, 1897-11-24

aboard.
HE was a decent sort of chap. and
think I'd have done pretty wei! anything
Tor him for saving me from the captain
dc tried his best to persuade me to give
up %seafarlng and settle down to som
trade ashore and used to tell me SOM
OF the things he'd gone through since
he'd been to sea ! don't know how
many times he hadn t been shlpwrecked,
but though | was pretty sick of 1t my,
self, ! wouldn't W up &c 1t and useG
to think 1t would he grand to be able tC
tell such yarns AS he could All, | don
suppose he eve thought that was to be
his last voyage, but 1t was 1t happened
like this We'd been lying out in the
river for over a week, when there can't
Il change III the weather and after q
cloudy and unsettled day or two the
wind got away to the snu west and began
10 !hpe up strong and III u few our |,
was blowing heavy gale Craft caught
Ill the channel ran for the nearest shell
ter Briggs and schoOners came IN with
torn sails and spilntered sIars. and one
or two OF the fishing boats came to grlet
on the bar Before long there was Il
pretty lively sea all round the coast and
ii was washing clean over the plerhead-
yonder SO you may guess that even in
side we felt 1t The ketch. being light,
pitched Il rolled at her anchorage like
Il cork, but we rode with Il good bit OF
cattle. and there was no other craft neal
us
fs1hn nav ,t.rt,t ttn ,a ,-n, 10 Sc
height Heavy gusts of wind swept
across the haL5or. whlstllng and shrek
ing wildly among the rigging. and bring
ing up with them squalls of thick rain
that hid the lights OF OWL altogether
Il was on deck keeping watch. cold.
wet and miserable. when | noticed that
the cable every now and again seemed
to jerk and rattle as 1t had not done be
fore So | went aft and odd the mate.
who was smoking IN the cabin.
by God she dragging he shout
ed as soon AS he d been OH deck II few
moments We shall be ashore before
we know where we are Bear a hand
here, lad Smart S the word now And
he laid hold of the painter OF the little
boat that was bobblns up and down
astcrn OF us
Hand over hand we got it alongside,
and | plucked up courage to ask him
W ha he was going to do,
"'Golng to dor Why. I'm going
ashore to get help You and | can t get
out another anchor alone You keep a
sharp lookout, and when O hear me
call show u light over the side. And
with that he was gon
Il didn't like being left alone. you
may be sure | was only a youngster.
you must remember. and it was my
first voyage l thought she'd 90 ashore
and break up while he was gone. and
then | should be drowned, and the next
II wondered whether he would
get back safely How long he was away
| don t know 1t seemed to me like
hours | strained my ears to listen for
his voice, and during one of the mo.
gale | heard yonder church bells strike
8 And still the anchor dragged and
still we drlftcd At last | caught the
sound of Il shout far off | jumped up
and waved the lantern over the side
Then ann another wait, followed by
another shout. this time clear and close
at hand Again | showed the light, and
the next moment ! heard the splash Of
oars alongside, and the mate aud Il
stranger. both dripping wet from head to
foot. clamber"d on deck Then we turn
ed to to get out IL kedge We got the
spare anchor up from the hold. bent On
II stout hawscr to 1t. and prepared to
lower 1t INTO the boa Bob Tucker and
the stranger got into the boat II babe
me lower away when | vas told But
exactly what happened III the darkness
and confusion | could never clearly re.
member The gale seemed to have got
ten times worse 1t was difficult to
hear oneself speak If possible. too. 1t
seemed to have got darker | could Just
family see the forms of two men mo
ing about III the boat as 1t tossed along
side Suddenly | heard agonlzing shouts
for help | looked over the side. and
the boat was gone
Frightened! | should Just think |
was frightened | added my shouts to
theirs. but you might as well have
spoken III a whisper for all anybody
would have heard that nlght rushed
wildly to and fro. throwing over ropes
ends and anything could lay my hands
upon telt horribly helpless AS | lis
tened to their cries getting fainter and
fainter until at last they ceased alto
gethcr. and | know that they were
drowned | can t tell you what | felt
Y~~ el,, r,ss NJ sl,,s n,rbt Inr, n,t ~,
down below. and even Oh deck | tancled
| could see their faces close beside me
and their cries were ringing IL my ears
| forgot all about the gale II the dan
ger of going ashore But sure enough
we did 20 ashore When daylight broke.
| found that the ketch was lying on her
bilge on the mud Then | got into the
rigging and shouted and waved my
arms until at last some II came of t.
me They wOuldn t believe me at first
but Ill the course Of the day poor old
Tucker body was picked up. and the
BOAT was found ioatlng. bottom up
ward, by u fisherman As for the ketch
which had cost the mate his life, she
took no harm and was got of safe and
sound next tide.
THAT cured me Of seafarlng for a
time staId ashore for a year or two.
but then the old longing came back. and
| went north III a collier But ! never
see yonder church without thinking OF
pool old Bob Tucker and his fate. -
Chambers journal.
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