CHAPTER LXV. ON THE ICE.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 240, 4 February 1888, Page 2

CHAPTER LXV. ON THE ICE.

Fast through' tho tempest white and drear Through the whistling sleet and snow, like a 1 sheeted gho&t tho vessel swept Towards tho reef of Norman s Woe. She struck where the white and fleecy waves Looked sott us carded wool : t But. the cruel rocks? they gored her sides Liko the horns ot any angry bull. LONGKELLOW. Sunrise found the Zanzibar anchored in the beautiful Cove of Cork. The sudden stopping of the ship awoke Gertrude from the stupefied sleep into -which she had been rocked after her last ex. hausting paroxysm of illness. Feeling quite relieved and refreshed, she eat up in her berth and pushed aside the slide that covered her port-window, and looking out she recognised the lovely sceno which had so excited her admiration when she had first beheld it from the deck of the ship, in company of her husband. At the sight, a feeling of sorrow and impatience passed over her, to think he was no longer by her side, and that so many days must pass before she could rejoin him. She did not cherish sad thoughts. In Gertrude's Christian creed hope is indeed a cardinal virtue, and cheerfulness a Christian duty. When she got on deck, Sallust Rowley was there, and on seeing Gertrude he hastened to meet her afc the head of the companion ladder. " Good morning !" he said cheerily, as he offered her his arm. "I hope you have quite recovered from your sea-sickness ?" " Quite, thanks. And you?" "Oh ! I'm as right as a trivet ! Glorious scene this. But you've been here before ?" he observed, as he drew her hand under his arm and led her forward to look out upon the harbour, with its forest of shipping, its distant town, and its surrounding hills. " Oh, yes, of course, when we first came over," answered Gertrude, as she bowed and withdrew her arm, and Btood leaning over the bulwarks and looking out upon the scene of which she thought she never could tiro. . '♦Of course. By the way, Cousin Gertrude, you saw me speaking with an elderly cove on deck yesterday, didn't you?" he -asked. " I observed you in conversation with a five-looking old man who reminded mo of -Colonel Fitzgerald," answered Gertrude, quietly. m " Well, now, there certainly is a likeness, and no mistake. Who do you think he was ?" " I am sure I cannot think." "Guess." " Oh, I cannot guess." "Well, he was Lackland— the man who was tried for his life about two years ago for the killing of Buckhurst." Gertrude's dark eyes contracted with pain and horror, and she visibly shrank from the speaker. "Oh, it isn't catching. It can't be carried in the clothes. You needn't draw «ff in alarm," said Sallust, laughing. " I am very sorry for that man, Sallust. I did see, even in the casual view I got of his face, that he has had some deep sorrow, ,and now I know what it is. I am very sorry for him," said Gertrude, sadly. "Bosh!— I beg ycur pardon, I mean bother '.—that is, I mean that there is no need to pity Mr Lackland. He has been honourably acquitted by a jury of his peers ■and more than vindicated by the opinion of the world," exclaimed Sallust. "The jury may acquit him, the world may vindicate, but he will never vindicate, will never acquit himself. Yes, Heaven may pardon him ; but he will never forgive himself—not in this world, at least— not if I have read his eyes aright," said Gertrude, solemnly. " Maybe that is what's the matter with him. I wonder how a fellow does feel after wiping out a human being," mused Sallust. Then rousing himself, he exclaimed : "Well, here he is on deck, anyhow, and coming right towards up. Will you let me introduce him to you V" " Certainly, if he wishes you to do so," -answered the little lady, her compa&sion subduing the repugnance she felt to meeting even a vindicated homicide. By this time Lackland came up and before them. Gertrude lifted her eyes to the dark face framed in with the full, long, curling, irongrey hair and beard, and met the large, dark, suffering eyes bent .sorrowfully on hers, and all her repugnance melted away, and compassion only filled her heart. " Good morning, Lackland," said Sallust, heartily. Then, turning to his companion, he added, formally (and the flippant Mr Uowley was very formal, indeed, when he was formal at all): "Mrs Fitzgerald, permit me to present you to my friend, Mr iackland, of— of— of— " Sallust paused, and looked at his friend for help. " Lackland, of Nowhere," said the latter, with a smile that was eadder than a tear. *'Isnot that a perfectly consistent name and