Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1889-03-22
CHAPTER XVI
I AM TROUBLED BY THOUGHTS OF THE
TREASURE.

I AN TROUBLED BY THOUGHTS OF THE
TREASURE
The weight of the wind in the rigging
steadied the schooner somewhat, and pre-
vented her from rolling too heavily to star
board, while her list corrected her larboarG
rolls. SO as | sat below she seemed to me tc
be making tolerably good weather of it, Not
much water came aboard; now and again 1
would hear he clatter of a fall forward, bur
at comfortably long intervals.
! sat against the dresser with my back upor
it, and being dead tired must have dropped
asleep on a su1dcn-indeed, before had halt
smoked my pipe out-and ] do not believed
gave . thought to my situation before sum
hcrCd, so WaaTiod was |. The cold awoke me.
The fire was ont, and so was the candle IN
the lantern, and | was in coffin darkness.
This the finder box speedily rcmrdied.
looked at my watch-1 o'clock. as | was a
sinner SO TINT my sleep had lasted betweer.
three and four hours
| went or Geek and found the night st;h
black upon the sea. the wind the same brisk
gale that was blowing when quit the helm,
the sea no heavier and the schooner tumbliny
in true Dutch fashion upon it. looked vc,.s
earnestly around, but could see no signs Of
ice. There woull - daylight presently: so
fast, and when 1 returned the sun was up,
and the sea visible to its farthest reaches.
1t was fine wintry piece; the sea green
and running in ridges with frothing heads,
the Sky very pale among the dark snow laden
clouds. tie sun dartiug n ray now and again,
which was swung into the north by the shad-
owS of the clouds until they cXtingUished it.
Remote in the northwest hung the CLEAN Of
an iccbcrg--there was nothing, else in sight.
Nes-something that comforted me exceed
ingly, though it was not very many days ago
that like object had heavily scared mean
alhatro :, a noble bird. sailing on the wind
ward close enough to be shot. The sight Of
this living thing was ineXprcssibly cheering:
it put into my head fancy of ships being at
hand, thoughts of help and of human compau-
ions In truth, my imagination was willing
to accept it as the same bird that / had fright
cned away when in the boat, now returned
to silently reproach me for my treatment of
it. Nay, my lonely eye, my subdued and suf-
fering heart. might even have witnessed the
good angel of my life in that solitary shape
of ocean beauty, and have deemed that,
though unseen, it had been with me through
out, and was now made visible to my gaze
by the light Of hope that Lad broken into the
darkness of my adventure.
Well, supposinS it SO, should not have
been the only man who ever scared his good
angel away and found it faithful afterward
unlashed the tller and got the schooner
before the wind, and steercd until a little be-
fore noon, letting her drive dead before tie
sea, which carried her northeast. Then, Sc
curing the helm amidShps, | ran for the
quadrant, and while waiting for the sun TO
show himself | observed that the vessel held
herself very steadily before the wind, which
might have been owing to her high stern and
the great swell of her sides and her round
bottom: but be the cause what it might, she
ran as fairly with her helm amidshipS as if
had been at tho tlller 10 check her-a most
fortunate condition Of my navigation, for ID
privileged me to get about other work, whil1
at the same time every hour was conveying
me nearer to the tracks of ships and farther
from the bitter regions of the south.
got an observation, and made ont that the
vessel had driven about fifteen leagues dur
ing tho night She must do better than that,
thought l; and when l had eaten some din
ncr | took a chopper and going on to tho
foreCastlc lay out upon the bowsprit, and
after beating the spritsail yard block clear of
the ice cut away the gaskets that confined
the sail 10 the yard, heartily beating the cam
vas, that was like iron, till a clew of it fell.
then came in and braced the yard square,
and the wind, presently catching the exposed
part of the sail, blew more of it out and vet
more, until there was good surface show
ing: then to a sudden hard blast of wind tho
whole sail few open with mighty crack
ling, as though indeed it was formed of ice;
but to render it useful l had to haul the
sheets aft which l could not manage without
the help of the tackles we had used in sling
ing the powder over the side; SO that, what
with one hindrance and another, the setting
of that sail took me an hour and half.
Finding that the ship continued TO steer
herself very WE'LL and the better for the spirit
sail, / thought | would get the body of the
old Frenchman overheard, and SO obtain q
clear hold for myself, SO far as corpses went
carried the lantern into the forecastle, but
when pulled the hammock off him | confess
it was not without a stupid fear that should
find him alive. Recollection Of his astound.
ing vitality found something imperishablein
that ugly anatomy, and though he lay before
meas dead and cold as stoned yet haIfancy