Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1890-11-14

;ns;5. of so We VIII sCrlke Cuban rock
."s sWs. OF ten hours!" he cried.
.., why not try to heave. her to?- I
In such sea and gale we would ba
keeled up in a minute were wa To trr -
a! our hope is in change Of wind or
on her" ' 40 p"' 'he "Anssll
This looks rough, but what ia to be
y WIZ 1e. There is no rubbing that out. /"
:. replied; and then did my best to
steer as nicely as could, 80 thu. no
ofoschlng to should hasten our fate.
IN on--once passing ahapless vessel
urlltlng bottom up, with Ler sails and
spars alongside of her-we swept, until
the night was upon us. Then the Can.
tain and good seaman relieved us from
the helm and I had time to think. I
went below and looked ut the chart:
made an estimate of our speed. end to
my horror saw we could not be over
twenty, or, OF most, thirty miles to
Cuban coast.
went on deck sick at heart, for sea
and gale seemed higher than ever.
told the Captain how near the last peril
was, but he did not seem to heed me
He stood with his shoulder to the wheel.
and the ship few madly on. Never
had she sailed with such speed before.
went forward, and while looked at
the phosphoric flame flashing from be-
meath the bow I thought Of home. of
my own dear Ella-and I groaned in
bitter agony. I never before had
feared death, but now so near. it was
terrible!
An hour, maybe more, and then I
heard all too plain, even above the wild
roar of the storm, the sound SO sullen
and deep Of the surging breakers. 1
rushed aft and shouted the fearful It'd
ings in the Captains ear.
God help us!-God help us!" was
all he said.
An instant after we were in white.
seething, kissing water, and then, lifted
skyward on a mountain roller, we were
dashed down with terrible crash upon
the dreaded rocks. Darkness above
flashing phosphorism all around-the
ship shattering, parting beneath our
feet, men shrieking in wild misery-my
pen cannot paint the picture!
And now wave after wave swept on
over us, lifting the ship up and crush
ing her down, tearing her all asunder,
and yet chung to rope which had
fastened to q bolt in the deck, not
knowing whether one was alive beside
me or not, for all was silent but the
winds and waters. Like bowling de-
mons they went on with their fearful
chorus.
How long seemed that night, while
could feel that the shattered remnants
Of. the old ship were going fast from un.
der me! But the blessed daylight
came at last, and even the sun shone
out. And saw, dashed like myself tc
the deck. hut one man-that man was
the Captain. Whittier than foam was hi,
face, and full as white his hair, which
had been glossy brown on the day be
fore. Our eyes net-his were wild and
wolfsh-insanity's fire was in them.
1 The sea now drove the last part OF
the wreck asunder, and for o moment ]
thought We both were gone; but on one
hight spot of rock we got foothold
and there clutching the coral crag with
! U4e0UAuk 3A0uAo VIC Au0SSs
Until then neither of us had looked
away from each other or the wreck
But together glancing southwark, there
we saw, not mile distant, beautiful
flower-carpeted, fruit-laden Cuba.
White cottages, groves Of COLDER
oranges, and tall palm trees; never hac
they looked so beautiful to me. Yet .
mile of terrible breakers lay between
us and it-a @waste of waters" through
which the strongest swimmer could moi
hope to pass.
And the ship was gone-no, ont
plank.a single plank, small, but larg,
, enough for one to cling to, came drift
ing in cur reach. With one hand eacl
of us seized it, while with the other w
chung to the peak of rock which alon'
had saved us from instant destruction.
sLet go the plank! it is mine. ! vii
3 t lash myself to it and ive!" cried tn
Captain, his eyes glaring fiercely o.
3 me.
II will not yield my right; the plan!
: ia mine. and life is as dear to me as t
: you'll" shouted.
a IT have . wife and children; 20
: have none; let nae live for them! h
: pleaded.
II have one dearer than all til
t world, will live for her who yet shal
). be my wife!" ] cried.
J, "Fool-fool! she shall look for 20
u in vainr And as he said this he dre'
j. a pistol from his bosom. Well [ knee
z it was capped, waterproof-well
n knew how sure he was in sain; but
n drew the plank towards me which b
o had let 70 of when he ciutehed III
II weapon. He raised his hand, hi
9 weapon was leveled at my heart.
!, Give up the plaak!" he shouted.
q aNeyer coward-never! Fire, an
NV diving curse go with you!'
: 1 closed my eyes-I knew my fate
q but a wild rush of water, fearful wave
:. swept me Car. far away from the rock
4 Then 1 was drowning choF
i ing in the water. But I rose, and as
=, % did. something hard touched my body
y I clutched tit was that blessed plank
# 70 it I chung with death grasp; ye
It seemed as if I was doomed to die
~ after all, for the waters covered me
:. and I lost all consciousness.
! But not for all time. l was restore
! to = knowledge that dear life was ye
" I~:,,1 oofo nf (snhAnH. W0