| Show b E WILLIAMS vy C BER tz li amea service WILLIM 45 SYNOPSIS george mcausland w was as 38 years old when he sailed called from ame america rica to undertake his big post 1 as 5 a missionary in the fiji islands A Ms crime m ha he had had committed in a beof excitement had shattered au all his confidence in himself him elf he alt felt forced to avoid pretty mary doncaster doncaster Don easter who boarded the ship at honolulu she was en route to visit her parents who were missionaries on gilead island mary was attracted by georges attempts to avoid old her one day george accidentally toll fell overboard mary unhesitatingly dove into the sea to rescue george who fell to in love with her when the boat approached her home on gilead island they learned that marys parents had both died george v volunteered 1 ered to take charge of the mission aad and asked mary to be his wife she accepted his clumsy proposal and they lett left the s ship hi to live in her former home on the isla island n the scanty dress of the natives shocked george at first but he soon become reconciled to their customs mary discovered that corkran a sailor friend of georges had come there to help george and mary 1 if they needed him their peaceful life was interrupts interrupted one day when a ship stopped in the harbor harb in search of pearls they see the pearl divers attacked and their th e r schooner sunk by a pirate ship the pirates head their boat toward the bay near their village george sends mary inland for or safety and acks walks down to the beach alone and defense ess natives carry him back to mary hours later shot through the shoulder natives killed killea the pirates that night and set their local li fire afire the lone iona awaited whaler the arrived mary wras was told that its captain had died and that his sons richard an nd peter corr were now in charge as captain and first mate she liked richard but was told by peter that he publicly laughed at her affection affect lon george was a sick man when the arrived george agreed to leave the island when he saw that the epidemic among the natives was caused by ms consumptive condition A native gave mary a small bag of pearls as a farewell present r a t tho the attitude of the crew toward fe peter e bothered mary so she decided to find I 1 out u t U he was really responsible lor for the dea death th of a seaman who had been killed while whaling w h a ing CHAPTER X continued 11 richard said grimly ive noticed a lot of trouble made more than once by trying to be responsible for other peoples business do you seriously mean to bribe your men to obedience by turning them loose like wolves on these helpless girls georges eyes were hot playing on their weaknesses just as you played on my weakness at gilead told me I 1 was killing the islanders in order to make me come away richard said after a mc moment nent quietly maybe I 1 was wron wrong maybe id best have hav a let you stay he hesitated said at last curtly mr mcausland do as you like but ill have to run the ship my way he turned away peter had joined them in time to hear the last word dick takes his job too hard hes all blown up with it mary ignored him urged perhaps richards right george and even if he he must do as he thinks wisest come down to the cabin with me but george declined to do so ill not shut my eyes he said im not a coward so they stayed on deck that day while the work of provisioning the ship went forward they could not be ready to depart that afternoon and the boats stayed ashore well into the night next morning they made to sea mary hoped that once they were away george would forget his anger at richard but he did not and for days after they left the island the few minutes they all spent together at the table were made awkward by her husbands wrathful silence and by richards defensive dignity the stop for provisions had a altered tere d not only the humor of the crew but the very appearance of the they had taken on tremendous quantities of fresh fruits A huge cask lashed to the port rail was full of green coconuts bunches of bananas hung under the boat house and wherever else room could be fourd found the potato room where tommy hanline slept was so full of yams bams and plan bains and breadfruit that tommy had to crawl over them to reach his bunk another change took place in the routine aboard after they left the island george remembered his calling and with the air of one expecting a refusal asked richards permission to hold a sunday morning service on deck richard consented and the thing was done dome mary suspected that corkran was responsible for the quiet and respectful demeanor of the men when they assembled sem bled but when george began to speak he held them george facing an audience had a spiritual authority and dignity that were fine to see she realized while she listened that her attitude toward her husband had always been protective her tenderness a little condescending sc she told him afterward how proud she was and richard also spoke to george gratefully and appreciatively she hoped the constraint between them would be forgotten zut but george did riot not relent at all and matters were still thus tight and strained in the cabin on the day when at last they sighted a w whale h ale A whaler may kill and save in the course of a voyage two or three dozen whales and she may kill others and lose them by sinking or in a sudden gale most of her captures are routine but now and then a whale makes trouble what happened to the today was one of those extraordinary and isolated I 1 phenomena which become legends and it would take its place in whaling lore one of the sailors aloft a new bedford man named gibbons called down to the after deck whale on the port qu quarter a r sir about two miles off there was at that a quick and instant stir up upon on the mat forbes at a word from richard ran halfway up the mizzen ratlines rat lines and shouted to the men aloft to make haste with the topgallant sails richard came to the port rail to look off across the leaden sea mat forbes spoke quietly to richard on the deck below him sharks at him capin corr richard nodded all right clear boats and stand by to lower feet moved along the deck to obey mat forbes descending to the deck said quietly whales moving this way sir 01 richard looked at the weather to the westward he watched the work watching the come to and fall off lazily the whale drew nearer and even from the decks they could see now his efforts to beat off his attackers he surged to and fro flukes now and then rising ponderously and as the fight came steadily nearer them they could hear the thrash ot of the flukes the sigh of the spout the broken water when he drove this way and that peter standing with george and mary although his men were ready by his boat yonder I 1 moved restlessly theres