THE LAST OF THE PROSERPINE.

Waikato Times, Volume VI, Issue 321, 4 June 1874, Page 2

THE LAST OF THE PROSERPINE.

IN TWO I'ABTS.— PABT XI. ' It's off ray shoulders anyhow,' muttered the engineer beneath his clenched teeth, as he passed me ; and the furious force with which the huge engine* drov« u§ alorrjj malting the old craft reel and tremble at every giant pulsation, furnished nn eloquent commentary to hisviord, Gregg now stooped, and gave some orders lo the helmsman speaking in a low voice. 'Ay, oy, sir,' answered the man. Gregg turned, and I caught n glimpse of his pale, fenrfuly resolute face. His mouth looked as firmly set as if the lipo had been of steel, and there was a wicked gleam in his eyes. So intent was be in looking out into the night, that he did not observe my approach until I was quite close to him. Then indeed he started, aud as our eyes met he seemed to divine my thoughts. ' You clear out!' he said, with a suppressed fierceness that boded nc pood, and thrusting his h.mdas he spoke into the breast of his coat. ' I gave you your choice, Britisher! What ! You've been spying, have you ? Better keep a a quiet tongue, for fear I should be tempted to remember the old proverb, Dead men tell no tales.' And I heard the quick low clicking of a pistol's lock as he glared upon me. ' Broken water, forward there! ' sang out the voice of the look-out man at the bow. ' Breakers ahead ! ' ' Eeverse the engines ! ' ' Stop her, for heaven's sake ! ' 'We are on the Moines! ' cried half-a-dozen of fche terror-stricken passengers, whom the sultry heufc of the saloons had tempted t:> remain on the breezy deck. I looked eagerly out, and 0 >uld plainly see the long carved line of white foam ahead of us. • Down helm ! ' thundered Gregg, and the scared steersman obeyed the fatal order, the r jecution of which was followed by an outory of half incredulous horror and dismny from the affrighted passengers at on we went, rushing upon the reef" at the full speed of our maddened course. An instant more, and with a crash and a shook that threw most of us from our feet, the steamer grounded on the shoal, heeling over as he did so, while spars, side-rails, and paddle boxes cracked and splintered like reeds in a whirlwind. The screams of women, the oaths and outcries of men, made the scene a very bibel of confusion. Conspicuous among a group of passengers en the hurricane deck were Mr Harman and his daughter; the latter of whom, in evident terror, clung to her father's arm. I sprung towards her, difficult os it was to tread the slippery slope of the deck, over which the waTes of the Mississippi now broke, as if the wrecked vessel bad been but a dam exposed" to the fury of the current. The clamours that reached my ears as I made my way onwards was significant enough. ' She's going down.' ' The ship's settling in the water.' 'She's stovo in, fore and aft.' ir Jhe boats — the boats!' ' This way, this way ! ' eiclainif d I, offering my hand ta Alice as she stumbled in the effort to traverse the reeling deck — ' Pardon me, Mr Hnrman, but this is no time for oeremony.' The old merchant angrily repulsed me. 'We need none of your assistance, sir, 1 he said, in a high harsh voice. ' ilisi Harman is with her father, and r< quires no other protector. Let me pass, sir.' And he pressed on , supporting Alice, who seemed hall-fainting, and oppioached the place where the starboard boat was being lowered over the steamer's side by half a dozen stalwart fellows of unnvstaknblv salt-water aspect. Several of the crew, with a number of tke frightenod passengers, now tried to crowd into the boat, the rather that the steamer rolled beneath us, and careened as if going down bodily. Gregg, who seemed quite cool, drove them back agnin. The other boats, he said, would be manned and lowered immediately. Courage and self-assertion seldom fail in a moment of supreme danger to enforce submission, and the mob of terrified creatures made a rush in the direction of the other boats, which had been wilfully rendered useless, while Gregg and his confederates profited by the opportunity to love» away the starboard cutter, into which they quickly sprang, while Mr Harman and his daughter were hurried oter the side. ' New, air L' whispered old Sam as ho nimbly swung himself into the sterni«heets, and, unbidden, grasped the tiller-ropef. 'Allred! Alfred! cried Alice, breaking silence for the first time, and looking up at me with her innoceufc eves dilated with terror, as she was placed in the boat, 1 come with us.' • Push off! ' ordered Gregg, as the foaming water broko over the gunwale, and the men grasped their oars : ' we've room fop no moie..' But by tnis time the fact that the other boats were unserviceable had been discovered, and the crowd of passengers, ficeme», and deck hands came rushing wildlj to the side, oagerly imploring the captain to •aye them. The shriek?, prayers, and entreaties of the females mingled with passionate exclamations of the men,, several of whom did not hesitate to accuse the commander of the Proserpine of treachery. Gr"gg, however, mocked ab all entreaties, and pushed off. I was bow violently flung forwards, and found myself struggling for life in the frothing, tumbling water, the centre, so it seemed, of a chaotic mais of torn woodwork and rent iron, of splintered beams, miscellaneous rubbish, empty casks, loose oars, and whatever wa» light enough to float; wbila ir.ixed. with the wrerk were human form?, lome clinging to piece* of timber,.

