The Redwood gazette., 1893-08-03
THE BREAK MATER Ll6HT.
From nrst page.

me 6RGAM WhlEA ktOu u
From flrst page.
strength till nightfall: then they must
row to keep from freezing. The men
huddle close together and hardly stir
until the darkness covers them: then the
young man rises again, unties the oars.
and they row feebly to keep themselves
warm. They try to light the lantern st
dusk. but their. wet matches refuse tn
burn. SO they struggle on in the dark.
The second day dawns.
" Thessky is haxy and red, but brighter
, The wind is less fierce. but as cold as be-
fore. The sun breaks forth at last
bright and cheerful He beams joyoussy
on the helpless castawayA Again the
leader casts overheard the oars. and the
skif drifts on for another day. They
are almost frantic for want of food and
water, but they keep close watch for
passing sails. Not 4 sign of human life
breaks the awful loneliness. The min
utes are hours, and the day an eternity
as it wears on laden with despair. At
last the curtain of the night comes down
The leader creeps forward and pulls at
the oars This time he cannot lift them
in alone. The long continued soaking
has stiffened The knots, and the exposed
parts of the swollen rope are frozen.
They struggle frantically to loose
them, but their numbed fingers are pow
erless to move the stiff cords. Their
hands crack in many places with the
fierce effort, but they hardly feel the
pain. The blood flows sluggishly from
the raw and gaping wounds and freezes
before it can drop off their nerveless fin
gers. With groan of utter misery they
cast the oars again into the sea. Now de-
spair is with them; he sits up in the bow
and grimaces at them: he mocks them
with the CHASTITY certainty that they are
hourly growing weaker and colder and
drifting every moment farther to sea.
farther from hope. They crouch together
once more. Their numbed limbs are hard
to bend. Will they ever unbend thems
The third day.
There is heavy coating of ice over
the boat: it covers the sides with CLASSY
raiment and forms solid mass. like a
great marble block upon the float AS
the light grows the younger man stirs
and draws himself with difficulty away
from his companions. One of them is
strangely rigid: the young man shakes
him with his stiffened fingers. The icy
coat cracks loudly, falls loose from the
frozen thwart, and with the next lurch
of the boat the man falls heavily upon
his side. Even now not muscle moves,
and half dazed the young man realizes
that his companion of the night is a
frozen corpse. They cannot pass the
day with that awful thing staring them
in the face, it's icy limbs pressing against
the two survivors.
The Norwegian wakes, but is too weak
to assist. He mods intelligently when
the pilot points from the dead man to the
sea. He makes futile effort to lift his
arms: they drop powerless, and the young
er man sees that what is to be done he
must do alone. His own arms are use
less. He stoops with great exertion
places his shoulder against the corpse,
and after much heaving manages to
shove it overheard. It falls with soft
splash into a passing wave and sinks inn
mediately. The great white gulls fly
over the head Of the pilot and circle
round the spot where the dead man sank.
Their screaming whistle sounds family
in his dulled ears as they alight in the
water close beside the boat, searching
for the prey that is gone out of their
reach. He glares at them fercely, but
they have no fear of him. To seize one
of them would mean renewed life to him
and his companion, but even when they
come within his reach his hands cannot
close on them.
He sinks beside the Norwegian, and
his bleared eyes search the horizon from
under swollen lids and frozen lashes. So
far his splen i'd vitality has held him up
Now he is despairing, and hope abandons
him quickly. The night finds the two
men leaning close together. The wind
increases, the spray dashes into the
s1iff. Thes ars shine brilliantly on the
drifting bo half full Of solid ice. It
closes firmly around the legs Of the cast
aways. Motion is no longer possible, and
deadly leti,argy. drowsy and merciful
ia fast creeping over them.
And it is the morning of the fourth
day.
CHAPTER v.