People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1894-10-18

owily to the taffrail. Jenny,
whilst l clear away ready for
lowering her get you whatever pro-
visions you can lay your hands upon
in the cabin"
She ran below. jumped into the
boat and found a breaker in the
bows With this l sped forward as
fast as my legs would carry me to
the scuttle-butt dashed just abreast
OF the main-hatch. The metal dip
per lay beside the bung-hOle. l
filled the breaker and cut away the
dipper to serve as a cup, and rushed
to the boat again and fell to with
large clasp-knife, that l had just
purchased from the captain for the
convenience of cutting up cake to-
bacco, to saw through the lanyards
of the gripes. | worked as though
the ship was to founder in five min
utes.
Jenny arrived with the lap of her
gown filed with articles OF food, all
OF which she had met with in the
little pantry adjoining the state
cabin. | swiftly put the articles
into the boat, and observing that
she had oars, mast, and sail in her,
with rudder and yoke in the stern
sheets, proceeded to lower her, |
Stacking away one fall whilst my
wife let slide the other. Had the
ship been in any other posture than
almost head on to the sea the low
ering OF this boat would have been
very ticklish undertaking, perhaps
impracticable to amateur hands such
as mine, but under the counter the
water rose and tell OF an oil-like
smOothness. | had sense enough to
so thoroughly overhaul the falls, that
the boat lay athwart under the stern
as safely as if she were detached;
then telling Jenny to climb over the
rail into the mizzen-chains, | slipped
down one OF the tackles, unlocked
both blocks, got the boat alongside,
helped my wife into her, and rowed a
little distance away where We could
take breath and yet be clear of the
whirlpool should the Lady Char
lotte suddenly founder.
| stood up to take a look around
Inc, for the collision could not have
long happened. The surviving boats
must therefore be near, though it
was possible that their inmates had
been taken on board the vessel that
had run into us. 1t blew but a light
air and she could not have Travelled
far, yet | searched the darkness in
vain for any murky smudge upon the
Obscurity that might indicate her.
1t was little after 2 o'clock, as |
had noticed when running up the
companion steps, and day would not
break till about five. resolved to
linger near the Lady Charlotte" till
she fOundered, conceiving that some
of our people might be doing the
same thing out in the unsearchable
gloom round about, and that we
might find companions therefore
when the sun rose. The breeze was
soft and mild, yet a chill would rise
from the floating blackness of near
sea, which sent a shudder through
one from time to time. Indeed, the
nearness of the ocean was
a tremendous presence, and
the huge, glooming surface,
or void rather, with its spectral
glancings Of pallid foam, seemed to
sweep to the very throat with a
sense OF strangulation as the boat
sided into hollow and hung a mo-
ment in it, with nothing to see save
star or two staring sparelv over
the crests that stood up on either
hand.
| held Jenny to my heart, and
comforted her as best 1 could. 1t
was about an hour after we had
quilted the Lady Charlotte that
she foundered.
made up my mind, however, to
linger till daybreak, and at last,
after an lnterminable spell of wait
ing, the faint, pearly gray of dawn
showed in the east, and then the
wide field of ocean opened with a
sudden lift of the suns pink and
flashing head, and a fne-weather
sky of great white clouds, and blue
heaven liquid, soft and glowing.
There was nothing to be seen.
mo doubt" said |. "the ship that
ran US down took on board the peo-
pie that got away in the boats.
Would to God, Jenny, we were of
them"
Dearest, keep up your heart, :"
she answered. In what part OF the
ocean are We? to what place shall
we endeavor to sail?n
remembered what Captain Chris
tian had told me of our situation on
the preceding day by the first sights
he had been able to obtain for long
while, and putting a chart of the
South Pacific before me in fancy, l
figured the place of our boat upon
it, and then perceived that our best
chance would lie in sailing north
where the islands were, off one OF
which we might find a vessel willing
to receive u.s. Unhappily, and |
cursed myself for being guilty of
such an oversight, in the hurry OF
leaving the ship had come away
without a compass. There was
nothing to be done then but to steer
by the sun or stars | forthwith
stepped the mast and hOisted the