ON THE LATE BOAT.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 80, 28 December 1907, Page 6

ON THE LATE BOAT.

SOME SIDELIGHTS. Ten o'clock, and a' clear starlight night. At the forry whhrf the last stearimrs to Weatouii and Day's Bay lie, straining -tit tho ropes, awaiting the arrival of ;t-beir jaded passcngevs. Tho day is done, and so aro they. , Down tho dqserte.d side streets they, come,.ar/l tho curtain' rises on .tho last act. ■ ; The Day's Bay,forry boat is still in: darkness —there is a quarter of an: hour'to wait yet—and tho captain, who has taken- tho precaution of locking the companion doors, to mako suro of his fares, is at present endeavouring to explain, with moderate suc : coss, tho reason, for this strategy to a. group of boisterous spirits. , "You ain't goin' down there till I've got thorn faros—not if I, knows it." ho concludes, as ho hooks his lantern under his arm and takes up bis position at the gangway. . .." Threo cheers for tho captain," suggests someono sarcastically, and a salvo, of ■ gaLling irony, goes up into tho night. But the captain has other fish to fry, and addresses himself to tho question of accounting, by tickets or coin, for his full passenger list. Ho thon disappears below, turns on the light, throws open the doors, aud tho froight disposes itself according to its humour. Tho chimes ring out tho quarter, the gangway is hauled back, tho ropes cast off, and, with a farewell toot from tho syren, tho steamer glides slowly out, swings round, and pqints her nose for tho outer.darkness. Close astern, her spoadior rival, tho Seatouu boat, is gaining rapidly. As the wharves and hulks aro left astern, and. tho steamer passes Evans Bay,' ai glittering• panorama, lies stretched behind. Tho thonsand twinkling lights of tho city, the faint hiim of tho distant traffic, the shadowy craft at anchor, in tho inner harbour, make a picture which lives in the memoty-' On deck everything is quiet. Tho passengers are mostly clustered under, the leo of tho wheol-houso, with the exception of ono or two modest couples, tho spell-of whose' little romances has led them to sock furtivo corners away from the madding crowd.' , Below, in ,tho moil's saloon,'• there is'iligli revelry. : Tho men's' saloon, in the late boat to'tho Bay is something to reriiembor. There' are those who havo travelled by this boat and vowed,nover to do so' again; Thero are others—yqung bloods—to wnoni tho trip B a fitting climax to their night, hi.tho city. Tho'reek of tobacco, good, indift'oront, and vilo,' fills the saloon. In one'coriier aro about a dozon youths, who are bndoayouring, from memory, to entertain tho. ship's;company with tho incidental music to "Mother Gobso." The attempt, -.with tho' two exceptions, "So we pairted- on tho ouch ay," and " Waiting at tho Church," is not an unqualified success. . Th<>ro aro several interruptions. One individual, in the opposite: corner' keeps up an agonising canirie protest,' which, apart from the merit <of the impersonation, somewhat . disorganises " tho chorus. / An,. eccentric inebriate . has • also niourited. tho; table, aiid' is dancing a breakdown, brandishing, aloft the while, an emptybeer bottle, tho' full brother of which stick's its head out of its.owner's coat pocket, ludicrbiis testimony to' tho morrqw's programme. Suddenly, possessed of an inspiration, tho dancer slides from'the table, aijd'essays ,t'o walk betweon the -two . rows. of.-.youths :whose riiusio ho has . interrupted. Ho had bettor havo stayed; where he was. One clutches his coat, and spins, him round. Another abstracts his bceiyand a third gives him a push which, sends;,him flying:down the ;gauntlet of tho outraged'.musicians. 1 Tho saloon is in an uproar, arid; things do. not settlo down until ho'of the': beer bbttlq has beeii mvited ; .by : tho, captain to.' get up 011, deck, or sidown and shut up.!' .'Tho enginerroom, telegraph rings out, ..warding, them of the ■- journey's end. A, rush is made for tho deck. ' Coming,up .frprii the lighted saloon, tho, darkness'for a littlo is intense. Then the oye catches the > piorlight, as tho boat drifts up to tho wharf. Just then-a scufllo arises between 'two men near tho bow. A ring gathers, ■ arid things ■look ugly. "Stop yer'fightin' there," yells tho captain. . "You. can fight, as much as you liko when you get ashore," ho adds, as an inducement for. peace o», board.- • Ho is an arixious man on tho night trip, and is thankful' when tho last of viem clatter down: the gangway'. .. , ;>• : :