The Lake County star. [volume] (Chase, Mich.) 1873-current, 1874-07-30

ING. added dizzying whirl of lights and
to this vision. The shape of the
cannon was undistinguishable from the
rapidity of its course; now it looked
black in the light, now it cast weird re-
Elections through the gloom.
It kept on its work of destruction. It
had already shattered four other pieces,
and dug two crevices in the side, for
tunately above the water-line, though
they would leak in case squall should
come on. 1t dashed itself frantically
against the framework; the solid tie
beams resisted, their curved form giving
them great strength, but they creaked
ominOusly under the assaults of this ter
rible club, which seemed endowed with a
sort of appalling ubiquity, striking. on
every side at once. The strokes of bull
let shaken in a bottle would not be
madder or more rapid. The four wheels
passed and repassed above the dead men,
cut, carved, slashed them, till the five
corpses were a score of stumps rolling
about the deck; the heads seemed to cry
out streams of blood twisted in and out
of the planks with every pitch of the
vessel. The ceiling, damaged in several
places, began to cape. The whole ship
was filled with the awful tumult.
The captain promptly recovered his
composure, and at his order the sailors
threw down into the deck everything
which could deaden and check the mad
rush of the gun-mattresses, hammocks,
spare sails, coils of rope, extra equip
ments, and the bales of false assignats, OF
which the corvette carried a whole
cargo; an infamous deception, which the
English considered fair trick of war.
But what could these rags prevail
No one dared to descend to arrange them
in any useful fashion, and in few i'll
stants they were mere heaps of lint.
There was just sea enough to render
an accident as complete as possible. A
tempest would have been desirable; 1t
might have thrown the gun upside
down, and the four wheels once in the
air, the monster could have been mas
tered. But the devastation increased
There were gashes and even fractures in
the masts, which, embeddedin the wood
work of the keel, pierce the decks OF
ships like great round pillars. The miz
zenmast was cracked, and the main mas
itself was injured under the convulsiv'
blows of the gun. The battery was be
ing destroyed. Ten pieces out of thu
thirty were disabled; the breaches mul
tiplied in the side, and the corvette be
gan to takein water.
The old passenger, who had descended
to the gun-deck, looked like form o
stone stationed at the foot of the stairs
He stood mOtionless, gazing sternly
about upon the devastation. Indeed, i
seemed impossible to take a single stel
forward.
Each bound of the liberated carronad,
menaced the destruction of the vessel
A few minutes more and shipwrecl
would be inevitable.
They must perish or put summar.
end to the disaster-a decision must b
made-but how?
What combatant - this cannon
They must check this mad monster
They must seize this fash of lightning
They must overthrow this thunder
bolt. :,
Boisberthelot said to La Vieuvillt
/" Do YOU believe in God, ChevalierT
La Vieuville replied, eyes, Nc
Sometimes"
"In a tempest g' -. :,
Yes; and in moments like this
"Only God can aid us here" sal
Boisberthelot.
All were silent---the cannon kept u
its horrible fracas.
The waves beat against the ship; the
blows from without respond to the stroke
of the cannon.
1t was like two hammers alternating
Suddenly, into the midst of this so
of inaccessible circus, where the escape
cannon leaped and bounded, there sprar
man with an iron bar in his hand. d,
was the author of this catastrophe, II
gunner whose culpable negligence Ina
caused the accident,--the captain of Il
gun. Having been the means of brin
ing about this misfortune, he desired
repair it. He had caught up a ham
: spike in one fist, tiller-rope with
Slipping moose in the other, and jumpt
down into the gun-deck. Then a stranl
, combat began; titanic strife--the str'l
! gle of the gun against the gunner,
, battle between matter and intelligence,
, duel between the inanimate and Il
: human.
} The man was posted in an angle, Il
, bar and rope in his two fists back
against one of the riders, settled firm
t on his legs as on two pillars of ste'
4 livid, calm, tragic, rooted as it were
e the planks, he waited.
o He waited for the cannon to pr
s near him. The gunner knew his pie'
e and it seemed to him that she recognize
her master. He had lived long til
n with her. How many times he h
thrust his hand between her jaws!
>; was his tame monster. He began to G
= dress il as he might have done his dog.
o "Come!" said he. Perhaps he low
e it. -, l..
e He seemed to wish that it would tu
n toward him. -,
, But to come toward him would be
N spring upon him. Then he would
E. lost. How to avoid its crushY In
Is was the question. All stared in terrlf
Is silence.
r Not breast respired freely, exec
st perchance, that of the old man
t. stood alone i'm the deck with the
is combatants, a stern second.
lg He might himself he crushed by
piece. He did not stir.
We Beneath them, the blind sea direc
y, the battle.
e, At the instant, when, accepting
r. awful hand-to-hand contest, the gun
to approached to challenge the cam
eel chance fuctuation of the waves kept
lis for moment immovable, as if suddel
ne stupefied.
ut "Come onw the man said to it.
u, seemed to listen.
~ ~ Suddenly it darted upon him.
~ gunner avoided the shock.
on on The struggle began struggle unhe
81 81 of. The fragile matching itself aga
~ ~ the invulnerable. The thing of flesh
IN IN tacking the brazen brute. On the
or' on side blind force, on the other soul.
ia The whole passed in half-light.
,at was like the indstinct vision of
wv acle.
ed A soul--strange thing but you W.
ror have said that the cannon had one al