title for a homeless wanderer, Mrs Fitzgerald ? And to foreign ears, who could not understand our language, would not ' Lackland, of Nowhere,' sound quite as grandly as 'Rowley, of Cave Court,' or even as * Fitzgerald, of the Summit?" Then, in graver, deeper tone, he added: "I have been honoured with the friendship of Colonel Fitzgerald : I feel still morehonoured in the acquaintance of his wife." "I thank you, sir,'' said Gertrude sweetly. "I have heard my husband speak of you with much esteem and affection." "That voice, too!" murmured Lacldand to himself. But Sallust trod upon his foot to remind him that he was no longer in the " silent solitudes " of the Western plains. " I was with Colonel Fitzgerald a long time at Fort Invincible," said Lackland, by way of saying something to mask the confusion into which he was thrown by the' face and voice of Gertrude—" yes, I was ■with him altogether more than twelve months,' he' added. " And you rendered him great and valuable service in his border warfare," said the little lady. "Oh, nothing of the sort. Fifteen years of a semi-savage life on the border had made me itseful as a scout. That is all," answered Lackland, in a tone of carelessness which tho suffering look of . his dark eyes belied. " I am sure that Colonel Fitzgerald spoke of your services as of the utmost va'ue to him;" said Gertrude, gently, though .ahe/wap obliged to drop' her eyes under the «ad, wistful,' intense gaze be fixed upon - them. .'>,'■ She heard- the sound of the breakfast gong with a sense of relief, even though she had to take the stranger's arm, as he offered it to lead her to the table. After breakfast her escorts invited her to go on shore to see Queenstown-and'/its en*.

But Ger trued declined the offer with thanks, and so the two ' g^nblemep'went Tori, ', shore for a .few hours, ileaviug jje'rjbft^arausej herself with 'books. Gertrude sat and mused ton the day thnt Colonel Fitzgerald and.she had sat together where she was sitting .now, and gazed upon the same scene. Well, .well, she was >on her way to him, she said, and every hour brought her nearer lo the time of meeting ; and soon, whenXho .shij^fejtiould sail .again, she could say that every mile brought her nearer to him. With what joy she would go to him I- 1 - with what joy he would mept hqr, as-one raised from the dead ! Yep, she; thought . their meeting would .exceed in joy every other .meeting on the face of the earth, and could only be equalled in delight by those moetings in heaven when some beloved one arrives from the earth and is welcomed by the waiting lover there ! In anticipation Gertrude lived over and over this meeting. Ah ! if the veil of the future .could have ' been raised for her then , and iif she could have been permitted to see When and where, and under what circumstances, her next meeting with Gerald Fitzgerald would ' Lake pace! But her blissful vi-ions made her bappy now with a happiness that could never be taken from hor, and which did not render the coming trial any harder to bear. Lackland and Sallust came "home ''to their ship, bringing treasures of early wild flowers that even in those first March days had opened their young eyes in the genial woods and fields of the " green isle." With laughing gallantry they poured these treasuros into the top of Gertrude, who thanked the givers and took the gifts, and made her plain state-room gay with them. The Zanzibar sailed at dusk. The wind, that had gone down during the day, arose again in the night and blew a gale. The sea roughened, and the eliip rolled, and the passengers sickened again. But this was the first of March, and March was coming in like a lion, so what better could be expected ? About sunrise the 'vind went down and rested for twelve hours. Few of the passengers, however, appeared upon deck. The second night of sea- sick ness had prostrated them too much. Gertrude, who had suffered no relapse into illness, came up immediately after breakfast and passed tho whole day in the open air. On the setting of the sun the wind rose again, and grew higher <md higher until midnight ; then it blew a hurricane until daylight, when it lulled, so that the sun arose on tho fourth morning on a calm day. All predicted fine weather for the remainder of the voyage, and indeed they enjoyed it for the next three clays, during which tho sea-sick passengers all got well and came to the table with ravenous appetites, and promenaded the decks in boisterous spirits. But on the seventh day all this was changed. As they neared the Grand Banks of Newfoundland the wind rose in