The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1880-07-27

ALI this must be thought Of, in the very
crisis Of the peril, if the task is to be
achieved at all.
Suddenly cheer comes pealing from
the shore, so loud and hearty as to be
heard above all the roar Of the storm,
and it is repeated again and again, till
every Granny of the great cliff seems
alive with echoes
"He must ha' done it, sir" saws the
boatswain to the first officer, "for l feel
the rope comm taut in my hands"
Sure enough, in another moment the
narrow black line stood clearly out
against the ghostly white Of the sea fof
some distance from the wreck, although
further out It was completely hidden by
the leaping waves.
"Now, my lads" cried Captain Hardy,
"off with you, and mind you hold fast.
If we we're boarding an enemy / would
not ask you to 60 first; but this is diff
ferent thing. don't take my foot off
these planks till every other man has left
them: SO the sooner you get ashore the
less time you'll keep me waiting"
The concluding joke, grim as 1t was,
touched his hearers in the right spot
They answered him with cheer and at
once began to push themselves off upon
their perilous journey. More than once
stided cry was heard from the depth of
darkness as furious wave tore some
poor fellow from the slippery cord and
whirled him away to destruction; but the
greater part reached the shore in safety,
hailed hy the lusty cheers of the fisher
men. After the turn of the men came
that of the officers. One by one they
cleared the deadly space, till the only
man left upon the wreck was the captain
himself, All at once terrible cry was
heard, and the first officer, turning has.
tily, saw the rope tossing loose upon the
waves. 1t had snapped in the middle!
"God help num-" muttered an old ish-
erman sadly; sit be a. over wi mum
now!"
"What ?" shouted Thompson, starting
up from the wet shingles upon which be
had been lying exhausted. "All over
with him, dye say Not while we have
hands of our own, anyhow
"Bill, what's got into your" asked
one of his comrades, jokingly. "1heard
you say myself only last week, as you'd
give years pay to see the old man in q
scrape that he couldn't get outof."
"And what o. that ? retorted the other
savagely. f"D'ye think Bill Thompson's
the one to remember any sich foolery
when there's a brave man dyin' right
afore his very eyes tell ye he give me
his hand aIore the whole ships company
just as if him and me warnt captain
and A, B. at all, but man and man, and
III help him somehow, if die for it
".Ee best q brave.lad," said one OF the,
ishermed approvingly; "but boat nor
line can ever reach yon man now. God
ha' mercy upon nuns soul! -
"Aud 80 we're sl to git safe ashore
and leave our cap'nf behind to drownp
cried sailor. fiercely. "That nd be a
nice story for English ue-jackets to
tell, wouldn't it2 Mates. are we men,
or are we pack O. skulkers as oughtn't
never to show, their faces on blue water
ag'in9 Who'll help me to take boat
out to him ?"
II willw
"And IH
"And Il"
"Come along then!"
"Bide We, bide ye, lads p cried the old
fisheSman; cecil do naught O. good
thik' way. But I'll tell zee what ye med
do, it the wind 'ud only shift p'nt or
two to the BASTARD, as 1t do seem to be
for doin'."
at is shifting; see It'll" exclaimed
Thompson, eagerly. "What are we to
do, daddy 2 tell US quick"
see see you pint p said the veteran,
indicating the rocky headland that closed
in the bay to the. east. "When the wind
be south -and-b -by-west, it maxi coorreit
across the bsy, right down to the rocks
where the vessel be lynn; ZEE med get to
mum So"
The impatient crew barely gave him
time to finish. One universal hurrah
shook the air, and in an instant these
bruised, half.drowned, starving men,
who had seemed hardly able to stand
few minutes before, we're running like
madmen toward the point, where they
scarcely waited to let the wind change
sufficiently for their purpose before
launching boat and pulling furiously
toward the wreck.
Meanwhile, how Jared it with the
doomed captaini Perhaps even his
stout heart may have failed for q mo-
ment, at the thought of bis young wife
FAR away on the sunny Kentish shore,
and the two little girls who.were praying
that "papa might come safe back from
sea-" while be stood there alone with
death. But, whatever might be the peril
that threatened him, there was no "while
feather" about Captain Richard Hardy;
and the eyes that had faced without
ninching the grinning muExles of French
cannon looked just rs fearlessly upon
the gushing waves. Suddenly q loud
hurrah came rolling over the wild sea,
and the rising moon, breaking for mo-
ment through the inky masses OF cloud,
showed him boat coming straight to.
ward him, in the bow OF which sat the
scapegrace Thompson, bending to his
oar with the strength Of a giant.
And as they approached he could hear
beneath his feet the rending Of the tim
bers, and the gurgle of tie fatal water
as it poured in, keeping time to the oar
strokes OF his deliverers
"Pull, boys. roared Thompson, "will
yer let him drown afore yer eyes ,"
At that moment mountain wave
! broke over the wreck, completely bury
ing it for an instant. A terrible crash
was heard, and when the spray cleared
| it was seen that the vessel had parted
amidships, and that the whole after part
was. clean gone. The bow, however,
still held firm, and upon it, shadowlike
in the itful moonlight, stood the dark
figure OF the captain.
"Hold up, your honor" shouted
Thcmnson uanothpr minute and von're