Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-08-20
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| We'll get you ashore, don't you fear"
He clapped an arm around her waist and
| drew her strongly on through the dark and
| the swirling water toward the foot of the
companion. Excuse me, miss" he said
This is not familiarity. But l have got
! the firmer sea legs, and we mt st hurry
They pressed up the stair, battling with
great green cascades of water, and gained
| the dreadful turmoil on deck. A few weak
stars cleaned out above the wind. and
showed the black wave tops dimly Already
some of the cattle had been swept over-
board, and were swimming about like the
horned beasts of a. nightmare. The din of
| surf came tc them among the other noises,
but no shore was visible. The steamer had
backed off the reef on which she had
struck, and was laundering in deep water.
| 1t was indeed a time for hurry. 1t was
pain she had very few more minutes to
swim.
Each sea now made a clean breach over
her, and a passage about the decks was a
| thing of infinite danger. But Kettle was
resourceful and strong, and he had grip
round Miss Carnegie and hold on some
thlng solid when the waters drenched on
him, and he contrived never to be wrested
entirely from his hold.
But when he had worked his way aft. a
disappointment was there ready for him.
The quarter boat was gone. McTodd stood
against one of the davits, cool and philo-
sophical as ever.
You Internal Scotchman, you've let them
take away the boat from YOU" Kettle
have kept your end up with a NANCY
CT ovid like that
use your eyes" said the engineer 1.-The
boats in the wash below there, at the end
Of the tackles, with her side stove in. She
drowned the three men that were lowered
In her because they'd no sense enough to
fend off,
That comes of setting lot of farmers
"Aweel," said McTodd, STEAMERS have
been lost before, and L have it in mind,
captain, that you've helped"
by James, if you don't carry a civil
tongue, you drunken Geordie, IN knock
you some teeth down to cover it,
'Oh, 1 owed you that said McTedd;
'but ware quits. 1 bided here, Capt.
Kettle, because thought you'd maybe like
to swim the Teddy off to the shore, and at
that can bear a useful hand"
Mae" said Kettle, Il take back what
said about you're being Scotch. You're a
good SOUL He turned to the girl, still
shouting to make his voice carry above the
clash of the seas, and the below OF the
siren, and the noises of the dying ship
It's our only chance miss; swimming.
The life buoys from the bridge are all
gone. looked The hands will have taken
them. There'u be a lot of timber floating
about when she goes down, and We'll be
best CHAR of that. Will you trust to us?"
II trust you in everything she said.
Deeper and deeper the steamer sank in
her wallow. The lower decks We're swamp
I'D by this, and the miserable cattle were
either drowned in their stalls or washed
out of her. There was no need for the
three to jump. They just let go their hold.
and the next incoming wave swept them
clear of the steamers spardeck and spurn-
ed them 100 yards from her side.
They found themselves amongst a herd
of floating cattle, some drowned, some
swimming frenziedly; and with the inspira-
ton of the moment laid hold of couple of
beasts which were tangled together by
halter, and SO supported themselves with
fN1rt how. =
ming for the present They could not tell
which way the shore lay. And it behooved
them to reserve all their energies for the
morning. so wen as the numbing cold and
the water would let them.
OF a sudden the below of the steamers
siren ceased, and a pang went through
them as though they had lost friend.
Then came dull, muffied explosion. And
then a huge, ragged shape doomed UP
through the night like some vast monu-
ment and sank swiftly straight downward
out of sight beneath the black. tumbled sea.
Poor old girl" said McTodd, splitting
out the sea water, they'd fine keg of
whisky down in her mess room.
Poor devil of a skipper said Kettle,
its to be hoped he's drowned out of
harms way, or it'll take lying to keep him
any rags of his ticket"
The talk died out of them after that, and
the miseries of the situation closed in. The
water was cold, but the air was piercing.
and so they kept their bodies submerged
each man sparing a few fingers to keep a
grip on the girl One of the beasts they
chung to quickly drowned; the other,
strange to say, kept its nostrils above wa
ter, swimming strongly, and in the end
came alive to the shore, the only four
footed occupant of the steamer to be saved.
At the end of each minute it seemed to
them that they were too bruised and numb
ed to hang on another sixty seconds; and
yet the next minute found them still alive
and dreading its successor. The sea moan
ed around them, mourning the dead; the
fleet of drowned cattle surged heiplessly to
this way and to that, bruising them with
rude collisions; and the chill bit them to
the bone, mercifully numbing their pain
and anxiety. Long before the dawn the
girl had sunk into a stupor, and was only
held from sinking by the nervous fingers of
the men: and then the men themselves
were merely automatic. completing their
task with a legacy of viii.
When from somewhere out of the morn
ing mists a fisher boat sailed up, manned
by ragged, kindly Irish, all three were
equally lost to consciousness and all three
were hauled over the gunwale in one con-
tinuous dripping string. The grip of the
mems fingers had endured too long to be
loosened for a sudden call such as that.
They We're taken ashore and tended with
all the care poor homes could give, and the
men. used to hardships, recovered with a
dose of warmth and sleep.
Miss Carnegie took longer to recover, and,
in fact, for a week lay very near to death.
Kettle stayed on in the village, making al
most hourly inquiries for her He ought,
to have gone away to seek fresh employ
ment; he ought to have gone back to his
wife and children. and he upbraided himself
bitterly for his neglect of these duties. But
still he could not tear himself away. For
the future-well, he dreaded to think what
might happen in the future
But at last the girl was able to sit up and
see him. and he visited her. showing all
the Difference an ambassador might offer
to a queen. 1 may go so far to say that
he " ent into the cottage quite infatuated;
he came out of it disillusioned
She listened to his tale of the wreck
with interest and surprise. She was almost
Startled to hear that others, including the
captain and two of the mates, We're saved
from the disaster besides themselves, but
at the sams time unfeignedly pleased. And
she pleased also to hear that Kettle
Was subpoenaed to give evidence before the
Forthcoming inquiry.
II am glad Of that" she said, because
I know you will speak with a free mind.
You have told me so many times how in
competent the captain as, and now you
will be able to tell it to the proper authori-
ies.A
Kettle looked at her blankly. But ii at
was different" he said. Il can't say to
than what said to YOU
why not? Look what misery and suf-
fering and loss of life the man has caused.