Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1885-08-30

! called again, and again got no AN
swcr. | might have thought the Hog
ging had taken away his senses had
not some OF the men assured me that
they had heard MIN, not an hour be-
fore, talking to himself. ] did not
trouble HIM again until the next morn
ing; but went to the hatchway after
breakfast aud called out to him once
more. heard nothing from him, nor
could Spe him; | had not seen him
since put him down there. | called
out several times, but he would make
me no answer; and yet the same men
told me that they had heard him talk
that very morning. llc seemed to be
calling Tor them to help him. He would
ask them for help, but he would not
ask me. | meant to break him into it,
He'll beg before he'll staryc,'
Thoughts; and SO | determined that he
should stay there. supposed he had
crawlcd forward to the iorecastlc bulk
head in order to make the sailors hear
him. Some of the men asked to be
permitted to go down and look after
him, bat ! refused. | threatened to
punish the first man who dared to 90
down.
"At noon went again, and as he
did not answer me this time, | resolved
that he should come to the hatchway
and ask for me ere ! went any more.
The day passed away, and when even
ing came again | began to be startled
L thought of how many good qualities
the boy had; and | thought of his
widowed mother. He had been thirty
six hours in the hold. and fully forty
hours without food or drink. He must
be too weak to cry out now. 1t was
hard for me to give up, but if the boy
died there from absolute starvation, it
might 90 harder with me still. SO at
length | made up my mind to go and
see him. 1t was not quite sundown
when had the hatch taken off, and |
jumped down upon the boxes alone.
A little way toward | saw space
where Jack might have gone down,
and to that point | crawlcd on my
hands and knees. | called out here,
but could hear no answer. A short
distance farther was wider space,
which | had entirely forgotten, but
which | now remembered had been left
open on account of break in the
flooring of the hold, which would have
let anything that might have been
slowed there rest directly on the outer
planking of the ship.
80 this place made my way and
looked down. heard the splashing of
water, and thought could detect a
sound like the incoming of tiny jet
or stream At first | could see moth
ing, but as soon as | became used to
the dim light could distinguish the
faint outlines of the boy at some dist
ance below me. He seemed to be sit
ting upon the broken floor, with his
feet stretched out against cask.
called out to him, and | thought he
looked up.
Jack, | said, are you thercp'
"And he answered me, in faint,
weary tone:
Yes; help me! For Heavens sake,
help me! Bring men, and bring "A Ian
tern; the ship has sprunk Il leak"
81 hesitatcd, and he added in Il more
eager tone:
:" Make haste; can hold it till you
come back.
81 waited to hear no more, but hur-
rled on deck aS soon as possible, and
returned with lantern, and three men.
| leaped down beside the boy,and when
l saw 1t all ! could hardly believe the
evidence OF my own senses. Three of
the tmbers were completely worm-eat-
en- TO the very heart, and one OF the
outer plankS had been broken, and
would burst III ut any moment the boy
might leave it. He sat there, with his
back upon 1t and his feet braccd against
the cask before him. Ilalfa dozen little
jets of water were streaming in about
MIN. and he was wet to the skin. | saw
that the plank must burst in the mo-
ment the strain WAS removed from it,
SO | babe my men brace themselves
against it before lifted him up. Other
men were called down with pIanks and
spikes and ADDE'S, and, with much care
and more trouble, we finally succeeded
in stopping the leak and avcrtlng the
danger. The plank which had been
stove in was six feet long by eight inch
cs wide and would have let in stream
OF water OF this capacity. 1t would
have been beyond our reach long ere
we could have discovered it, and would
have sunk Us in Il very short time. |
knew it must be where the iceberg had
hit us.
Jack Withcrs was taken to the cab
in, aud there he managed to tell me
his story. Shortly after | put him in
the hold he crawled forward, and when
his eyes became used to the dim glim-
mer that came through the dead-lights,
he looked about for a snug place in
which TO lie, for his limbs were stif and
sore. He went to sleep, and when he
awokc he heard faint sound, like wa
ter streaming through small hole. He
went to the open space IN the cargo
and looked down, and he was sure that
he saw small jet OF water squirting up
from the ships bottom. He leupcd
down, and in Il few moments found that
the timbcrs had given wholly away,
and that the stream was increasing in
size. He placed his hand upon the
plank and found it broken, and also
discovered that the pressure of the wa
ter without was forcing it inward. He
had sense enough to see thatit it gained
an inch more it must all 20, and the
ship must be lost, and perhaps all hands
perish! And he saw, too, that II he
could keep the broken plank in its place
he might stop the incoming Hood. SO
he sat himself upon it and braced his
feet against the cask;and then he called
for help.
"And there he had sat, with his feet
thus braced, for four-and-twenty long,
drcary hours, with the water squirting
in tiny streams all over him, drenchlng
him to the skin. lie had thought sew
cral times OF going to the hatchway
and calling for help; but he knew that
the broken plank would be forced in if
he left it, for he could feel il heaye be-