The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1880-11-12
crew safe on deck. 1t was the mates
boat.
Where are the othersp" was the first
dvestion

Fast to the whale" was ths answer.
and there are no lanterns on the boat"
One OF the men from.the boat relieved
Chips at the wheel, and he went for
ward to rig lanterns at the fore and
main tops. When this was done we
stood together on the forecastle, looking
and listening for the boats. Suddenly
he turned to me and said:
We're going to lose some one to-
night. While was at the wheel it
seemed to me as if something whispered
man tonight"
l said that ne was growing as super-
stitious as old Kanaka Joe, and he an
swered:
Il can't help it. 1t did seem that l
neard that whisper, and 20 plain was it
that l nearly dropped the wheA in ter
ror.
Another shout from the sea cut off
further talk, and we soon had two more
boats at the davits. The absent one was
MIR. Joseph's, and we knew that through
thick and thin he would hold on to the
whale. 1t was hours before we found
him, and when we did he refused to cut
his line from the carcass. The captain
cried 70 him that we could not hold the
whale in such SEA, but the whaleman
cried back:
He's a hundreds fifty barreler.
and if you don't take the line aboard,
we'll stick to him in the boati'
Soon after, MS the gale was moderat-
ing, the line was taken in, passing
through strong iron brace screwed on
to the starboard rail Just forward of the
gangway amidships, from which it was
taken back and made fast to the wind
lass bits at the foot of the mainmast.
1t was new line of stout m apila
hemp, and its strength was put to a
fearful test. A hundred fathoms astern
OF the ship it held the monsters carcass !;
and as the vessel rolled heavily to the
sea the strain on the line was terrific.
Standing. toward of it 1 laid my hand
on the line as the strain came, and 1
ielt 1t stretch and contract like rope of
india rubber.
MIR. Joseph's boat had come alongside,
and the captain, standing on the star
board rail, was shouting to him through
a trumpet. The line from the whale
passing from astern to the braoe forward,
and back to the bits amidships, made an
acute angle, inside of which the cap
tain was standing. / saw and noticed
also, in the dark. a tall man, who
seemed to be leaning against the line.
" hope he is forward of it," said to
myself rs l went on with what l was
about.
l had not taken six steps from the
spot when something strange occurred.
The ship steadied as il the wind had
ceased. There was no sound greater
than the storm; but, instead, there
seemed to fall suddenly a stiffness. l
ran amidships and grasped for the line
In the dark: 1t was gonel A rush to the
rail, and all was clear. The strain had
torn out the brace. The mighty pull of
the whale astern had jerked the line
straight, Like the cord OF a gigantic bow.
and the captain, who had been standing
on the rail, was struck by the flying
rope and thrown senseless far into the
sea.
All this had been seen by the men in
the boat before any one on board had
realized the affair. In less than minute
the cry of "Saved!' reached us from MIR.
Joseph, and, in shorter time than can
be imagined by landsman, the boat
was hanging from the davits, and the
! injured commander was being cared for
in his cabin.
Rum and hard rubbing are the potent
remedies on IA whaler, and by dint OF
these the captain opened his eyes in a
quarter of an hour. He had been
stunned. but not seriously injured.
He was amazed at first at seeing the
mate and myself standing over him with
the rum bottle. But without a word
be realized the situation.
How is the weather ?" he asked.
"The wind has gone down" said Mr..
Joseph. We're under foresail jib and
reefed topsails, and running right away
from the whale"
"Gonep" said the old mnn.
"Gone!" answered Mr.. Joseph, rue
fully. Stanchion dragged, and the
line parted, and $4,000 went without an
owner"
Tell Chips to see to that broken rail-"
said the captain, closing his eyes drows-
LAY, ay, sir" said the old second
mate, rs he stamped on deck.
heard him stop at the after-hatch,
where the boat-steerers and the carpen-
ter lived, and call "Chips" two or
three times. At last there was an an
swer in another voice-not Chips; then
a round of hurried feet ON deck, a shout
down the forecastle, and a shout back
in answer. There was no Chips there
Two minutes after heavy foot came
aft to the cabin stairs, and Mr.. Joseph,
with white face entered.
1 knew what he had to tell. knew
now-just as if had seen it all-who
the tall man was whom had seen lean
ing against the line.
The captain looked a. the second
mate.
Chips is gone, sir" said the old
sailor, with tremor in his rough voice
"Chips was knocked over by the line,
and we've gone four knots since it
parted. I've put her about, and we're
running down again"
There was dead silence. We all
knew the search was hopeless. No man
could swim in such q sea, and we had a
thought, though no one spoke 1t, that
brave Chips had been killed by the line
before he touched the water.
All night we beat about the place
where we thought h had occurred. The
wind and sea fell, and the moon came
out in great beauty to help our sad
search. Every man on board stayed
on deck till the sun rose. and then we
looked far and vainly over the heed
less swell of the sea.
Chips was dead. The rough Portu-
guese lads found it hard to believe that
the kind heart and strong hand of their
friend had gone forever. We all knew
that the best man in the ship WAS taken
away.
Two years afterward, when / found
myself in Boston, took from my sacred
things letter which had found in
Chips chest. 1t was addressed to
woman. with the name and number of a
Cambridge street. / found the place-a
small frame house, with lots of Chips
handiwork around it. His mother met
me at the door, a white-haired woman.
She seemed to have been waiting and
watching for somebody. A few words
told the hopeless story. The letter was
for her. and she read 1t over-tha letter
OF her only boy, asking forgiveness for
his one great and only disobedience-
and as she read, the white bead bent
lower and lower, till it met the thin
hands; and / turned and left the little
room / had daEkened. with all its poor
ornaments, useless now, and, as walked
toward Boston, l could not help think
lag that Gods ways are often wofully
tar from being our ways.
Ten thousand English miners are an
nually injured ny accidents, and $50 OF