Stragglers

stragglers: Just then, the ferrys mournful horn groans and we look toward the water. For a split second, it appears motionless, as if caught between the pull of the island that beckons just off the coast and the need to come back for stragglers. We come from Halifax, where bus drivers seem to take immense pleasure in watching stragglers run for the bus, only to pull away just before they reach it. So the sight of a ferry loaded with passengers and vehicles returning to land after its lines have been cast renders us nearly speechless, according to The Chronicle Herald. But it is, and we watch, incredulously, as the vessel slowly changes direction and inches its way back to the concrete slip. The ramp is lowered and we are waved on board, swallowed into the noisy belly of the ship and We scream around the final corner of the twisting road, catching air on one particularly nasty bump, and screech to a stop in the ferry terminal parking lot. But we are too late. The Capt. Earl W. Winsor is already belching smoke as it heads for Fogo Island, N.L. We have sped four hours north from St. Johns to Farewell in hopes of making the 5 p.m. crossing. Its 5:01. I cant believe we missed it, Jayson, my travelling companion, gasps to the man in the ticket booth. Now we have to wait for three more hours! It cant be coming back, can it? Jayson blurts out, then turns to the guy in the ticket booth. Its coming back for us? Seriously? (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.