««a hopelessly entiled « the rau^h at^Unon the shapely vessel. I knew by the that the Proserpine had bur»t her bo. lei a. at in <fs g>,a»tl.e.t ah,pc« was busy withal aro u >cu I- «a S . dregful moment, c«**«^J **« &nd brief compass s.ghts and » und » ™c' 8 0 , ttO od»orL all but stunned by the blo«8 of 'the ££«". ° mora winch drifted against me a. Is warn, I^ J"> c^ c wretch tighten upon and threaten to diag mo praip related, and I found myself in open draw breath again, amUook "^jtiutow looked down w,r^^ t «^ but it wai all that I could do, by straining every neive, make head again* the forre of the *re«i,«d f^jj. tttrenu exertion that at last, spent and "'^ tho sinking girl and drew her towards the boat , «j «»«« slipped from its hold the first time 89 *^'^J/St we keel, but. a second effort succeeded, and then I felt that we not hurt?' asked l eagerly as I »M AJJ* toobtVm a firm bold of the drifting boat. «°V* U rtr Bat what i» this?' I continued in alarm for the Wood was trickling freely from the soft white wmt that : B^^ 'It is nothing,' she answered* earnestly; • mere ££V« Bat, Alfred, my father, my poor father, be ,l i » *** injured, for I heard Ins voice calling for nelp as it m pain, refuse the p:teoui entreaties of Alice fcnat i- wouiu uv her f«tL; »d bidding her keep ? Jer^ and enjoining her on uo account, to a low tb » boat to be drifted off into the stream, I plan «*» «f « f Jjjj teething wafer, and made for the wreck. Well did 1 know that I las n.k.i.l my ow» life to save that of one who tad no claim •» me; but the thoughts of A ice mberg net nerved my arm, and after a hard struggle I reached l the pbee where the shattered, fragment of the Proserpine were WatS", S£? said a harsh voice, that of *■ gaunt K»«onrian to whom I had previously »»fi de * ** W*' hrnsions a 9a 9 to the result of the steamer. "P««| 'Your in the nick of time to bear a hand. The nigge and me hare done what we could to rig up a raft and save one or two. of the poor wounded. eriM ere, but wore most wore oufc, hem' no swimmers, at that.' And true enough I found that the speaker, aided by my frund^ysander, had contrived to lash together four or five bencaopf and piece, of light wood, on which were "PP"**' the helpless forms of three of the wounded passengers One of they, apparently in a dying state, was a woman, J>ut^tbe other two were men, nnd I at once knew oneof the two to be ol<l Mr Human. As I bent over him, he mot tered feebly: •Leave me-let me die-I de»erve' And then ceased tO l7a few hurried words I explained to the^Missouri™ .the «03«t,0n of the boat; and where I had left Ahee. To pilot the frail raft to that part of the shoal would be a j»ork of much diflicaUy and dnnger, yet it offered our best chance of is/eiy. According, we pushed off boldly into the str am, and after a lon* and arduous struggle succeeded »n t^rbjng shore near the point where Alice stood. The cwnbincd strength of the Missourian, of the mulatto, and myscll j «»t sufficed to right the boat ; and then, as we were lifting w the ghastly lodofthepoor wounded, a strange faintnasscame over me; there was a buning in my ears as if I had been, in the centre of a a«arm of bpps and I sank helplessly down in the bottom of the boat. When' l regained my senses, it was broad daylight; I »a« lying on a »?*^ »!f""J room, the raftered roof and wattled walla of which told that I- was m the dwelling of some settler in that wild region ; while besideme,*ith my wrist clasped m the professional gripe of hi* bony flnsers, rtoodetbe the tail Mwaounan, lookm« down upon me with a friendly smile. 'lama doctor, colonel,' he said good-naturedly, ' although Idare.nv you never queued it- I grant yon.) hat Cyrus Co^s, MD , in his red shirt and huffier loots dOn t look a gen-teel practitioner; but- for splicing a broken bone or healing a knife wound, I fancy this coon could hold his own with surgeons that wouldn't drink a brandysmash innw company. I kinder take to you. youngster. You s*™*' l our lives, but rou pot a nasty knock or two in doing it, and Inmost 'fraid I'd have to trepan you yesterday ; but your head must be plnguy hard, and that • the fact. I smiled feebly at this ambiguous compliment, and lifting niv hand to my head, which felt heavy, and hung listlessly back on the rude