A Sea Story

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXVII, Issue 8491, 26 May 1904, Page 4

A Sea Story

An experience happily unusual in these days befell the P. arid O. liner Arcadia on its way from Gibraltar to Plymouth recently. The Arcadia sighted a Spanish barque, the Annibal. The officer of the watch on the bridge noticed that, the Annibal was flying with the; greatest possible prominence a series of flags of the international code, which spelt, out "a message of terrible significance. It was brief, but to the point, and,ran: "Short :of provisions—starving." Captain 'Lypn, ; the of the Arcadia, at on«e altered, the steamer's oourse, and bore fdown upon the -bairque, which, was now the-centre-of attraction-for the Arcadia's passengers, Vho, however, could ■ not fathom the pathetic-story told by the cluster of flags flying so,ja.un.t3y in the breeze. The - ringing' of .'the engine-romm, telegraph, th» Arcadia being hove to, apprised the passengers_ of the fact that something unusual was amiss:-: Quickly it became known,'tßaoffie i Sp&Sli'|ci%'w were starving, and thenall eyes ed urjoji the 'to .alleviate the. distress!" "Supplies <3 fresh meat, bread, tea, and coffee—were transferred to the barque In one of the lifeboats. How joyously the nEglish sailors were welcomed on the Annibal may, well be imagined. The Spaniards' had exhausted; their stores days before, all that -remained on board being a, small quantity of water. They reported having been at sea forty days, and were bound from Caracas, Venezuela, to Spain. '