Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1899-07-26
CHAPTER XXIII.

SOWING army SiOsc W luc strengthened llueb
OF the British
CHAPTER XXIII.
IN THE HEART OF THE STORM
But, barring the storm, of these matters /
knew nothing then nor for some time after
their occurrence. Now stood and strained
at the wheel, squeezing the vessel into the
wind as close as she would go, having an I'M
reasonable objection to making the least
southing in the course. And yet was un-
certain as to the exact point to which was
steering, possessing no compass save the
telltale which was set into the cabin cell
ing and out of reach of my eye. Ii escaped
coast OF Long Island would be well con.
tent, and by holding to the present tack ]
had little fear of disaster from that quarter
Figured that we had made half the length
of Long Island up to the time we had been
overhauled and the calm set in, and that in
wind for the most part lishs. If this was
SO, at the rate which we were now going /
hoped to enter Vineyard sound by noon on
the morrow, barring disaster, and "a hours
from the present would see me at my own
hearthstone The thought of it warmed me,
and great was my need of warmth of some
kind, for was as empty as drum, tagged
by excitement and lack of sleep, and had not
known comfort for 50 long that my memory
of it was misty.
But by midnight even the fleeing comfort
of thinking was gone, and soon after in feel.
ing was little better than block of stone.
That which had gone through might not
be reckoned by time alone; it seemed the
experience of years In my half-dazed state
felt that had been an outlaw for years;
for years ! had been fleeing and each day
fenced with death; for years known and pro-
tected the girl and her brother; and for
years, it appeared, must stand and face
this bowling wind which bore against me
like living thing.
The tempest, which had come in the teeth
OF smiling day, was marked as well by
capriciousness as by violence AS the ghast-
illness of early dawn broke in the east, and
l gradually awoke to the fact that morning
was at hand, the wind fell as though
chopped off or as if we had suddenly shot
into the lee of vast wall. In half sense.
less fashion, like man under drug tried
with fruitless efforts to shake off the feel
ing of utter carelessness which had fastened
to my senses With the calmness of ALSO
lutte indifference marked the sudden drop.
ping of the wind, though knew full well
that it portended an increase of the gale,
but when, for how long, from what quarter
or with what force, the Almighty alone
knew; as for me, cared not if it blew the
vessel out of water. With the same duh in
difference marked our new danger and
every detail attending it. With the sudden
calm we were at the mercy of the long,
green, foam-capped pillows which charged
toward us like moving hills. They came not
like rollers, with the regular swing of the
ground swell, but every surge was the head
waters of mighty dam broken loose its
crest made up OF mad, throbbing mass of
liquid torn into shreds and cross seas by its
own weight and violent motion. The face
of the world was vast tumult of yeasty,
ash-colored madness cut by the darkness of
its hollows; terror (if could have felt i'll,
not horror; more sublime than grand,
more awful than sublime.
In five minutes We were in the trough of
It Without zephyr to steady her, the
schooner wallowed like 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 DOW and stern rose to dizzy altitude,
then sank with rapidity that even to my
trained nature was sckening. Each joint
and block found voice which complained
IN notes ranging from bang to squeak,
OF lts unnatural treatment. Allow and aloft
the poor Phantom protested, and, as i
looked calmly on, l knew that if the condi
tons continued she would end in rolling her
masts out, leaving us to finally founder, a
sheer hulk. The main topmast swayed like
whip, cutting through the arc of its mo-
tion with amazing swiftness. The dimin.
ished sail beneath it, with its spars slashing
hither 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
oulwark, 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 a bound, hating and spinning
Ike top when in the waist, then dashed to
iarboard only to be stopped by a sidelona
NIT OF the stern which shot it into the
bows where it hung fast, bung up. tanned
betwixt the flukes of the spare anchor and
the bulwark stanchion.
noted these things with an eve more in.
terested in the antics of the barrel than in
aught else. Its speed and agility were won.
drous, and thought more of its fearful
force and cratic movements than of the
general straits in which the schooner was
now held. Through it all I felt my impotent
numbness, and it was with the mere animal
instinct Of getting food for craving stom.
ach that 1 YEARLY moved to go below.
Stiff, sore and dispirited enough was as
i 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,
thought for an instant, but soon found she
was not only alive but conscious. Having
been thrown from her bunk, she had
craWled over to her brother to prevent
ike disaster to him, and now lay or leaned
against his transom, powerless 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 1t was plain
that McCary had but given her dram to re-
vive her and when this had been accom-
piished, without going further or vouchsaf-
ing an explanation of the days later events,
started in to finish the drunk had SO sud,
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
had entailed, could almost have thanked
him for being the cause of putting into me
sense OF real existence, for there was a
slight awakening from the heavy letharey
that lheld me as / stopped to the poor girl
and lifted her in my arms as though she was