Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 175, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 July 1912 — The Tide of Terror [ARTICLE]

The Tide of Terror

; A Weird Yarn of the Wide Waters That Went Wild

Copyright The Frank A. Munsey Co. CHAPTER VL Turning of the Tide. Wise men tell us that if a lane be long enough it will have its turning; also that there is no darker hour than that which comes before the dawn. It is probable that, if the conditions just described had continued for four Hours longer a panic would have been precipitated that must have shaken the country to its foundations. The press largely aided matters with its hysterical and sensational stories, all containing enough truth and logic to be doubly and dangerously exciting But in the morning, while the large crowds were gathering along the coast, tirelessly discussing ways and means, while the sun shone as brightly as though all had been well with the world, and gulls wheeled above the empty sea, a sound grew into the air, so low that at first, in the excitement, no one heard it; a distant toneless murmer, rising and falling in pulsations as regular as the slow beat of a giant heart. It seemed to come from everywhere, and nowhere; from the sky, from the ground, from the bed of the vanished waters—a steady, purring scarcely to be heard without a conscious effort. By its very persistence, rather than its volume, it began to make itself heard under all the excitement of the moment, forcing itself subtly on the attention. People listened, half doubting their own ears, and turned tp one another in perplexity and new uneasiness, nervous, and fearful of any fresh alarms. •‘What did it mean?” “Where did it come from?” “What caused it?” And everybody answered the question, each in a different way. It meant that a storm was coming; it meant that another calamity, even more astrons than the first, was about to overwhelm the land. It meant that all the electric power in the United States had broken loose, released by the abnormal depression of the atmosphere”, and was humming its dan-ger-song somewhere overhead in the ether, seeking only an adequate conductor to hurl its blasting death upon the world. This theory received widespread credence, and increased the agitation to an alarming extent. People believed everything; or, if nothing they heard suited them, they instantly invented new theories. It was several hours later that a man, walking with a friend upon the beach, glanced seaward, and made a discovery the significance of which he himself did not at first appreciate. “it doesn't look much like a storm to me, in spite of what they’re predicting. It's clearer than it was yesterday; you can see the bright line of the water out there more plainly than ever.” The friend also looked seaward. His vision may have been better, or he may have been gifted with a more vivid imagination, for he turned pale and caught the man’s arm. “That line of water is nearer!” he cried excitedly. “I believe the tide is coming in!” They scarcely dared, either of them, to credit this assertion. They stared at each other, and out at the bright streak of silver gleaming against the sky line. Without doubt it was wider than it had been on the preceding day. From passers-by they borrowed a pair of field glasses, saying nothing about what they believed to be their discovery, lest they should raise hopes that might prove false. / ' Others also began to watch; and then the truth became known. Little by little the silver line was actually widening, slowly and steadily, until at length thereCcould be no longer room for doubt—-the tide was coming back!

Bells rang, bonfires were lighted, In many churches impromptu thanksgiving services were held. One mighty explosion of delight and relief, and then the people settled down to wait in nerve-racking suspense for the actual coming of the waters. Large ship-owners and merchants, whose losseswere daily mounting into hundred thousands, walked the beach for hours, unconscious of hunger, heat, or weariness, every faculty absorbed in their desperate vigil. ' For the most part the crowds were patient with the odd philisophical patience of the American crowd, proverbially the 4>est natured in the world; in general they were silent for the issues involved were too great to admit of light-hearted and thoughtless chatter. . . ■* At last, from the watchers on Cape Race, Newfoundland, the point of land which, of all the North American continent lies nearest to Europe, there

rose a cry which ran like wildfire up and down the coasts — ’ “It’s true —the tide is rising! The water is. here!” . Far out, a dark line Was visible, creeping forward over the unevenness of the ocean shore, steadily advancing shoreward, touched here and there with gleams of sunlight. Again the tension of suspense snapped; on the beach the crowds surged up and down, aimlesb, excited and jubilant, eager as children released from school.

As quietly as it had gone out, the tide came purring in. First it covered the sea-plants which had lain drying in the sun, lapping over them with soft murmurings. It dipped into pools among the rocks and filled them; and thousands of dying creatures revived at its life-giving touch and renewed their desperate fight for life. Out where the water had deepened to a dull greenish hue, lashings of creamy foam showed where sharks and other gr£at fish were threshing furiously in their efforts to escape; a column of spray shooting high in air, a dark shape seen for an instant as it rose half out of water, a splash, and the captive was free. 'By degrees slow even to the eye, yet in reality with incredible swiftness, the water rose round the base of the mountain which had loomed out of the ocean bed. It felt with stealthy fingers around ships that lay on their sides like helpless leviathans, left by the ebb in the very act of escaping. Steadily it rose around them, lapping and gurgling; finally raised them slowly, with resistless strength, until they were once more afloat. And still the tide came singing in; and the mountains were submerged, and the outline of the. coast was no longer strange. A turmoil of activity along the coast awoke. Business was resumed with feverish hasts; the crowds began to disperse. Now they had something to do beside watch; the time had conje for action. Men went out in small boats to board the abandoned vessels and bring them into port. In a time unbelievably short the world appeared to have righted itself to normal. Everywhere people lifted their voices in paeans of* joy; but that did not hinder them from despatching aid to the devastated countries of Europe. The first ship to clear away for the other side was the Trojan, bound for Glasscoe with a cargo of wheat.' She cast off amid a salvo of cheers; gunk firedsalutes; she was-given speed from all the country. So the first hand was stretched across the sea once more, and the New World, recovering bravely from the blow which had been dealt her, went to the assistance of the Old. (To Be Continued.)