The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1891-03-12
TOM R0WLER'S REVENGE.

TOM ROWLER'S REVENGE.
We were in south latitude twenty de.
grees, west longitude ten degrees eigh-
teen minutes. on our passage from the
Cape down to st. Helena; the ship was
dashing the spray before her at the rate
of ten knots an hour, the wind was just
abaft the beam, and hardly enough of it
to make Il spar crcak, every stitch OF
canvas was set, not Il gore OF it futtered,
she looked beautiful as the breeze
brought her topSde down to the kiss of
the larbOard wave, and the leeward rigg-
ing Slackened. looked UP at the bellies
Of the white sails, till / could almost
imagine like Byron, that [ was carried
away by Il thing of life" 4 sailor can
never call his ship It. She is the only
prOnOun which he could apply to his
"bOnny bark" She is sort Of sweet
heart To him. The captain stood on the
quarterback, cxultin@ 1T his weli-rigged
clipper, his eyes spanked again as the
spray broke oScr the rOU@htrccrail, and
the long wake Of cddie9 fOamcd abaft US.
Really il was II scene which made one >
soul glad. Something on the star
board bow bawled out Sam Staysail,
with the voice Of StentOr. He was
keeping Il lookout on the fOrecastle.
Sans voice Was OF a.aZing volume and
force, and everything being as quiet as Il
mummy depot in one OF the pyramids,
when he haiIed us with his right hand at
his lips for a speaking-trumpet, it
startled us as mich as il old Neptune
had paid us u Visit, and saluted us in
the mild ant, tubducd tone for which his
godship j. provcrbial. - Helm star
board r'[exclaiued the captain to the
man al the wheel. She answered her
helDi Immediately. The sheets were
handled, the SheaVcS crcaked, the sails
shivcred, and the good ship hovc-to In
the twinkling Of Il marine-SDike, as one
of the crew said, on observing the adroit-
ness with which the evolution had been
performed. Let 20 tn" boat, and Il
couple of hands, orier"1 the captain.
The daVits instantly seemed animated,
Two men were in the boat. and the davit-
falls running through the blocks in less
time than is generally occupied in taking
Il pinch of snuff. | took u telescope, and
standing against the fore part of the
poop, on the Starboard CndeaVOred to
descry the object which had been the
cause of stopping us. quickly discovered
something rising and falling with the
wave, land approaching the ship. 1t was
not Il boat As it neared lis, / could per-
ceive something alive on it. The living
thing was man, and he waved some
thing in his hand. | soon discerned that
it was Il hcncOOp on which the poor
wretch f0ateh. Good Heaveni' [
thought, - nothing but the wide Atlantic
and wider heaven for this poor creature
to gaze upon, and Il hen-coop the only
thing of this world to which he cIingS to
prevent him from perishin%; nay, worse,
that hcn-cOOp his only oasis in this
desert of waters, and even on that he
seems but the prisoner Of death, who,
instead of despatching him with IA stroke
of his dart, is goating himself like q
trucuient tyrant, by gradually furnishing
his poor victim ere he devours him. [
thought of many of the horrors of ship
wrrc, which l had heard of, and my
blood seemed to curdle i'll nay veins. All
the passengers came upon deck. Among
them there was "a captain Of Il man-Of-
war. who had been picked up bya vessel
we had fallen in with, his own ship hay
ing fOundercd unde: most mysterious
circumstances; this gentleman was GO
Ing to En5land in our vessel as a passen-
ger. He had described the horrors which
he endured previous to his being picked
up.
could perceive, as they pulled. him
into our boat, that he was too weak to
L
the stern-sheets of the boat, and pulled
toward the ship. They soon came along
side, and ropes being handed down, the
tars kindly put their jackets round the
poor fellow, and under his armpits, and
we slowly bowSed him up to the gang
way, and pulled him inboard upon deck
Famine had battencd like vulture up
on his living flesh He was mere AMI
mated shelton. His eyes glared from
the recess of their sockets, his cheek
bones prOtruded almost through his
yellow skin. mis- lips were blue, his beard
was long, ard added to the hideOusness
of his CHASTITY physiognomy. Water!
water!' he exclaimed, opening more
widely his eye-lasues, the pupil of his
eyes dilating at the same time; for
heavens sake, water His DS seemed
rigid as he opened them to utter the
supplication. and his lungs groaned, as
il were. with commissions, as he inhaled
the air which was expelled from them in
articulating it. We TOOK him under the
awning on the quarterback. A little
water iii = bia,Tin was brought to him.
y heaven, had no conception of what
thirst is till that moment, His lips
qulvered us the precious, pure fluid
touched mis- lips And oh, the express
ion, the horrible expression of gratifi-
catloh th"t distorted his hardly human
features rs his parched mouth and
throat were cooled by the delicious
ufauGhI Every restorative that could
De lhouEnt Oh, ana optalned on board the
vessel was ",'ihiiistef'o TO the sufferer,
ana at tenSIh steep, natures soft re-
ScoieI h'n"'S 9l'e" her influence over
MN; lie Slept lor Two hours. When he
aWoke was seated alone by his side.
hc io"N%" Wl'uiF ar"uud. What
Where-"ho."h am i: he incohe-
reh'iF 'Attalt'le" Is TINS snlp-that
the lae' 81 heaven, y 1od he shut his
eyes ana seemed abSornea III mental
prayer Tor lew moments. L took his
hand, and. with as much kindness as
possible, asked him II he wanted any
thing, or II could do anything for him.
He grasprd my hand tightly III his hard
but attthuat"d fingers. You are not "a
iend he exclaimed gazing on me with
aphrcnZied lock. No, no, my dear fel-
low replied, "a friend who wishes
10 serve YOU.