0007'
"I don't know, chief." I tried to
reassure him. "Anyway, I guess no
ships are coming along this way to
night
The Enterprise Is due to berth. at
In each case the Vulture kep 1 her course."
closed the deal wlthin six hours. The
owners of the raft were desperate.
The bar at the mouth of the Columbia 8 in the morning." the engineer re
nau oeeu roueu lur two weeKS.. loe I gpuuueu.
two steamers they had engaged to
do the towing had waited, given no
tice, and departed. Any day the bar
might smooth sufficiently for, the raft
to go to sea but there was no vessel
available to take hold of It Howard
signed a contract to tow the huge, un
wieldy affair to a -point inside the
Golden Gate for forty thousand dol
lars.
Within an hour North Head report
ed a smooth bar. Howard fairly tore
the Gleaner from her berth and down
the river to the raft. Within six
hours we hq.d jt fast on the end of
our hawser and at sundown we were
heading into the setting sufi.
"When we get outside it's all "plain
sailing," Howard exulted. "The
nor'easter will simply blow us down
at six knots per hour."
It jlidn't do quite so well, but we
made good time, though the Gleaner
labored heavily and began to give way
in weak spots as an old ship, will. I:
was too much for her strength. But
Howard hung grimly on and listened
But she won't come anywhere near
us," I returned. "She's from Hono
lulu and will go south of us."
The chief shook hl head.
"You know Martin Hubbard? He's
always made Point. feeyea and he'll
make It till his dying day. And how
ard ha3 strung this raft right across
the Dath.
From some far distance a faint
blast told us of a vessel feeling her
way inward. I jumped up and sought
Howard. I found him In his cabin.
seated before bis desk, writing stead
IIv under a shaded lamp. I had to
call to him before he looked up.
nut the case to him. He laughed.
"I reckon the sea Is free," he said.
"We've got our lights going and I
hardly believe any man of experience
is going to Jam his ship on that raft
By this time my fears were alive.
"We really have no excuse for lying
here," I malntained."-
Howard lifted his voice shrilly.
"And who are you to advise your com
mander' to proceed during a heavy
to no complaints or arguments. And lS and mist witn a tow anoiow
over nair a mue ions: yyuuu u
on the sixth day after leaving Astoria
we wallowed past Mendocino and into
the smoother stretches of the Califor
nia coast.
"We ought to make the Golden Gate
In thrpfl mnrA Aavx." T told Hnwlr '
We hnth turned, and stared back ? In through the open port the bellow
the huge, low bulk that followed -u of the Invisible vessel nosing her
it lav nv lone- iiinnd awash to I way through the fog. And Howard'B
every breaker, smothered in foam and eyes lit with a fire that startled me.
unrav hut atenrtllv miriHnnr innthwcrl I He laughed. lOOKed at me
to the pull of our hawser.
-"We better get that anchor chain
cable over there," my commander said
suddenly.
I looked at him in amazement To
tell the truth, I bail forgot that odd
part of our equipment And the need
for It, if there could be imagined any
need, was past Inside three days ws
would have our tow in port. It Is sel
dom rough In late May off the central
California coast. And (to tell the
truth) if this enormous cable were to
be used it should have been got or.
the raft before we left the Columbia
All my suspicions were roused
again. But Howard was adamant to
my representations. The Gleaner and
her tow floated motionless. We began
the killing labor of breaking the
cable, length by length, out of the
hold and hauling, it to the' raft on a
traveler which ran along the wir
hawser which the Gleaner kept taut.
blamed if anything happened? Here
we lie, snug, all lit up like a church
and no man but a fool could nflss our
signals. Only a fool could hit us."
The moisture-laden breexe brought
trium
phantly, and then recovered his usual
mild, worried expression and the atti
tude of a skipper discouraged by the
steady force of circumstances.
"It's $40,000 In my pocket, mister,-
he mumbled.
"I'll bet Martin Hubbard would
give twice that to be sure noboay
was waiting for him off Point Reyes,"
I retorted.
Howard reached a shaking hand
for the pipe on his desk, filled it fum
blingly, and lit It. Through a cloud
of emoke he said:
"Wha'd" you know of Hubbard!
Anil wha'a the Enterprise doing In
these waters?"
I recalled Garfinkle's warning ana
said: "Oh, I was quartermaster win
that craxy loon once in tne oia aays.
