For himself, he
asked no place. He had the spirit of the soldier who expires beside
his dying horse, looking fondly at the animal that has borne him so
many times in safety, and now gives up his life with his master's.
"For God's sake, come, Quincy!" cried Alice. "For our sake!" and
Florence added her entreaties.
Quincy turned and saw a woman with a child by her side. She had made
her way from the steerage. She was being deported, for she suffered
from trachoma. She had been refused permission to land and join her
husband who had stood outside the "pen" and gazed at her and the
child. Quincy placed the woman in the boat beside his wife and put
the child in its mother's arms.
"Lower away!" came a shrill cry.
"Oh, Quincy, must we part thus?"
Captain Haskins grasped Quincy by the arm.
"Get into the boat, Mr. Sawyer."
Quincy saw that the boat, filled with women, was already over-loaded.
He turned to the Captain and said: "There is more room here with
you."
Nature's ways are mysterious but effective. A brisk breeze broke the
fog, and the rays of the noonday sun fell upon a placid sea. The boat
containing Alice and Florence was picked up by the _Macedonian_ of a
rival line and the rescued made comfortable. For hours the steamer
cruised about rescuing hundreds of the _Altonia_'s passengers, but
some of the boats were never heard from.
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