pillow stuffed with marae etraw, I was surprised to find that my brows were enveloped in a * and^ e ; 'T«ar a bit of floating rail,' the doctor explained, that hit you thar, just on the temple, and you were Weeding amarfc when you put your foot on the sandbank, but somehow in the flurry and heat of the busiiwse you seemed to feel nothing until we were right with the boat. 1 lien ott you went, slick away in the death swound and I believed the young lady thought you were cleared off creation, sue toi.k on so, pretty thing. , ' Qon mean Alice —Miss Harman,' I said anxiously. Is g] ie > 1 Make your mind' ea«y ; she's all right/ said the rough but kindly surgeon ; 'tis but an hour aso she said tome: " Yes, doctor, hut are you sure he'll live? '—meaning you, sqmre; and when I answered there wm no fear, if you 11 believe me, she took my hand and kissed it, she was that pleased ! ' And the Mistounan raised his large brown paw, and contemplated it with a sort of wonder, as if the connection of ideas between his weather-beaten divnts and a tender youne; lady was too inscrutable for the human intellect. ' But her father— Mr Harman ?' I faltered out. Tho pood doctor was msnifrstly embari a»s»d' He felt my pulse again, and then blurted out: 'Dead Mr Siainwartng. He waa cruelly hurt, and 'twas a mercy for him to cpase to gaffer. The poor lady we picked up is dead too. Thpre s : but four alive out of the wreck yonder— you, me, Miss Alice, and the nigger Lmndar. The third wounded person we brought ashore, though you didn't know, it, was the oaptnin.' , . ' What ! Gregg ?' exclaimed I, raising myself on my ° The surgeon nodded, ' Yes, that villian, Paul Mcrrion { &Teg<*. He just lived long enoueb— a gasblv c ght he was, with "every rib crushed in-to confess. Mr Human made a confession too. 1 , And the doctor placed before my eyes a sheet of paper, on winch wci-e traced, in feeble chnracters, such ns a dying man's hand might pen, but in the well known handwriting of my former employer: 'Too Into—ask— foreivo—treat Alice well— my <ull consent— when her husband— maWe restitution— goods— insured— fraud— tie, Proserpine— save good name. 1 That was all. . 4 To cut a long story short,' said the surgeon kindly, seeing my bewilderment : 'Mr Harman, you know who was as proud «s Lucifer, was in peouwary difficulties, and saw no hontst way to Ret out of them. By ill luck he fell in with Greg", and the two between them concocted the precious scheme that has nearly mado a finish of us all. The old Eroserpine was bought, vamped up, and laden with a worthless cargo of damaged goods, which were injured for nn enormous amount, as really valuable property; while the plan was, that Gregg was to get the steamer cast away on the Bane dc* Monies, when the insurance companies would bn cheated out of enough to keep the old firm above water. Mr Harman was aboard with his daughter— l needn't say she know no more of the plot than seraphs did— to disarm susp.c.on ; and they weie to be landed safe, and all strangers left to chance it, to heighten the horror of the shipwreck j but the boiler burst when the engines ceased working, and the pair of accomplices were caught in their own trap. Ihe old man repented before be died }. and if you want to hear more, here is Miss Alice herself/ Alice it was, careworn, pale, and sad, but with hope and love ineffable in her pure eye», at »he bent over me, and ber tears fell upon my face. •■ Live forme, clear Alfred,' she said simply ; we shall be poor— but I will be a true wife to yon, if you will have n.e, dear I hare no one left now but you.' My story is told. I have for years been happy as the husbnnd of Alice ; and although the debts of the firm were heavy and to do justice to the defrauded insurance companies wa»> of coa«*. my first dnty, I ham found means, by hard nnd boncsfc work, to keep tho credit of tho flm intact, and do not yet despond of seems Harman Brothora, like a nh»nix»ieviTe to somewhat of its old prosperity. r Concluded.

That short sertioe is at present unpopular, we do not attest to deny ; that tho recruits do not as yot como >n .0 ! Sunder it asunder the old lor.g-.ertu* .ys em, vro are ■mte wiHinitobclio»e--but what we maintain is •anted if t, «l.irked This is. the grant amT problem of the day.