the northeast. The weather was intensely cold. Nearly all the men, and all the women except Gertrude, forsook the decks and sought warmth and comfort in the cabins, where, rolled up in their thickest wraps, they huddled around the stoves. But Gertrude, accustomed from her infancy to the bleak air of the higher Alleghanies, was not inconvenienced by the March weather on the ocean. With her fleecy white " cloud " over her head, and her heavy sea-shawl around her shoulders, she came up on deck that morning, as usual, directly after breakfast, and took a seat behind the wheel-house, where she was sheltered from the wind. Here she sat, with her crochet work in her hand, and knitted, while she thought that in three more days she should land in New York, and then, in two more, meet her husband face to face. She scarcely noticed the darkening of the sky, as the heavy clouds rolled up from the north-east, and overcast the scene. Soon, the thick, white darkness, if one may use the term, overspread the whole heavens, from horizon to horizon — a thick, white darkness, in contrast to which the ocean looked a vast, effervescent sea of ink. Then fine snow, like sifted meal, began to fall slowly. Gertrude, from her sheltered position, did not feel either the wind or tho snow but watched the soft, fine, white dust sifted down upon the. bosom of the sea and lost, or upon the rigging, where 3 it gathered in little drifts on the weather-side of every rope and timber, freezing as it fell. Gertrude's hands were growing too cold to knit, so she rolled up her work and laid it away in her little covered basket, and then she put on her warm gloves, and sat and watched the increasing storm with growing interest. Lackland and Sallust Rowley were at the opposite end of the ship, smoking and watching the weather. Gertrude kept her post until tho dinnergong sounded. And by that time the deck was covered several inches deep, and the rigging so laden with snow that its original shape and design could not be discovered. Mr Lackland and Sallust Rowley both came and ranged themselves, one on each side of Gertrude, the elder man saying : " I think, my dear young lady, you must permit us both to assist you. The snow freezes as it falls, and the deck is as glass, which, with the violent rolling of the ship, makes it difficult for us to keep our feet, and impossible for you to do so." Gertrude gave a hand to each with thanks and smiles, and allowed them to lift her to her feet. And the moment she stepped off the little dry and sheltered spot whore she had sat, and attempted to walk the frozen, slippery, and rolling deck, she found how utterly impossible it was for her to do it without assistance on both hands, and how absolutely necessary was the united support of her body guards. When she reached tho dinner-tables, she found that the storm-stands had been put on, so that every piece of china and glass sat in a separate pen. And now the ship rolled so fearfully that the mere attempt to eat dinner was a feat of legerdemain or gymnastics. When it was over, Gertrude retreated to the cabin, where, after a little while, she bade her friends good- night, and retired to her state-room, and wont to' bed. " Two move days, and then New York ; five more, and then Gerald !" she murmured, blissfully, as she closed her eyes. Musing dreamily on the rapture of her approaching meeting with her husband, Gertrude closed ! her eyes. Rocked by the rolling of the ship, lulled by the whistling of the wind, Gertrude fell asleep, and slept as soundly as a child soothed to rest on its mother's bosom by its mother's song. She slept soundly Until morning, when she was suddenly roused by a tremendous shock that nearly threw her out of the berth. ' , Before she could collect herself, or remember where she was, or think what c'puld have happened, she felt the, ship shujider (through her whole- frame like a human being struck with qgue,< and then stripp er- s fectly r still, as fc" sound of gurgling water filledtheea'iv \ r '" \ :' ' " "", ; *<3 extrude 'sat f tifc> in-jherlberth.and listened. ? - ?For v a "moment there "was 1 a s'tillriessfaiid',

silence .broken^ qhty by ttyit sound of gurg3ing waters. fV^v \ '} i r ; V^^« „ %x 6n\ ,thei*e was *the Crushing. , aiboub . of many feet, and the mingling of many voice.*, but they seamed at a distance. " What has happened ?" at length cried one voice within jrea?ing. " What has happened?" yelled another voice, in a great hurry. " Why, the ship has struck a» iceberg and stove in her bows. Shell sirak in five jAinutel \ n . A *$$ ?'\ / '