FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   53   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77  
78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   >>   >|  
g so low that they seemed almost to touch the water. A terrific report followed, which shook the ship. "Oh, I'm so frightened!" wailed Mrs. Stuart, clinging nervously to Mr. Fitzhugh's arm, much to the annoyance of that gentleman, who felt none too comfortable himself. "Nonsense, Cora, don't be so foolish!" protested Grace. "We're perfectly safe here, no matter what happens." "She's beginning to roll," said the professor, as the ship gave a sudden lurch. "Why are we rolling--is it getting rough?" asked Grace, who was beginning to show signs of trepidation. "There doesn't seem to be any wind." "It's so deuced dark one can't see a bally thing!" stammered Mr. Fitzhugh. The night was pitch-dark, and after the brilliancy of the electric lights, to which their eyes had grown accustomed all evening, the surrounding wall of blackness seemed all the more opaque and impenetrable. Still, there was no wind, and the heat was suffocating. The uncanny silence continued. What could be seen of the sea was smooth, and oily, and illuminated in spots with green phosphorescent lights. A deep swell had set in. Rolling in great billows from the south, it caused the steamer to rock so violently that the women had to hold fast in order to keep their feet. "Isn't this rolling horrible? Each minute I imagine the steamer is going to turn over!" exclaimed Mrs. Stuart, so alarmed that she hardly knew what she was saying. "A heavy swell like this," explained the professor calmly, "either follows a gale or comes in advance of one. This sea is evidently the forerunner of a storm. The ladies had better go below before it gets any worse." "I wouldn't think of going to bed," declared Mrs. Stuart emphatically. "Just think if we had to take to the boats and I were in my curl-papers." Still no wind; only a weird moaning in the distance, which was distinctly audible amid the profound, mysterious silence. The lightning, now more frequent, revealed a sky terrifying in aspect. The suspense was nerve-racking to the stoutest hearted. The captain was heard shouting orders on the bridge. Officers and sailors hurried aft, and, driving the passengers below, closed and barricaded the storm doors. Gathered at the port-holes, their anxiety increasing each moment, the passengers waited and watched. Momentarily, the sea grew more convulsive. The waves increased perceptibly in size, and the ship rocked more violently. Nearer and nearer came that we
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   53   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77  
78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

Stuart

 

beginning

 
violently
 

lights

 

rolling

 

professor

 

silence

 

passengers

 

Fitzhugh

 
steamer

alarmed
 

exclaimed

 

emphatically

 
horrible
 
declared
 

forerunner

 

ladies

 
evidently
 

advance

 
minute

imagine

 
calmly
 
explained
 

wouldn

 

Gathered

 

increasing

 
anxiety
 

barricaded

 

hurried

 
sailors

driving
 

closed

 

moment

 

perceptibly

 

rocked

 

Nearer

 

nearer

 

increased

 

watched

 
waited

Momentarily
 
convulsive
 

Officers

 

bridge

 

audible

 
profound
 

mysterious

 

lightning

 

distinctly

 

distance