something wrong with him tie lie muttered or hed have driven them off by now might be hes hurt or sick or something maybe hes got an iron in him he licked his lips in a nervous tremor richard said just behind the them m weather coming peter but well awl gj S sock him pip try for him anyway ready to lower the counter braced still made a little way he called to mat back the cro jack yard mr forbes the men leaped at mats command dick hes a crooked jaw peter exclaimed hes ugly hell be a fighter and it if he busts a boat the waters full of sharks his voice cracked as he spoke and richard looked at him briefly mr forbes and I 1 will lower he decided then you keep ship peter peter cried sharply hell bump us the way hes headed the was almost motionless the whale now close aboard mary had been watching peter sick and ashamed at what she saw but at his word she turned to look and saw the whale close now rolling blindly on its back to bite and she saw the thrashing body of a great shark caught in its jaws and cut in two she cried out in awe and terror at the sight CHAPTER XI the whale righted itself and came quartering toward their bow in a sudden rush richard leaped forward into the waist as though with his own hands to fend the creature off and an instant later it shouldered against the side mary looking down saw the great black bulk in the water and the slender gray shapes of the sharks in attendance george clung hard beside her and peter gasped godfrey dick hell sink us richard ran aft toward where his boat hung the whale drew off circling slowly lifting his head as though in an effort to locate the ship for a new attack richard called briskly lower away mr forbess peter get the brand gun sock a bomb into him it he comes near the ship again his boat struck the water with a smooth precision the boats were carried to port richards farthest aft mats forward mary felt young tommy hanline hanging to her arm his small hands tight as a tourniquet mats boat hit the water but richard had already darted away from the side the long oars bending as the men put into them every ounce of strength mary thought tor for a moment the boat would meet the whale h head e a d on I 1 and she heard a voice scream c e a m a warning and knew it was her own then she saw richard swing the steering oar in a great sweep and the whaleboat swerved on a pivot to let the whale slide by and instantly it darted in again till she thought the bow would ride up on that huge body just awash richards great voice was like a trumpet sock him pip she saw big pip knee braced in the clumsy cleat the heavy harpoon poised drive it in and down ar and instantly before the boat veered off again he sank the second iron big pip swept the loose coils of the box warp overboard he and richard changed places scrambling over the oarsmen oarsman oars men who bent low over the thwarts to let them pass by the time richard was in the bow and big pip at the steering oar the whale saw the boat riding there and lunged toward them and the men swung hard on the oars and big pip dodged out of the whales path and in again mary saw richard drive home the lance deep into that black side mary saw only a smother of confusion action too swift to follow but the men on the and in mat forbes boat watching more wisely knowing without seeing what wen went t on in that fury of torn water saw that richard was as wild with the heat of battle now as was the whale for after a desperate in minute anute or two of this in and out fighting he closed with his antagonist under his strong commands the men hauled in on the line till the boat was close against the whales side richard R chard reached far over the bow to grip the line and draw the boat further forward along the whales body and while close alongside richard drove the lance deep and deep again searching for that huge reservoir in which the whale stores fresh blood for his long stays u under rider water and which wha lemen call the life the whale could not bi bite te them nor could its flukes strike the boat but if it rolled toward them they must be crushed under its body and left helpless in the water big pip bawled ware roll capin richard braced and firm as much a part of the boat as though he were nailed to it drove his lance again tommy screamed there he rolls but the whale rolled away from the boat not toward it and in so doing its under parts were for a moment exposed the whale rolled over and over in a smother away from them and suddenly its flukes lifted high and then it was gone and the tossed water began to quiet where it had disappeared sounded tommy cried mary could see the line now snaking out over the bow of the whaleboat the bow sagging downward and then rising with a jerk as joe bassnet kept a strain on the line around the loggerhead yielding only when he must richard in the bow was leaning forward to look straight down into the water lance in hand the bow of richards boat rose suddenly as the strain upon the line was eased haul hard big pip shouted bassnet took line hand over hand richard spoke over his shoulder not turning his head watching the water under them ready oars he said crisply then men poised suddenly he cried starn all hard astern the oars bent like bows the boat darted backward like a squid then for a moment from where mary stood on the deck boat and men were alike blotted out of sight hidden behind a vast black column with a blunt end which rose ponderously out of the water the white mouth gleaming the bent jaw opening and closing in a vicious futility that black mass that was the whales head rose and rose slow and slower till it was above the level of the decks till mary thought it would never stop ascending it seemed to poise and hang for a moment and then ponderously toppled forward parting the water like a plow and she saw the boat safe secure beyond the flukes then the whale spouted and its spout now was a thick crimson cloud and mary saw richard strike a sharp blow at the line with a hatchet saw its free end disappear she cried sick with sudden disappointment oh hes let it go its dying tommy hanline told her proud of richard he always cuts before the flurry unless theres another boat that might get fast he dont take chances when theres no need of it was a as the whale again began to move but there was no long flurry to too much of the creatures strength was already spent it surged a little forward lay still seemed to turn hall half on its side laboriously righted itself fin said tommy Ha natiline hanline Han lino tiline and he looked up at mary with shining eyes she tried to speak and found her throat dry and constricted she whispered Is it dead did richard kill it george at her tone looked at her quickly but tommy said in high pride yes that was pretty wonderful it yes she said not seeing her husbands eyes ato TO HE BE CONTINUED |
