No," I said, "I did not notice it." For these big steamers go away to the minute, with the precision of a railway train.
He continued: "There was a detention of two minutes.''
"I saw excitement on the wharf," I said, "but I did not know what it was.''
"Well," he said, "my friend and I raced from California to catch the steamer. We had just five hours between the advertised time of arriving in New York and the sailing of the Teutonic. For days our train ran exactly to the minute, and we reached Albany, only a few hours from New York, exactly on time -- five days' traveling to the minute; but at Albany a snow storm came on. The conductor wired the White Star Company that there were two passengers on board their train who wanted to catch the Teutonic, and would they just wait a bit? On the train raced; we came to Jersey City, and the very ferryman had been advised to wait for us. We got across the river and got a cabman, and told him to hurry, hurry -- we had just about fifteen minutes, and we found as we swung into the wharf that we were half a minute behind time. There were two officers of the Teutonic, all was ready, every rope had been lifted, every gangway but one away, steam up and the Teutonic facing seaward, and the mighty racer across the deep was anxious to be off. Two minutes! There we are. I wanted to give the cabman something extra, but I could not get my hand into my pocket. They said: "Come away, come away, or you will be left behind," and I shouted to my cabman: "I'll see you when I come back," and he replied: "Ay, many of them tell me that, but they never see me;" and the fruit grower said: "When I get back to New York, in 21 days, I am going to find out that poor cabman and let him know that I mean it when I say 'I'll see you again.'"
But the point is that hardly had they got over the gangway, hardly had they got their feet on the deck, when the vessel swerved from the shore and swung out into the deep. No more to get on board, no possibility of getting on board. Do you see it? The ship of salvation is alongside the wharf, you may be saved tonight, but it is a matter of haste, for I believe that the gangway is about to be flung ashore. I believe that the passageway into grace is soon to be dropped, and the church of God, the saved in the ark of salvation, are to be taken away.
For your never-dying soul's sake get on board, for as soon as the ark is filled it is off. And it is filling up. They are coming from China, and from India, and from Japan, and from the isles of the sea -- and the ark is filling up, and soon the angel will get his instructions to put one foot on the sea and the other on the shore, and to swear that time shall be no longer. O soul, go aboard. Are you safe in the arms of Jesus? That will stand. Saved and safe. -- John Robertson.
By J. Wilbur Chapan, "Present Day Parables."