He was always seeing things around
Point Reyes.'
Howard swayed In his chair.' "And
wha'd Martin Hubbard see?" he said
rush of twin propellorsv reversed out
In the Impenetrable darkness.
"The Enterprise," I said.
"Yes," said the second. "I knew
her siren the first go-oft. I hope she
clears that raft!"
But another sound caught my ears.
I leaned over the rail and saw How.
ard lowering rur dinghy single
handed. I dropped Into the sea, was
hove off on a great roller and toward
the unseen steamer. I was dumb
with bewilderment Then another
terrific blast of sound swept over me,
and I raised my eyes to see the vague
shape of the Enterprise moving out
of the misty darkness, all alight from
water-line to bridge, edging slowly
through the murk." An instant's cal
culation told me she would success
fully clear the raft that lay hidden to
leeward of us if she held the course
she was on . . . she would clear
it by scant yards. . . And right in
her course tossed our dinghy with
Theodore Howard standing up In It
shrouded with a- gray coat, a cap over
his ear. I reached to blow our
whistle again. - The second mate
grasped my arm.
"She sees us!" he whispered. "Shell
go clear!"
But at that Instant a harsh, faint
and plangent voice rouse from between
us and thi great passenger ship. It
pierced the distances with Us melan
choly wall:
"Lucy Aston! Lucy Aston:"
It seems a If silence fell on both
steamers. The cry rose once more,
sobblngly. "Lucy Aston! Lucy Aston!
Lucy Aston!" leapt an octave, and
stopped the breath In my throat with
Its queer, tremulous: "Martin Hub
bard! Martin! Martin loverl"
"By thunder, that's a girl in that
boat calling!" the second mate
gasped.
But from the lofty bridge of the
Enterprise, came the roar ofan order:
"Hard a-port! Hard a-port!"
Followed the clang of englneroom
telegraphs and the sudden rumble of
screws taking hold. The Enterprise
began to sheer off. Slowly her bows
pointed towards the Invisible raft as
she gathered way. The man beside
me shook a frenzied fist at her.
"She" strike and go down like a
stone with all those people!" he
moaned. s
But another voice rose on the
liner's bridge and. I knew that Samuel
Garfinkle had taken charge. Amd
the clanging of gongs and shouts' of
orders the big ship drew back again,
inch by inch, till she was In the clear.
As she floated motionless at last
agleam with lights and resounding to
subdued voices, the small boat drifted
up shadowlike from the mlst-velled
water and a ghostly voice rose, and
cried In a long-drawn wall:
"Martin Hubbard! Martin Hub
bard! Martin lo'verl Come and be
with Lucy Aston!" '
The small boat had now drifted
almost under the Enterprise's huge
breast. Its vlgue occupant seemed
to stretch out gaunt arms. The
voice died away slowly in the eddy
ing fog, now and then coming back
in a faint echo: VMartln ...
Lucy Aston . . . lover "...
There was a scuffle on the bridge
of tbe liner and a figure leaped from
its rail to the sea. At the same In
stant the great steamer lurched deeply
over to tbe thrust of a roller and
burled the small boat with a faint"
almost Imperceptible snap of break
ing wood. I heard Garfinkle's note
hailing me. A searchlight laid Its
finger out through the swirling mist
upon , the raft that lay amid tbe
breaking seas to leeward. Somewhere
among the huddled passengers on the
Enterprise a woman began to sob.
I threw our own light on the Inter
val of sea between the liner and the
steam schooner. It was empty, ex
cept for a few staves floating on the
shoulder of a wave. Martin Hubbard
and Theodore Howard had cast their
last reckoning.
Three weeks later Samuel Garfinkle
showed me a cutting from the Dun
can s Mills News.
It read:
"An Inquest was held Tuesdsy over
the two bodies washed up on the
beach 12 miles below here, but noth
ing was elicited in the way of Identi
fication. Nothing was found on
ither body which gave light on the
strange affair, though some comment
was excited by the statement that In
the pockets of each ofthe unidenti
fied men were found badly damaged
apers In which the name L. Aston
ould be made out. So this tragedy
of the sea adds once more to the
many unsolvable mysteries of the
Pacific."
Copyright MSI br John Flem!n Wilana.
