The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1875-10-21

ping garments for dry ones, she sat down
at the table with what seemed to me al
most fiendish indifference.
Eat! You must eat y she cried.
"Who knows what an hour may bring
forth If you have to swim for your
life, will you have any chance if you
start exhausted2"
1 saw that she was right, aud we
snatched hasty meal together as best
we could. Just as we had finished,
quiver ran through the ship the mo-
ton changed she began to roll heavily.
away from its fastenings, and we were
thrown violently from one side of the
cabin to the other, in the midst of an
unfastened, or had broken away.
AS soon as we regained our feet, we
made for the deck. thought that the
last moment had come, and desired only
to see daylight once more. We had
parted from our anchor, and were drift
ing rapidly away toward the dark brist-
ling cliffs to leeward.
The sight seemed to restore confidence
and courage to Jenny. "Go forward"
she screamed in my ear ego forward,
you and the steward. and get the lower
sail on the foremast black Jem and 1
will steer the ship"
j nny's voice inspired me the pros
pect of doing something to avert our
fate gave me new strength. stumbled
forward, holding on to anything that
came 20 hand. The steward stood at the
door of his caboose, having jammed him
self into secure position pipe was
in his mouth, and black bottle in his
hand. He looked at me with lack-luster
eyes. "Come along, man," 1 shouted
in his ear "come and help me to get
up sail"
"What's the odds9" he replied in
sullen voice ; "what's the odds. Let's
be happy while we may"
The man was drunk. / cast despair
ing glance behind me when the poop,
raised high in the air by some towering
wave, seemed almost to touch the sky.
Jenny was at the wheel, shading her
eyes with her hand, looking anxiously
forward All ! what could do among
all this bewildering maze of cordage and
rigging. all shaking and rattling in the
wind-I, who hardly knew one rope
from another3 But the sight of Jenny
ut the wheel, looking out for me, nerved
me to do something. I made my way to
the foremast, and clambered up the rig
ging, looking down to o precipice of
water beneath me. Long ropes and fly
ing blocks threatened me every moment
with destruction but held on to the
ropes like grim death, and, inspired by
the courage of despair, I essayed that
which at another time 1 should have
never dreamed of crawled out on the
yard, with my knife in my teeth, and
cut, one by one, the lashings that bound
the sail to it.
The sail flew out with tremendous
report, and threatened every moment to
tear itself to tatters but, seizing rope,
L slid down to the deck with rapidity
that took every morsel of skin off my
ankles and getting hold of the rope
that / saw controlled the movements of
the sail, hauled it in bit by bit, and
succeeded in making fast one side of the
sail. The other offered less difficulty.
Jenny waved her hand triumphantly
from the poop. The ship began to move
through the water. We should clear the
headland, that now looked so ominously
upon us, crouching there like some hun
cry animal awaiting his prey.
crawled back to the poop, and Jenny
rewarded me with an encouraging grasp
of the hand. "You did that beautiful
ly," she cried. "Now, if the gale mod
crates, as 1 think it will, and doesn't
veer round more to the westward -
AS she spoke we shot past the head
land, and gained clear view of the coast
beyond. The sun was sinking low, and
showed for moment a blood-red streak
between two angry clouds. The lurid
light it cast upon the red frowning cliffs
was something appalling. They ran
along for miles, as far as the eye could
reach-steep, inaccessible heights, with
the surf beating angrily against them,
and flying up in clouds Of spray half way
to their summit.
As the sun went down it came on to
blow harder and more from the west
ward. The line of cliffs to leeward
loomed nearer and nearer. The sail
ceased to draw, beginning to shake and
flap with loud noise.
"She will go no nearer to the wind,
Willie," cried Jenny, knitting her brows
"and we drift continuously to leeward.
You must haul that sheet tighter, Willie
it's our only chance"
l was running forward to my work
when block, detached from the rigging
by the force of the wind, struck me vio
lently on the head, and 1 fell to the
ground insensible. When | came t.
myself, my head was aching violently
although it seemed to be supported by {
soft pillow. 1t was quite dark, and the
air was full of hideous noises, the scream
of the wind, the loud roar of the surf
filled the air with tumult indescribable
"Where am II" said, feebly, stretch
ing out my arms into the darkness.
felt arms about mine, soft kiss i'm
printed on my forehead.
"We shall be ashore, dear, in five
minutes, said voice in my ear, "ant
all our troubles over"
raised myself up, with groan, ant
tried to gain my feet, but fell back ex
hausted. The scene about me struck m'
with terror; the thought of drowning
helpless in this raging gull of waters haC
an ineffable bitterness for me.
"Willie," said Jenny once more in m.
ear, "if you get safe ashore, will yol
give my love to fatheri"
Then found that l was lying beneatl
the shelter of the poop-deck, protected
little by that from the seas that wer
breaking over us, and that life-belt wa
fastened under my arms. Jenny wa
crouched beside me, holding my head il
her lap, chatting my temples and hands
The few minutes that elapsed befor
we struck seemed as an age. The win
beneath the cliffs was not 80 violent, an
the back current of the waves kept U