Litchfield enquirer., 1849-09-20

|
ment all would be as hight as day, and a
moment after, so dark that you could
not see an oars-length from the vessel.
The Captain was forward, and all hands,
loft.
The ship was pitching uadly, and the
waves were topping up sometimes as
high as the yard -arm, aud then dipping
away with whirl under our keel, that
made every timber in the vessel culver.
The thunder was roaring fale ten thou
sand cannops, ,aRd every now and then
as said, half the sky would split up in
stream of fire, that glared over the
tops of the waves, and gaistened on the
wet deck and on the spars-lighting up
everything SO plain, that could see the
mems faces at the main top, and. catch
glimpses of the REFERS on the yard arm,
clinging like death---then all !, ould be
horrible darkness.
You could hear the spray splitting a.
gainst the canvass, and the great waves
breaking On the weather bow, and the
howl Of the wind through the rigging.
and now and then when a gasket gave
way, and the sail bellied to leeward, you
could hear the canvass splitting like the
crack Of "a musket.
You could hear too, the Captain for
ward, screaming out orders, and the
mate In the cross.tree screaming EN- over
till the lightning came, aud the thunder,
both together, and deadeped their voices
as it they had been o pair of chirping
sparrows.
1t was in enc of the flashes that / saw
hand on the yard arm loose his foot
hold, as the ship gave a plunge. but his
arms were .clipched round the spar.
Before I'could see more, the blackness
came over, and the thunder broke with a
crash that half deatened nae. ! thought
l heard something like tiny howl, as it
died OF, and sure enough, at the next
flash Of lightning that came in a moment
what should ] see on the top of one Of
the waves alongside, but Tom Meeks
the Lightning glared on his face, so that
l could see the look in the poor fellow s
eye.
AS good luck would have it, he had
caught hold one of the lower studding-
sail sheets as he fell, apd as we pitched l
could perceive it slipping off the coil up
on the deck.
j shou;ed ike mailman overheard
and just had time TO catch the rope.
when we could see nothing again. l
was but boy then aud could mt hold BY
the rope. the sea was too high and the
man too heavy for me.
l shouted, apd shouted again, and felt
the sweat starting all over my forehead,
as the rope slipped out through my
hands.
Presently the Captain felt along aft
and grasped the rope, just as the coil
was nearly spent, and we pulled away
and the cook came, and we all thaee
hauled on him. Poor fellow! it must
have been desperate work for him, fol-
the ship was drifting at prodigious rate
and we pulling at the same time~-but hs
chung like a man.
By-and-by, at fash, we saw him o,
a crest, three oars length away from thu
vessel.
Hold tight. my man !" shouted tn
Captain.
"For Gods sake. be quick" said tn,
man, and he went down in a trough O
the sea. And we pulled the harder
and the Captain kept all the while calling
to him to keep up courage and bold on
But in the hush we could hear Tom say
"Ican't hold on much longer. Pm mos
gone"
We. called ont the more TO him 10 held
OF land presently got him where we could
most lay hold Of HIM. and were only wait-
ing for good lit Of the sea, to bring him
up, when the poor fellow groaned ont-s'I'ts
no use; | can't: good bye!" and a wave
tossed the end OF the rope clear M upoa the
bulwarks.
At the next. fash we saw him going down
under the water.
! never shall forget how he looked-fos
we saw MIN plaiD-when he said "Good>
hive I" and let 90 his hold.