The New Bloomfield, Pa. times. (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1877-188?, 1880-08-24


hour before the tide turned would be
dead man la half an hour, for there was
no point among the network of currents
which the strongest swimmer could
hope to gain
who Is it2'' l asked. Could you
tell ?"
couldn't see for sure but 1t look
ell to seem like Lucy Green that keeps
company with master Brooks"
IA woman-good God ~ In this
peril, at least, something might possibly
he done AS fast as 1 could cover the
ground was at the coastguard station,
only to find a single old sailor OH what
was by courtesy called duty, strong
fellow enough, with any quantity of
rope on hand but what could two
men do
Nothing, certainly, without trying.
We could carry to the edge of the cliff
rope enough to reach the Carricks twice
over But that was little. How could
q awoman, even if she had the courage,
fasten herself safely to it, and keep her
the face of the cliff on her giddy upward
Journey And how could one man
reach her, with one of hands to hold to
the rope above him
Happily, the sea was tolerably calm
ofherwise, considering the shortness of
the time at our disposal, nothing could
have been done. 1t was only too certain
that somebody was there. The letter
carrier was positive that he had twice
saw woman on the rocks; the second
time, while 1 was on my way to the
coastguard station, he had seen her try
ing to Chamber further out seaward, as
if she had become fully aware of her
danger, and was trying to place herself
where she might have chance of being
cen from the shore. l looked at my
watch, and the sailor looked out to sea.
There was no boat to be signaled, and
not nearly time to obtain one for our
selves and to row round.
The question of the boat was settled
in single look from one to the other.
But the same look set the sailors wits
working,
g Run to the station" be said to the
letter carrier, and get all the oars you
can lay your hands on, and bring them
here, and look alive"
He craned over the edge of the path,
and so did 1, though more cautiously;
but there were no means of seeing any
In hof
already risen in surge of white foam
and dark green cascades over nearly the
whole length of the rocks below, SO that
any prisoner upon them must have been
driven for respite from death under the
hulging part of the cliff, where she
would be altogether out of sight of all
but the sea-gulls. Then the old sailor
looked out westward, where a broken
patch of white and gray cloud seemed
TO be rising from the sea into the sky
in the shape of spire.
"The wind won't be here till after
the turn, Sir" said he. " There won't
be so much swing on as there might
be-" He put his hands to his mouth
and shouted downward, but no answer
returned. Where's that young slug
with the oars ?'
could only hope that he had some
plan. 1 certainly could think of none.
Perhaps, though as anxious as any
human creature must'be when a man
or woman is drowning under his eyes,
and when he can do nothing but wait
above and listen for the dead heave of
full tide against the cliff to tell him all
was over, L may not have been SO alb
sorbed in the emergency as should
have been two or three hours before.
What was moments struggle with
the sea compared with that worse than
death against which 1 was trying to put
out my hands no less in vain ? 1 was
not, / feel sure, at that moment con-
sciously thinking of the greater peril
in the immediate face of the less; but
that it was the greater whic h had we'll
nigh paralyzed me know.
At last the lad hurried back with four
long oars. The old sailor laid them all
together, fagot-wise and bar-wise, over a
cleft in the edge of the path, SO that the
bundle of oars might serve for one
strong beam, and that the rope might
run through the cleft for groove before
swinging from the projecting rim of the
cliff out into the air.
OF course our idea was to fasten
whomever might find below to the
loose end of the rope, in hope that the
sailor, with whatever help the lettel