The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1893-02-10

put to the helm, and Hoseason himself
would sometimes lend help; and it
was strange to see three strong men
throw their weight upon the tiller, and
it. like living thing, struggle against
and drive them back. This would have
been the greater danger had not the
sea been for some while free Of obsta-
cles. Mr.. Riach besides announced
from the top that he saw clear water
ahead.
"Ye were right" said Hoseason to
Alan. "Ye have saved the brig, sir;
I'll mind that when we come to clear
accounts" And l believe he not only
meant what he said, but would have
done it; so high aplace did the Covenant
hold in his affections.
But this is matter only for conjecture,
things having gone otherwise than he
forecast.
keep her away a point" sings out
Mr.. Riach. "Reef to windwardr'
And just at the same time the tide
caught the brig and threw the wind out
of her sails. She came round into the
wind like top, and the next moment
struck the reef with such a dunch as
threw us all flat upon the deck, and
came near to shake Mr.. Riach from his
place upon the mast
was on my feet in q minute. The
reef on which we had struck was close
in under the southwest end of Null, off
little isle they call Earraid, which lay
low and black upon the larboard. Some
times the swell broke clean over us;
sometimes it only ground the poor brig
upon the reef, so that we could hear her
beat herself to pieces, and what with the
great noise of the sails, and the singing
of the wind, and the flying of the spray
in the moonlight, and the sense Of dan
ger, think my head was partly turned,
for 1 could scarcely understand the
things l saw.
Presently / observed Mr.. Riach and
the seamen busy around the skiffs and
still in the same blank ran over to assist
them, and as soon as l set my hand to
work my mind came clear again. 1t was
no very easy task, for the skiff lay amid
ships and was full of hamper, and the
breaking of the heavier seas continually
forced us to give over and hold on, but
we all wrought like horses while we
could.
Meanwhile such of the wounded as
could move came clambering out of the
fore scuttle and began to help, while
the rest that lay helpless in their hunks
narrowed me with screaming and beg
ging to be saved.
The captain took no part. 1t seemed
he was struck stupid. He stood hold
ing by the shrouds, talking to him
self and grooming out aloud whenever
the ship hammered on the rock His
brig was like wife and child to him. lie
had looked on day by day at the mis-
handling of poor Ransome, but when it
came to the brig he seemed to suffer
along with her.
All the time of our working at The
boat | remember only one other thir -
that asked Alan, looking across al IL
shore, what country it was, and he al
swered it was the worst possible or
him, for it was a land of the Campo
We had one of the wounded men iii
off to keep watch upon the seas !; IL
cry us warning. Well, we had the b. /
about ready TO be launched when =
man sung out pretty shrill, "For &c. :
sake, hold onv We knew by his to >
that it was something more than Or
nary, and sure enough there followe, 4
sea so huge that it lifted the brig r It
up and canted her over on her be 70.
Whether the cry came too late or . V
hold was too weak l know not, but at
the sudden fitting VI the ship was cast
clean over the bulwarks into the sea.
went down and drank my fill, and
then came mp and got blink of the
moon, and then went down again.
Presently found l was holding to a
spar, which helped me somewhat. And
then all of sudden l was in quiet wa
ter and began to come to myself.
1t was the spare yard l had got hold
! Of, and was amazed to see how far |
had travelled from the brig. l hailed
her indeed: but it was plain she was
already out of cry. She was still hold
ing together, but whether or not they
had yet launched the boat l was too far
off and too low down to see.
While was hailing the brig l spied a
tract of water lying between us, where
no great waves came, but which yet
| boiled white all over and bristled in the
moon with rings and bubbles. Some
| times the whole tract swung to one side
like the tail Of live serpent; some
times for glimpse it all would disap-
pear and then boil up again. What it
was had no guess, which for the time
increased my fear of it, but l now know
it must have been the roost or tide race
which had carried me away so fast and
tumbled me about so cruelty, and at
last, as if tired of that play, had flung
out me and the spare yard upon its
landward margin.
I now lay quite becalmed, and began
to feel that man can die of cold as
well es of drowning. The shores of
Earraid were close in. l could see in
the moonlight the dots of heather and
the sparkling of the mica in the rocks.
"Well," thought to myself, eff can
not get as far as that it's stranger
l had no skill of swimming, Essen wa.