The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-03-10

a great gasp as he took in the situation
We could not possibly take more than
three of them on the skiff! There would
be big risk in taking more than two by
the time we could reach her. To get
ashore would need all our strength and
wind. We stopped rowing stroke,
thinking of going back fora bigger boat:
But what was the use? Before we could
work back to the. bridge, the Starbuck
would be over the falls. Some one had
ought to be saved; so we put in big
strokes again.
"Before we reached the Mary Star
buck, she had got into very swift water
it was smooth, though, for some distance
lower. The women were all quiet, eX-
ccpt Kitty Rolston; she was crying and
laughing and shrieking by turns-hys-
teriky.
"T knew you'd come, boys said
mother, trembling, but looking brave
enough. She was pretty heavy woman.
Frank helped her down into the stern of
; the skilf. Now the Starbuck had swung
round, and we were on her DOWNSTREAM
side.
"'Quick. Sally! said I.
"But Kitty Rolston pushed Sally back.
Jane made no move. She was kneeling
down and praying. I guess she saw at
the start that they couldn't all be saved.
How well [ mind her white facc-some-
tong like an angels it was then-and her
voice SO sweet and steady!
"iOh, Lord. deliver thcmn she was
saying over and over again.
II held Kitty back. Quick, Sallyn
I said again.
"'Why not let Kitty in frst?' said
Sally, hanging back.
"'Wc can't take moro than two, [ told
her.
"'Yes, we can, says Frank; I'VE can
take three, Janen
':.Take Kitty said Jane. Il will stay
till you come back
"sWe can't come back, said Frank.
Take Kitty, said Jane again.
"There wasn't any time to argue. All
this passed in half a minute. Kitty got
into the skiff; then Sally. The gunwale
was down within three inches of the
water then. I didn't think any of us
would get ashore.
"tLeave go! Ishoutcd to Frank. Such
an agony as there was in that boys face!
FIe held out his arms to Jane. She came
forward swiftly and kissed him.
"'The good Lord have thee in His
holy keeping she said. Then he gave
an awful groan and I showed off.
s'I tell you, it was a terrible thing to
leave that girl! Seemed as if we had
ought all to stay. Seemed, somehow, as
if we were forsaking her cowardly. But
we had sense enough to know it was all
right. She dropped down on her knees
again and crossed her arms over her
breast and bowed her head.
s'I looked at mother. She was clutch
ing the gunwhale and looking dreadfully
white and scared now. Sally held her
arm around Kitty Rolston.
sDown where we were then the rapids
seemed to crash and yell and hold up
white arms for us. There was long,
smooth fall and rise like a very easy bill
low getting into the water as we made
for shore 1t was terror how close the
big breakers seemed.
s'Frank pulled the mightiest stroke
then that ever man pulled. Every time
ne came back his oars bent like bow.
but we had made them ourselves and
could trust them. I guess his eyes were
never taken off Jane kneeling there on
the Mary Starbuck.
81 looked at her pretty often, too,
when wasn't looking at the white face
of mother. Mother was praying, too.
oh, Lord God, save and deliver them!
She had taken the words of James prayer,
and didn't seem, no more than Jane, to
be thinking about her own danger.
'In little while I seemed to hear a
veil and looked up the river. There was
a skiff with the Piniger boys in it-good
men they were, too. But they were row.
ing ashore.
'''Go out and save her, you cowardsn
screamed Frank; but they didn't dare to.
''When we touched the shore there
were twenty or thirty people standing on
the high bank. They gave tremendous
cheer and hurried to help out mother and
the girls. Kitty Rolston tainted dead
away, and mother couldn't stand. I was
all of tremble myself, now that the
danger was over. But it wasn't over.
Il was just stepping ashore when
Frank said, Hurry up! shove her outE
"sWhat do you mean9 I asked.
"Tm going to save jane says he,
wildly.
"'Save Janet says I; look where the
Starbuck ISL
"She was over the second big pitch,
more than quarter of mile out. There
wasn't the ghost of hope to save Jane.
But the boy was crazy, / suppose, with
sorrow for her.
"I can reach her! he cried, 'and run
ashore on some of the islands
"'You're crazyn said I, stepping out,
never thinking he would really try it.
He showed off, jumped in after him
somehow I couldn't bear to have the boy
60 alone.
'Looking away over the trampling
breakers, I could now and again see the
Mary Starbuck tossed and tumDlcd and
flung. Sometimes she would seem to
leave the water entirely, and then again
she would sink out of sight. How she
lived so long I cannot tell. Always
Jane knelt, I could see that. wonder
that she could keep her senses amid the
indcscribable shrieking and roaring of
the appalling flood.
awe were right above Cooper's Island,
not two hundred yards distant. There
was third and mighticr plunge just
before us. Down we went, down, down,
till I thought we would never stop fall