The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1890-12-03

setIu l. shudCeFllg rs my mind ran hsrk
to the gale rode ont in the OH s!ooD.of-
war Fairfield at that time.
This is hard place for storms. sail
the captain half interrogativelv. AMI a.
the same time, as | thought. exhibitiD,
little trepida.ioa.
You had better believe it," said
hadn't we better call the pilo;y' Sug.
gested the mate.
MOI" Numbered Napton.
Ere long the heavens were black IS
ink. save a little streak in the sout1,
where it seemed IA If "a dull fire were
moldeTing and dying. 1t was 80 dark
that we could hardly ljstinra: 81 the ONT
lines of man half The length Of the
ship. All haste wa made to set tgasa3l
off. and the shin y as soon left under a
close rected ms.topsail fore storm
staysail and ST.. .-. mizzen. Hardly had
this been desc ..4.. we heard a low
rumbliag sos, from the scuthyvar9
accompanied short intervals b. a sort
Of kissing. screecAjn- noise.
In a few moments the gale burst upon
US. 1t came at first IN low pufTs and
spits Of spray, and then the full arrnel
monster leapcl upon us For a while
the captain let the ship dash on before it.
He knew exactly where lie was when he
started, but he dared not run too long
and at length he brought the ship to on
the larboard tack. with her head nearly
west At 10 o'clock the sea ran so high
that the staysail AMI inizzen became of
no use. an they were taken in, and the
ship now lay to under nothing but the
close rcesel maintopsail The wind
howled through the rigging with fright
full power and the sea broke over the
ship in drenching foods, The matches
We're battened down fore and aft and
life lines rove.
At midnight the gale seemed TO have
increased, and TIE ship was surrounded
by Tustliu5 mountains of white crested
seas. The crew were I'll upon deck. and
they held on upon the life lines without
epa7'lng. Sometimes the captain moved
abe t the deck, AID when he stood -.
ne pinnacle | could see that he was pale
and excited For three hours the shin
had now been lying to. and it was eyi-
dent that she must have made ,,nsider-
able leeway Beneath the fearful power
OF the driving gale she must have swept
swiftly off-but how swiftly none could
tell. There was no use in heaving the
log, for the seas would bring it home"
AT length-it was near 8 o'clock-the
sea had risen to such a height that it
threatened every moment to engulf the
ship in its deep cold grave, but yet the
strained and grooming craft stood nobly
up. But could she stand so much
longer? The men could see the face of
the captain as the rays of the pinnacle
light fell upon it, and they must have
noticed how pale it was. / will not at
tempt to describe nay own feelings. /
only remember that | thought Of my
home in a far distant land, and that
wondered if ! should ever see it again
if ever again [ should hear the voices of
those who had loved me in childhood.
The mate left the spot where he had
been standing and went to the wheel.
eve can't stand this much longer"
said he to the captain.
But the captain made no reply, and
soon the mate spoke again.
as it best to trust our fate and put
her before the wind? We shall certainly
3 down if we keep on in tins way"
'No, no. gasped the captain, seeming
to force his words out; ito put her be-
fore it would be certain death, for we
are locked in to leeward by snug chain
of islands The topsail yet holds. We
may stand it till daylight"
81 am afraid not"
"Then we must pray-that's ALL"
1t must have been some kind power
that held our ship up through that long
night, for the water mountains broke
their fury upon her, and the mad wind
bent her down till she almost groaned
with physical pain.
AT length the first faint streak of the
coming dawn appeared in the east, and
yet the gale was undated The captain
was just upon the point of leaving his
stand by the wheel when there came a
noise that spoke louder than the tempest
1t was rumblng, roaring, crashing
noise that came to US like the knell of
death All knew in moment what it
was Our ship was upon lee shorel
The morning came, and it found us with
blanched cheeks and trembling limbs,
and it found some, too, upon their knees
in prayer. W hat a scene burst upon us!
Right under our lee and not more than
five miles distant was a rugged, rock
bound coast.
What power should save us now2 To
Wear ship would be of no use, and to
tack was impossible unless we could
make and carry sail enough to stand OF.
The captain staggered to the weather
miZZen rigging and passed the order for
loosug the foretopsail. The yard was
pointed to the wind, and the lee sheet
was uauled safely home, but on the mo-
mel that the weather sheet was started
the sail split and in a few moments more
it was in ribbons!
1--WE are goner' uttered the mate.
And so it seemed! The men huddled
aft but not one Of them knew what to
do for safety. The ship would certainly
feel none Of her lower sails while on the
wind, and the captain knew that the
mizzen topsail would be of no use with
out the fore. And every moment, too,
the ship threatened to fall off into the
trough Of the sea.
"Where are WEI" asked the mate,
But the captain could not tell
I'VE must call the pilot"
Napton looked up into the face of his
mate, but this time he made no obiec-
tons, and the pilot was accordingly sent
, for The old man came up, and for a
while he gazed upon the surf bathed
coast in silence. There was bitter
smile upon his Inns, and his eyes sparkled
with strange AsnC. lie at length asked
for glass, ana the mate obtained one,
and having adjusted the focus he hand
ed it to him
'What coast is that?' asked Mr.. Saw
yer after the pilot had lowered the glass.
"Andros," replied the old man.
And there is no salvation for us
now!" the mate gasped.