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Elisha Cuthbert Photos Books: Martin Eden The Pickwick Papers The Sea Wolf |
to us from out of the fog.
"Thats a ferry-boat of some sort," the new-comer said, indicating
a whistle off to the right. "And there! Dye hear that? Blown by
mouth. Some scow schooner, most likely. Better watch out, Mr.
Schooner-man. Ah, I thought so. Now hells a poppin for
somebody!"
The unseen ferry-boat was blowing blast after blast, and the mouth-
blown horn was tooting in terror-stricken fashion.
"And now theyre payin their respects to each other and tryin to
get clear," the red-faced man went on, as the hurried whistling
ceased.
His face was shining, his eyes flashing with excitement as he
translated into articulate language the speech of the horns and
sirens. "Thats a steam-siren a-goin it over there to the left.
And you hear that fellow with a frog in his throat--a steam
schooner as near as I can judge, crawlin in from the Heads against
the tide."
A shrill little whistle, piping as if gone mad, came from directly
ahead and from very near at hand. Gongs sounded on the Martinez.
Our paddle-wheels stopped, their pulsing beat died away, and then
they started again. The shrill little whistle, like the chirping
of a cricket amid the cries of great beasts, shot through the fog
from more to the side and swiftly grew faint and fainter. I looked
to my companion for enlightenment.
"One of them dare-devil launches," he said. "I almost wish wed
sunk him, the little rip! Theyre the cause of more trouble. And
what good are they? Any jackass gets aboard one and runs it from
hell to breakfast, blowin his whistle to beat the band and tellin
the rest of the world to look out for him, because hes comin and
cant look out for himself! Because hes comin! And youve got
to look out, too! Right of way! Common decency! They dont know
the meanin of it!"
I felt quite amused at his unwarranted choler, and while he stumped
indignantly up and down I fell to dwelling upon the romance of the
fog. And romantic it certainly was--the fog, like the grey shadow
of infinite mystery, brooding over the whirling speck of earth; and
men, mere motes of light and sparkle, cursed with an insane relish
for work, riding their steeds of wood and steel through the heart
of the mystery, groping their way blindly through the Unseen, and
clamouring and clanging in confident speech the while their hearts
are heavy with incertitude and fear.
The voice of my companion brought me back to myself with a laugh.
I too had been groping and floundering, the while I thought I rode
clear-eyed through the mystery.
"Hello! somebody comin our way," he was saying. "And dye hear
that? Hes comin fast. Walking right along. Guess he dont hear
us yet. Winds in wrong direction."
The fresh breeze was blowing right down upon us, and I could hear
the whistle plainly, off to one side and a little ahead.
"Ferry-boat?" I asked.
He nodded, then added, "Or he wouldnt be keepin up such a clip."
He gave a short chuckle. "Theyre gettin anxious up there."
I glanced up. The captain had thrust his head and shoulders out of
the pilot-house, and was staring intently into the fog as though by
sheer force of will he could penetrate it. His face was anxious,
as was the face of my companion, who had stumped over to the rail
and was gazing with a like intentness in the direction of the
invisible danger.
Then everything happened, and with inconceivable rapidity. The fog
seemed to break away as though split by a wedge, and the bow of a
steamboat emerged, trailing fog-wreaths on either side like seaweed
on the snout of Leviathan. I could see the pilot-house and a
white-bearded man leaning partly out of it, on his elbows. He was
clad in a blue uniform, and I remember noting how trim and quiet he
was. His quietness, under the circumstances, was terrible. He
accepted Destiny, marched hand in hand with it, and coolly measured
the stroke. As he leaned there, he ran a calm and speculative eye
over us, as though to determine the precise point of the collision,
and took no notice whatever when our pilot, white with rage,
shouted, "Now youve done it!"
On looking back, I realize that the remark was too obvious to make
rejoinder necessary.
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