The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1899-09-23
CHAPTER XIII.
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IN THE HEART OF THE STORM.
In five minutes we were in the trough Of
it. Without a zephyr to steady her, the
schooner wallowed like a crazy thing. The
roll, the sidelong heave and lurch, the jerk
ing pitch and recovery were terrible tests
TO the stanchness Of the vessel Alternately
the bow and stern rose TO dizzy altitude,
then sank with a rapidity that even to my
trained nature was siekening. Each joint
and block found a voice which complained
in notes ranging from a bang TO a squeak,
OF its unnatural treatment. Allow and aloft
the poor Phantom protested, and as
looked calmly on, knew that If the condi-
tions continued she would end in rolling her
masts out, leaving us to finally founder, a
sheer hulk. The main topmast swayed like
a whip, cutting through the arc of its mo-
ton with amazing swiftness. The dimin-
ished sail beneath it, with its spars slashing
hther and thither, shook out report like
cannon, and threatened to burst as its slack
bunt drove from side TO side. Everything
loose or insecure fetched away and wan
dered at random about the decks The
Jumps Of lead / had brought up the night
before rolled betwixt the hatch combing and
bulwark, banging the latter with blows that
threatened to drive out the planking, and
would have done so had / not gripped my
way TO them and thrown them overheard.
The scuttle butt sprang from its skids and
came aft with bound, halting and spinning
like top when in the waist, then dashed TO
larboard only to be stopped by a sidelong
lift OF the stern which shot it into the
bows where it hung fast, bung up, jammed
betwixt the flukes of the spare anchor and
the bulwark stanchion.
/ noted these things with an eye more in
terested in the antics Of the barrel than in
aught else. It's speed and agility were won
drous, and / thought more of its fearful
force and erratc movements than of the
general straits in which the schooner was
now held. Through il all felt my impotent
numbness, and it was with the mere animal
instinct of getting food for a craving stom
ach that YEARLY moved to go below.
Stiff, sore and dispirited enough was as
/ staggered toward the companion way and
entered the cabin. The first sight Of its in
terror was enough TO break ones heart, and
that fact probably did much to pull me to-
gether. The surgeon, the cowardly, be-
sotted wretch, lay drunk on the floor, and
also on the floor was Gertrude King. dead,
l thought for an instant, but soon found she
was not only alive but conscious. Having
peen thrown from her bunk, she had
crawled over to her brother TO prevent
like disaster to him, and now lay or leaned
against his transom, powerlcss alike to help
him or herself She was almost dead from
sea sickness and pain, yet when she saw me,
the fright that came into her eyes reminded
me Of Lounsbury's last look. IL was plain
that McCary had but given her dram to re-
vive her and when this had been accom-
plished, without going further or vouchsaf-
ing an explanation of the days later events,
started in to finish the drunk had so sod
denly interrupted. The fever for rum was
upon him, his manhood and morals having
been consumed along with the liquor.
Notwithstanding the suffering his actions
bad entailed, could almost have thanked
him for being the cause OF putting into me
sense Of real existence, for there was
slight awakening from the heavy 'ethargy
that held me as / stopped to the poor girl
and lifted her in my arms as though she was
a child to be comforted. The instructive
shrinking she had shown when reached for
her gave way TO moan and the limpness of
total abandonment as she felt the strength
of my arm about her. As | laid her on the
transom by the side Of her brother, whose
eyes were shut and whose heightened color
now betokened fever, she placed her un-
wounded hand against my check as II 10
make sure of my being mortal, and faltered
out:
'I thought you dead o Donald Donaldl
i thought you dead!
In the mere sound of human voice there
was something that stirred me to a livelier
sense of myself and surroundings. But her
words did more than this. Of themselves,
"a / set them here in cold black and white,
they hold no significance, but as J heard
them there was something which caused the
waning spark within me to burst into flame
and shoot through the dullncss OF my ex.
Aausted body and overtaxed brain. The
Couch Of the smooth hand the look, and the
simple tones Of this il-used, wounded and
bedraeeled girl were beyond misinterpreta-
ton TO me, when TO Others II might have
been but trifle more .han commonplace.
Like a shock the attending danger OF our
situation rushed upon me, and again real
lied my responsibility; a feeling that had
been dead for hours, aud which was now
re.urrectcd by the light that burst upon me
at tho girls words.
She was a pitiful object as she lay prone
at her brothers side. Her left arm was
powerIess. and the blood from her wounded
head still stained her face, neck and hand.
The flow had ceased, but through her bright
hair / could see the location Of the cash.
was no surgeon to dress either the cut or