The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1878-11-15


out in moment the wind was upon us in /
ull force the canvas tapped wildly, and a
hen tore away from its fastenings, flew away
10 leeward, visible Tor moment in the skv,
like white bird, and was lost in the
gloom.
Won't father be angry p cried Jennie.
claspiug her hands so many yards of good
canvasp
Are we not in frightful danger here p |
said. why, wonder, has your father not
returnedY
Jennie shook her head One cant fore
see everything. Perhaps he is now on his
way.
She took up the binocular and peered
anxiousIy through the mist. But no boat
was to he seen. The sea seemed of a sudden |
deserted, except for one or two fishing smacks |
to the Southward, that with one or two sails |
half lowered were scudding rapidly for the |
harbor But for us, in the teeth of this
Southwesterly gale the harbor mouth was as
inaccessible as the moon
Jennie lefC the poop, and ran forward to
the fore part OF the vessel. | followed her
as well as ! could holding on by this and
that for our ship was now pitching heavily
upon the swell. | found her by the bowsprit
watching the rise and the fall of the ship
with anxious eyes The great black chain
that, as the vessel fell, would be invisible in
the waves, as she arose stretched itself tight
as a how.string, with clank and groan
that made one shudder. Our lives hung up
on that chain, that the waves seemed to sport
with as toy. As we stood there a wave
larger than the others rose upon us without
warning, and swept the deck with its ire.
sistabe force bearing everything movable
with it. clung desperately to Delaying
pin, aud Jennie clung to me and, after
awhile, the Petrel rose CALAMITY from the
shock, .he water streaming frow her sides.
Drenched and cowed by the violence of the
shock, we made our way back to the poop.
As we reached the cabin door the steward
was reelng across the sloppy deck, carrying
n steaming pish of potatoes. 1t was three
o'clock, the hour for dinner. Sink or swim,
he would have the dinner on the table by 8
then his cares were over for the day, and he
devoted himself to rum and tobacco.
you surely can't eat, Jennie?' cried, as
after she had changed her dripping garment,
for dry ones, she sat down at the table witt
what seemed to me almost fendish indiffer
ence
Eat You must eat !" she cried. 'Whc
knows what an hour may bring forth |
you have to swim for your life will you hav
any chance if you start exhausted p
| saw that she was right and we snatche
a hasty meal together as best we could. Jus
as had finished a quver ran through tn
ship the motion chbnged she began to rol
heavily. The sofa on which we were sittin
broke away from its fastenings, and we wer
thrown violently from one side of the cabi
TO the other, in the midst ofan avalanche q
all the movables that were unfastened or ha
broken away.
As soon as We regained our feet we mad
for the deck. thought that the last me
ment had come, and desired only to see day
light once more. We had parted from on
anchor, and were drifting rapidly away to
ward the dark bristlng cliffs to leeward.
The sight seemed to restore confidence an
y screamed in my ear; go forward, you an
the steward, and get the lower sail on tn
foremast black Jem and | will steer tn
ship.
| Iapn ~ ral ba
" of doing something to avert our fate gay
Il me new strength. | stumbled forward hole
ing on to anything that came to har d, Th
steward stood at the door of his caboose, ha,
u lug jammed himself into secure position
a pipe WAS in his mouth and black bott
. n his hand He looked at me with lacb
u lUstre eyes. Come along, man shoute
" in his ear come and help me to get u
sail
< Whats the odds? he replied, in a sudde
h voice, what's the odd, ? Let's he hapl
i while we may
= The man was drunk | cast despairin
" glance behind me when the poop, raise
;, high in the air by some towering wav
- seemed almost to touch the sky. Jennie vi
" at the wheel, shading her hand, lookir
anxiously forward. All what could {
-. among all this bewildering mass Of cordal
and rigging, all shaking and rattling in Il
wind-I who hardly knew one rope from a
", other? But the sight of Jennie at the whe
looking out for me nerved me to do som
thing. | made my way to the foremast al
clambered up the rigging, looking down
precpice of waters beneath me. Loo
~ ropes and flying blocks threatened me
every moment with d, structiOn /; but | he
" held on to the rope like grim death and i
spired with the courage of despair, ] essay
that which at another time would not hs
N dreamed Of; crawled out on the yard wi
h. my knife in my teeth, and cut one by o.
J. the lashings that bound the sail to it.
'e The sail flew out with tremendous repO
10 threatened every moment to to tear itself
"a ta.ters, but seizing a rope, | slid down to t
al deck with a rapidity that took every mor-
lie of skin off my ankles, and, getting hold
A. the rope that saw controlled the movemeI
of the sail, hauled it in bit by bit, a
lg succeeded in making fast one side OF the sa
D. The other offered less difficulty.
t, Jennie waved her hand triumphant
II from the poop. The ship began to mo
Il. through the water, no longer tC drift helplC
ID and iororn We should clear the heada
er that now looked so ominously upon |
f. crouching there like some hungry amin
| waiting is prey,
H. crawled back to the poop, and Jenn
'e rewarded me with an encouraging grasp
IL the hand You did that beautifully, 5
cried. Now, if the gale moderates, as
IN think it will, ard doesn't yeer around NO
ly to the Westward
Ol As she snake we shot mast the headIaI