The Washington critic., 1885-09-28

windward, brought her into the
trough, and q sea breaking on board
swept off the skipper with three of the
crew.
There were now left on board Viuton
and five mcn--thc cook (a Frcnchman),
three Swcdcs, and Mike Grccnlcaf, nm
old whalcman, rude, powerful fel-
low, who went by the name of North
wcster.
At If o'clock she struck drift;
death now seemed inevitable, for dead
TO leeward lay the terrible shoal of
Georges.
Ninton strove TO encourage the others,
saying that she drifted slowly and
might bring up; he also proposed to
put sails on her and try to beat or.
The others paid not the least regard to
him, but went into the cabin There
was in the shippers berth two-gallon
jug of rum, and they had resolved to
drink and die As Mike was about to
pull the slke over he turned aud said
Jack, are you fool enough to think to
beat this craft to windward agin such a
sea and agin this gale, siX-knot tide
and under short sail2'
"Then let's sCud her across the shoal
There's chance and it's our duty TO
improve it, BE a man, Mike; you're
capable of II"
81 don't think there's ghost of II
chance, but I'll stand by you
Mike then persuaded Stalcap, one of
the Swedes, to come out and lend
hand. The fore and main sails were
set Ninton took the helm, Stalcap
stood by the jib halyards, and Mike
with a hatChct was at the windlass
Three or -four hanks Of the jib were
hoisted, and the moment the sail took
the cable was cut
Rising upon the summit of mighty
wave, away went the swift craft like
an arrow launched from bow, direct
for the shoal. The only chance for
life lay in passing over the shoal spots
on the top of wave, in hitting some
of the deep channels between them,
and in the mere possibility that the
breakers astern might fall short and
not engulf them. A possibility only
lay between them and eternity, and
well they knew it,
My God, we're on the shoalH' cried
Stalcap.
Upon either side rose a wall of foam
higher than the masthcads and broke
with a terrific roar. They were swept
from their feet and waist deep in water,
while the schooner, rolling from side
to side in the eddy caused by the re-
coil of the breakers as though she
would turn over, passed on in the chan
mel between them.
Blinded by snow, drcnched in water,
and incrusted with ice, on they went
amid roar like that of thousand
thunders, for the sea was breaking in
ten fathoms of water all around them.
The next moment the vessel seemed
TO stand on end, and then, borne with
fearful velocity on the comb of u
breaker, was hurled into the gulf be-
low.
"Here IL comes Look out for your
selves - cried Vinton. Each one clung
to the life lines they had stretched fore
and aft.
On it came, bursting the mainsail,
sweeping everything movable from the
deck and crushing the craft under such
a weight of water that the crew gave
themselves up for lost.
Slowly she came up, and was so long
| gathering headway with lcsscned saiD
that the next breaker barely fell short
of the stern. For half an hour it
seemed as though the seas that broke
astern must come on board, but, though
deluged in spray, they escaped.
The sea now began sensibly to grow
calmer. They had passed the shoal,
which, while they were to the leeward
threatened their destruction, but now,
being TO windward, broke the force of
the sea and made it comparatively
smooth
Sounding, they found nineteen
fathoms; after awhile, sounding again,
they found twenty-five.
They now hove to till daybreak Qor
the force of the gale was evidently
broken) and went below for rest and
warmth.
In the morning they shovcled foot
of snow from the deck and shaped their
course for home
The owners gave Ninton the com
mand of the vessel and in fortnight
he was again in Georges.
In two years he was master of sea
going bark. This had been his aim;
from the first he did what he could to
be able to do what he would
The people of Nova Scotia said he
was a chip of the old block, just like
his grandfather The Cape Ann
people said that it was just his luck.