It took four precious days to get this drunkenly, though I knew him to be
useless weight Into the cable we'l I cold sober so far as liquor went
built among the logs of the r?ft At
last the task was done. I came back
to the steam schooner and said to
Howard: '
I've got your chain cable stowed i
over there and no anchor to bend. on
It ,And you've spoiled the trim of
shot my answer at venture.
"A woman adrift in a small boat
Howard arose and blew a huge puff
of smoke celllngwara. -just nice
Martin! He was always a great man
for the ladles! He's different now,
they say. But in his time he was a
your vessel so that she can't tow half I jdy-killer. They say" t h man
so well." I choked "he even went o far as to
Howard laughed In my face and I He to other men's girls. Made love to
rane the engines ahead full speed. I women other men loved. And wnen
Two days followed during which we I they fell for his talk and his prom
made fair progress. Then the wind be- ises and his sleek oats he kept his
gan to haul Into the south'ard and I course and let 'em drift astern into
the sky became overcast and Inshore I into " Howard turned nis wild eyes
the storm clouds piled above the
mountains. The third night after our
resumption of the voyage It was thick
and drixzHTfgrThe next day we saw
nothing and ' I began to impress on
Howard the danger of meeting other
vessels which could not see the extent
and. weight of the thing we towed.
on me ana, guipea lei era arm
astern into the darkness while he
bent over some other girl beside him
on the bridge and whispered . . .
whispered . . . whispered . . ."
The little cabin seemed filled with
acrid smoke. I seemed to see for an
instant tbe torture in which the man
"A steamship might better run on I lived, seeing always the vision of the
solid rock than on that raft" I urged. I irj De iqved. whom Martin Hubbard
"It's a deadly menace to everymmg i na(i betrayed, drifting back into tne
going up and down the coast Tou
ought to haul in on your hawser.
make fast astern the raft, and lie by.
blowing signals till It clears."
'I was an hour late once, tie toid
me, his reddened eyes glaring on mine.
Keep on!"
And in the end I had to acknowl-
dge that Theodore Howard was In
sane. Some strain, possibly 'that of
risking his all on such a venture, had
broken down the man's mental in
tegrity. He kept the bridge and
roared blasphemies down the speak
ing tube to the engine room, bawled
curses at the crew, and shook his fist
mist In the boat she had so painfully
m-rnrnA Into the mistv reaches of the
sea in order to nan ner lover ana so
be off. And I heard the thunder of
the nearing steamer's blast roar over
us. I leaped for the deck and reached
up and pulled the Gleaner's whistle-
cord and our answer shrieked out
venomous and shrill. The second
mate grasped my arm.
'It's all very well to He here at the
end of a short line and show our
iights and trust fn God," he told me
fiercely. "But It's thick as mpd and
that's a liner!"
I listened and heard the thump and
Insanity Occurs Earlier in
Successive Generations.
Director of Large- Asrlom Reports
Observation at 25 I'nlr t Par
ents In Tranamlaalea of Taint.
A
CCORDING to Dr. kener, director
of a large lunatio asylum In Roif-
manla. Insanity, when transmitted,
occurs at an earlier age In each suc
cessive generation. Of 250 pairs of
parents, reports the Journal of the
American Medical association, .and
offspring, 39 per cent of the offspring
were found to have had their first
attack of insanity before the age of
25, a considerable portion being con
genital Imbeciles. Mothers trans
mitted much more frequently than
fathers, and daughters are affected
more often than sons; also the off
spring are affected at about half the
age of the parent, being In most In
stances either congenital Imbeciles or
cases of adolescent Insanity.
The study of pedigrees reveals the
differences of manifestation of a
neuropathic taint In some members
of the tainted stock It may appear as
chorea, ellpepsy. migraine, neuras
thenia, exophthalmic goitre or dia
betes; in others It may be a matter of
temperament; centrlclty, exaltation,
melancholy or feeble will power. A
neurotic Inheritance Is liable to bring
about the establishment of certain
morbid mental habits; and when such
an Inheritance Is strong there Is great
risk of the development of organized
delusions. Proper care may keep the '
latter tendencies in check, but an im
proper environment in which there Is
temptation to drink, evil companions.
and the like, may result In 'insanity,
crime or suicide.' In a third genera
tion these inborn tendencies may ap
pear in a more Intensive form, re
sulting In congenial Imbecility and
feebre-ralndedness. Dr. Kener has
found this to be the case when two
first cousins, not Insane but coming
of a tainted stock, have married and
borne children.