The broad ax. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1895-19??, 1897-06-26

II
and call out, cheerily:
'Dinna ye fear the BIT sickness. dsv-
tie Yen be a. RIGHT the morrow"
And, pulling herself together. Elspsth
would respond, bravely:
I'm not fearin', fayther. I'm Just
bidin here quite comfortable"
In the course Of the afternoon the
breeze freshened into q half gale. in
the midst Of which a. the ''heila" was
beating her way along the coast, Els
peth heard her father CRY out to one OF
the two hardy lads who composed the
chew:
"Eh, mon-the main sheets brokenr
and saw him run to the forepart Of the
vessel.
The next moment one Of the lads had
shouted, In an alarmed tone:
Get away the boat, lee. quick! The
captains overboardF'
Apprehending some calamity. Elspeth
endeavored to get upon deck, but was
90 faint with seasickness that she fell
back to the cabin floor.
After some minutes she rallied, and
made another attempt. This time she
succeeded, and, on gaining the deck,
discovered, to her Amusement and con-
sternation, that she was alone; her
father and both the lads had disap-
peared, leaving the smack to toss help
lessly In the pillows Of the stormy
North Sea- Not q trace Of the men or
Of the boat could she discern. and so
violent was the pitching Of the vessel
and 50 iercely did the spray dash
across the deck that she was fain to
seek the shelter Of the cabin, where the
true nature Of her terrible situation
came upon her with bewildering force.
Left uncontrolled, the helm Of the
"Sheila" shifted with every lurch Of the
vessel; the waves swept the deck from
side to side, heavy showers Of spray
being blown down the hatchway; the
loosened sails were tearing into tatters
as they happed furiously In the gale.
and the main boom was swinging TO
and fro with violence that threatened
to wrench it from the mast.
So wildly was the smack pitching and
tossing that poor Elspeth could now
keep her place In the cabin only by
holding on to the fittings. or q bit Of
rope that hung from the roof, and even
then she was In constant danger Of
being hurled to the floor.
Finally, to complete the horror Of
her position, the darkness Of night en-
shrouded her In her appalling loneli-
ness.
Little wonder that the poor girl gave
way to frantic grief, screaming with all
her strength, as II these piercing ap-
peals for aid might reach the ears of
some one who would rescue her.
But presently she grew calmer.
''wae's met" she murmured. I'm Eair
affrighted, nae doubt, but l Gamma bet
ter mysen by sic skirlin- I'll do me
best to thole 1t till"
She did not finish the sentence. for
Just then the thought Of her father
came to her, and she broke into q at Of
sobbing:
''oh! me poor fayther" she moaned.
Gin he be drooned my heart will
break" and, lifting her eyes up TO
heaven, she prayed for her fathers
safety.
The storm increased In violence as
the night drew on, and 1t required con-
slant care and exertion on Elspeth's
part to prevent her from being flung
against the cabin sides, or dashed upon
the floor.
During the daytime she had put in
to her pocket box Of matches, and she
now tried to light the cabin lamp, but
the rolling Of the vessel and the neces-
sity of holding on frustrated all her at
tempts, although she did manage to
strike some matches from time to time,
and thus make q break In the awful
gloom
The long night at last wore away, but
though the daylight was thrice well
come, It. brought no Improvement in
the weather, which continued very
stormy, the spray still flying down the
companionway, while q heavy snow
shower obscured the sky and chilled the
air.
Feeling faint from hunger, Elspeth
now bethought herself of q few biscuits
and q quart bottle of milk she had
brought with her, and which were the
only provisions in the cabin, the
smaek's supply being in the forecastle.
With great difficulty she managed to
get them into her hands, but partook
Of them sparingly, not knowing how
long they might have to last.
Soon after .daybreak one Of the vio-
lent lurches Of the vessel threw down
the companion ladder, and, not being
strong enough to replace II, Eispeth
became Q prisoner In the cabin, al
though, by standing on q chest, she
could manage to look out through the |
and cast her eyes over the |
sea In eager search Of land, or Of an
other vessel that might render her aid. |
But neither land nor vessel appeared,
and all that day the storm RACED with |
undated force, 20 that most Of the |
time the poor girl dared not let 20 Of |
A.. ~.,a RoH a rnnrnanf olfk0u~h a..