The Vermont transcript. [volume] (St. Albans, Vt.) 1864-1870, 1866-10-05

fathers side
About an hour after the brig had
made sail, the first lieutenant, stout,
coarse fellow, named Wooler, came up
to where Flora stood, and placing his
hand upon her fair neck, he asked her
for kiss. She started back, and
while her eyes flashed fire, she drew a
small pistol from her bosom, and
cooked it,
Miserable dog" she uttered in a
low, firm tone, dare to place your
foul touch upon me again and you
shall die"
Tut, tut, my pretty bird cried
Wooler You wouldn't be SO cruel. d"
But his voice trembled, and his frame
shook with the modification he had
tried to hide
think You will not tempt me, at
all events, the maiden returned with
biting irony.
The lieutenant bit his lips, and his
fists were clenched; but he had not
the daring to 60 farther, so he turned
away and walked aft Fromsthat mo
ment the crew looked upon the maiden
with admiration They did not like
Wooler in the least
1t was afternoon when the brig
squared away, and rs the wind WIS
light and battling, she made but little
Roadway. It was Just four o'clock
when she passed Eraid, and by that
time the wind had died almost to
calm. The heavens had grown dark
the air cold aud pulling, and night
seemed coming on with the sun yet
up. Captain Thornhill gave orders
for taking in the sail, and ere long the
brig lay under closo-reefed topsai, aud
forestry sail.
At shutdown the wind came in from
the southwark and westward and by
the time night had fairly settled down
1t blew a gale The Captain tried
awhile to keep TO the wind under the
three sails he had left on, but the
wind was too strong. 1t blew per-
feet hurricane, aud the sea began TO
rise and freak over the deck; and ere
long it became evident that one of the
topsails must be taken in
1t was bad place in which to be
caught thus. Thomhill knew that be
must be near the mouth Of the sound
of Null, and if he lay-to, the gale
would tend TO drive him into it. He
was not acquainted with the place,
and though he had good charts, yet
he did not feel safe
Higher and higher grew the furious
wind until the sea seemed dancing
over the frail bark The masts groan-
eel and crcaked, the rigging grated
and strained, and every crack aud
seam capped beneath the fearful strain
The wind howled and roare1, and the
mad sea su. ged and boiled, until the
whole scene appeared but the result
OF a furious war of the boisterous ele-
ments
At midnight, Captain Thornhill be-
gan to be frightened The wind was
not only undated, but the rain had
begun TO drive down, and the night
was as black us one solid mass OF
ink.
Wooler,' he said, as he drew bis
oiled jacket up over bis face to pro
tect it from the driving rain, can
you not hear the roar Of breakers
ahead?'
Il have thought ! heard them for
some time, returned the lieutenant.
holding firmly by the lifeline to pre-
vent being washed away by the break
ing sea-
And yet we can do nothing" the
( Captain resumed, being obliged to cry
ont with all his might to make his
voice heard above the roar of the Gle
ments
TO yeer an atom would be sure
destruction. But we cannot live much
longer. Every rope and stick is
strained to its utmost. OH if we
had room to run off before it.
But we hayn't, was Wooler's ear
nest response.
Yet the brig lived through the night,
and when the morning dawned, the
wind seemed to increase rather than
diminish, 1t was near the autumnal
equinox, and there was every prospect
that the storm would be long one. -
The rain fell in torrents, the heavens
were dark, and the air piercing
Thornhill had no idea of his wherea-
bouts; for how far the brig had been
driven by the fury of the night, he
could not tell; yet he supposed that
he must be somewhere near the chops
of the Sound of Null.
1t was a few minutes past six when
the Captain was startled by loud cry
forward, and ON working his way
thither he found that the foremost
was sprung just above the pipe rack
He had hardly discovered the danger,
when another shout from the poop
called him aft, and hulrying back
again, sight met his gaze that made
his heart leap with horror
Directly under the lee-quartcr, and
not over a quarter of mile distant,
was n bold, rocky coast, over which
the sea was dashing fcarfully. And
all along, too, to the northward, the
same horrid scene extended
Good God, cried Wooler, at this
moment pointing over the weather
bow, "there are more rocks there
See see We are surrounded !"
The men were all called but not one