Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1886-02-12

distinguish something where the waves
lifted; but even with glasses they could
see nothing Of the swimmer.
A famous General, who had marched
With a great army to victory, was on
board. He did not know the Pierre
points; but he came up now to Mrs.
P%ierrepoint and, holding his hat in his
hand, said: madam, your brave hus-
band has done a noble act. 1t is grand
to see such pluck and dash. I trust you
will have him back soon. Will you
come up on the bridge beside the Cap
tain, where you can have a much better
outlook over the sea; and, perhaps, you
will make use of my b%inocular?"
"Oh. thank you," she said. II shall
be glad to have your glass and to go on
the bridget the Captain allows me-"
she added, smiling. "But 1 don't think
my husband is in danger; he has often
been q long time in the water, and can
swim well in his clothes. There is still
plenty of light for the boat to find him.
l only hope he may catch that dear little
child in time. The boat should reach
them soon."
The General led Mrs. Pierrepoint up
to the bridge and said a word to the
Captain. The Captain at once came
over, saying: "The boat is close to
them now; l saw them less than a min
ute ago through my glass on top of q
wave"
''Do you see them? Are they toeeth-
cr?" asked Mrs. Pierrepoint.
Eyes" replied the Captain; 81 be-
Iay-n fInry n,,c - v-A
broken, and he took hold of Mrs. Pier
repoint's hand. 81 watched my ohihl
from here with the glass till at last he
floated so low that / could scarcely see
him, and just as he seemed sinking your
husband dashed across the spot where
he was, and l saw by q wave of his
hand toward the ship that he had caught
him. He is now waiting for the boat.
What q splendid swimmer he isl"
ooh, yes; he is a good swimmer. I
am so glad he was so near" said Mrs.
Pierrepoint. II believe, Captain, he
will bring back your little boy safe"
When Pierrepoint sprang over he had
been so quick that he was not very far
from the child; but he knew that all de-
pended on reaching him soon, and he
could only see him now and then when
the waves lifted them both at the same
htime; but that gave him the direction,
and, without minding in the. least the
fact that the steamer was receding from
him at the rate of fifteen miles an hour,
and that he was left alone in the middle
of tho great Atlantic with no one near
him but the little sinking child, he swan
on as quickly as possible, saw the child
On the side Of a wave, made a dash at
him, and caught him by the arm as he
was sinking. jacks fears had got the
better of him; he had given up hope;
but now he reused up. and with a cry
caught John Pierrepoint's beard. Pier
repoint raised the child's head as far as
he dared and placed his little cheek
against his own, while passing his left
arm round Jacks waist. Jack began
to recover from his fright, and as he had
often bathed in colder water than this he
did not mind the sea so much, now that
he had something to hold on to.
"Well, Jacky, how are you now, and
what made you jump into the watcr:?"
asked Pi%errepoint.
ooh, take me back to papa-take me
back to the steamer! Where is the
stealncr??"
CHOW, you must keep quiet and not
fret" said Pierrepoint. 'sWc have
just to wait here until we are
sent for. Your father is sending q boat
for us. Are you cold, Jacky?"
ono, not very cold; but show nc
where the steamer is"
''Well, said Pierrcpoint, "rub the salt
water out of your eyes against my
check, and I'll turn round till we face
the steamer; then, when we rise on the
top Of a wave, you must look quick"
They looked; and there was the great
steamer, with her four masts and low
red tunnels with clouds of white steam
rushing out of her escape-pipcs, as she
lay almost stationary on the water about
a quarter of a mile away.
Picrrepoint could see that the upper
decks and bulwarks and the lower rig
ging were swarming with people; every
one on board seemed to have come up.
When they rose on the next wave a
| great change had taken place for them
the sun had set. Picrrcpoint saw it dis
appear as the wave lifted them, and the
surface of the water became adark gray;
but the strong light still shone for a few
seconds longer on the tunnels and masts
of the steamer.
Pierrepoint with his little burden
foatcd SO low that the men in the boat
had not yet seen him; but he had seen
the boat just as the sun disappeared, and
now knew where to look for it. He
pulled q white handkerchief out of his
coat-pocket, and when they were on top
Of a sea he gave a shout and waved; but
the call wa unhecded, the sea sank from
under them, and they were in the hol-
low before the boat had risen. The next
time he succeeded. AS the boat rose the
coNswain heard a call and saw the SWIM
mers on a wav The boats course was
slightly altered, and in a few moments
the boat had them alongside.
All this time Pierrepoint had been
treading water quietly, only keeping a
lookout, and encouraging Jack to keep
up his heart; but Jacky could not
have kept up much longer. The fright
and cold were telling upon him, and as
the boat came up his big eyes closed, and
his cheek dropped heavily against
Picrrepoint's.
The cockswain now took charge of