The Bad Lands cow boy. [volume] (Little Missouri, Dakota [i.e. N.D.]) 1884-1886, 1886-07-08

By this time all hands were on the
alert, and many officers, old and young,
had tumbled up from below at the
"But, my good man, if it was really
q light which you saw some one else
must have noticed IL too"
Don't know nothin' about that.
sir; but I can swear to it. What I
seen we're: -.
IA bright light on the starboard
beaml' sang out the starboard waist
lookout at this moment, and-"I saw
itp' echoed several voices; but before
the officer or the watch could turn
round towards the direction indicated
it was gone, and the starboard beam
presented one uniform sheet OF i'm
penetrable blackness.
"Waist therel What was it like?'
,"Somethin' OF a fash-light, I should
say, sir" replied the lookout. every
bright and very short-gone in a mo-
ment-like."
By this time the captain and COM
mander were both on the bridge, and
the whole ship was alive with curiosi-
sWhat CAN'T be2" asked of the old
boatswain against whom l brushed
III the darkness as I walked aft.
"Tis o boat" said he; "that's
what it must be. The cap'n he al
lows it's q boat, and he's pretty sure
to be right. Some poor souls whose
vessel has foundered among the ice
whalers, most likely-took to the
boats, they have. i saw that there
light myself seemed very close to the
water, it did. They seen our lights,
and burnt g. fash:light. If they got
another, they'll show that, too, pres.
emily" !. 2. & ,ti5- : : . .z
And now the voice Of the command.
er rang out: "Mr. Sights!" s,55
cay. az, sir" replied the gunner.
Clear away your two foremost
guns on the maindeck, and fire blank
charges at short intervals; and get
some blue lights, and show them in
the fore-rigging at once!" u.
GAY, ay, sir.n And away went the
gunner to see his orders carried out
instantly.
But ere his head had disappeared
down the hatchway, "a bright light
on the starboard quarter'' roared
out the marine sentry at the lifebuoy
right aft; and once more every body
turned sharp around to find nothing
to gaze at but the universal darkness.
Hands about shipl' was now the
order, and in quick succession came
from the bridge the well-known COM
mands in the sharp, imperative voice
OF the lieutenant of the watch: Cease
down the helm!' '-HH Helms a leel'-
"Raise tacks and sheets!" &c. Ana
as the splendid old ship answered her
helm like boat and began to fill on
the other tack, "Maintopsail haull''
for our courses were furled, Head
braces!" "Of all, haul!.and we were on
the other tack. ~
The ship was now brilliantly illu-
minated by half a dozen blue lights
burning in the fore and main rigging;
while, as we began to move ahead
once more, our bow guns blazed forth
from the maindeck one after the other
"a roar which re fondly imagined
would be more welcome than the most
delicious music to the ears of the poor
storm-tossed castaways in that frail
boat which we now hoped to rescue
from the wrath of the raging sea. At
intervals there appeared again the
bright but transient flash which had
first attracted our notice;and through
the roar of the waves and the shrek
OF the wind we at times imagined we
could hear human voices shouting no
doubt for; help, and all eyes were
strained to the uttermost through the
blackness SO try and discern the first
| glimpse of the boat itself. The last
flash had told us that we were steer
ing directly for it, and on we sped our
blue lights kissing and haring in our
rigging, our guns ceaselessly roaring
out our sympathy and our desire to
| save. Ms .sl=&,
"Keep a sharp lookout forward
there!" "Life- boat crew, fall in aft'
and we prepared to lower the port
quarter-boat, which was told off as a
''life-boat":-that is, for any purposes
of rescue, although the state OF these
was anything but favorable for boat
duty; but when we thought OF that
i poor boat tossing about on the storm
vexed sea with Its freight of shivering
and half-drowned men, aye, and may
be a woman or two among them, and
then remembered the frowning ice
bergs and the fearful dangers which
they represented, no man hesltated,
and had volunteers been called for to
man the life boat, tine whole ships
company would have come forward.
Well can remember the almost chok-
ing feeling OF thankfulness in my own
. hoo RI y1yr thoyYrhf 0S ho x,,.1I -
OF these poor outcasts at the prospect
of SO speedy q rescue. and anticipated
the delight of welcoming them on the
quarterback OF SO stanch and safe a
ship. But all in a moment my antic-
/ ipations and my sentiments Of graft.
tude were scattered to the winds.
Keep her away, sirl keep her awayp'
came q roar from the forecastle.
"You'll be right down upon her! A
large full:rigged ship right ahead OF
Up went our helm, and the ships
head paid of, and us we strained our
eyes in the direction indicated we
could dimly make out, to our intense
surprise and unspeakable wonder, the
huge, shadowy, ehostly outline of an
unusually large vessel. No signs OF
life appeared about her. The light
which had first attracted our notice
was nowno longer. to be seen. Her
masts, yards and sails we're only just
visible-not as q black, hard shadow
against the sky. but pale: spectral, as
4 ifmere vapor-barely to be discerned,
| etleaying no room tor doubt. There
Eshe sailed, q veritable phantom ship.
/ All hands gazed at her in silence. The
|fblue lights were allowed to burn out,
and no fresh ones were lighted. The
great guns ceased to thunder on the
maindeck. The lifeboat's crew NUT.
| tered uneaisly among themselves, as
l. =.