The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1868-03-12
a MAN OVERHOARD.
BY IKE MARVEL.

1t was one of those thunder and light
ming gales at night, when, for moment,
all would be as light as day, and moment
after as dark that you could not see an
oars length from the vessel. The ca otain
was forward, and all hands except the
cook and myself aloft.
The ship was pitching madly, and the
waves were topping up sometimes as high
as the yard arm, and then dipping away
with a whirl, under our keel, that made
every timber in our vessel quiYer The
| thunder was roaring like ten thousand
cannons, and every now and then, as I
said, half the sky would split into a stream
of fire, that glared over the tops of the
waves and glistened on the wet deck and
the spars, lighting up everything SO plain
that L could see the mems faces at the
main-top. and catch glimpses of the REFERS
on the yard arm-clinging like death
then all would be horrible darkness.
You could hear the spray splitting
against 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 sails bellied out to leeward-you
could hear the canvass splitting like the
crack OF a musket. You could hear, too,
the Captain forward, screaming out orders,
and the mate in the cross trees, screaming
them over, till the lightning came, and
then the thunder-both together-and
deadened their voices as if they'd been
pair Of little chirping sparrows.
1t was in one of these flashes that / saw
man on the yard arm lose his foothold,
as the ship gave plunge, but his arms
were clenched round the spar Before /
could see any more, the blaekness came
over, and the thunder broke with crash
that half-deafened me. thought heard
something like tiny howl, as it died oft:
and sure enough, at the next flash of
lightning, which came in a moment, what
should l see on the top of one of the waves
along side, but Tom Meeks the lightning
glared on his face, so that l could sec the
look in the poor fellows eye.
As good luck would have it he had
caught hold of one OF the studding sail
sheets as he fell, and as we pitched,
could see it slipping off the coil upon the
deck
[ shouted, like mad, ''Man overheard p
and had just time to catch the rope when
we could see nothing again. l was boy
then, and couldn't hold on by the rope
the sea was TOO high, and the man too
heavy for me.
l shouted, and shouted, and shouted,
and felt the sweat starting all over my
forehead, as the rope slipped through my
hands. Poor Tom had been our messmate
for year, and we all loved him
Presently the captain felt his way aft,
and took hold with me just as the coil was
nearly spent, and we pulled upon him, and
the cook came, and we three hauled to-
gether upon him.
Poor fellow! it must have been des-
perate work for him, for the ship was
drifting at prodigious rate, and we pull
ing at the same time-but he clung like
man.
Byand-by, at flash, we saw him on
crest, three oars length away from the
vessel
''Hold on my man." shouted the Cap
tain.
''For Gods sake be quick - said the
man, and he went down IN trough OF the
sea.
And we pulled the harder; and the
Captain kept all the while calling to him
10 keep up courage and hold on. But in
the hush we could hear Tom say
81 can't hold on much longer-Pm
almost gone.''
We called out the more to him to hold
on, and presently got him where we could
almost lay hold of him, and were ouly
waiting for good lift of the sea to bring
him up, when the poor fellow groaned |
out:
''It's no use-T can't-good- bye," and |
a wave tossed the end Of the rope clean up
upon the bulwarks
At the next flash we saw him going !
down under the water.
I shall never forget how he looked-for |
saw him plain-when he said 'fgood-
bye and let 60 his hold.