Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1899-03-31

DICK ROD ||N|EY;;
o.. The Adventures
An Eton Boy.

BY JAMES GRANT.

~~~1>~~.~~>~~~I -
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ing sound through the iron mouth Of
the hawse hole; then ] was sensible Of
a violent shock, which made the brig
stagger, and tumbled me headlong
against the paneled bulkhead which
separated the cabin from the after
hold.
Hislop, who had been doing on the
cabin-locker in his storm jacket, start
ed up with alarm In his face.
"Have We come to anchor?''I asked.
anchor in more than three hundred
fathoms Of water!" he exclaimed. as
he rushed on deck, whittier followed,
and found that q very strange incident
had occurred.
In the murky obscurity Of the stormy
night a large Dutch lugger, in ballast
apparently, and running right before
the wind, with steering canvas set,
came suddenly athwart US. and hooked
the anchor from the cathead on our
larboard bow-by some unwonted neg
iect it was not yet on board, nor had
the cable been unbent- with her star
board fore-rigging, and thus bore away
with it, until the chain came to bear,
when there was a tremendous shock.
Several feet OF our bulwark were torn
away, and two seamen, Tattooed Tom,
and an old man-o'-war's man named
Roberts, were nearly swept into the
sea, where, in such a night, and amid
the confusion of such an incident, they
would inevitably have persisted un-
aided. ~.
Then we heard a shout, mingled with
crash upon the believing wind, as
the Dutchman's foremost snapped by
the board, and then, fortunately, our
anchor tumbled from his side into the
sea, where it swung at the whole
length Of the chain cable.
We manned both windlass and cap
stan-got the anchor, which was drift
ing, reused to the cathead, hoisted it
on board, unbent the cable, and slowed
it in the tier; but long ere all this was
done we had lost sight Of our lubberly
friend, who, when last seen, was toss
ing about like log in the darkness,
and drifting far astern of us. But for
some defect in the pawls and notches
of the windlass collar. I am doubtful
IL the chain would have run out so free
ly; but as to this cannot say.
We had hard squalls and sea that
ran high until daybreak; there was
lightning, too; red and dusky; 1t SEEM
ed at times to fill the whole horizon.
We could see for an instant the black
SUBMITS of the waves as they rose and
fell between US and the glare; and
when it passed away, all again would
be obscurity and gloom.
"More canvas must be taken off the
brig, sir" suggested Hislop, looking
aloft and then over the side, where the
foam flecked sea whirled past us.
"Well. in with the trysail: foretop.
sail, and maintopsail,' ordered Weston
AS the light Of dawn stole over the
angry sea, through clouds Of mingled
mist and rain, the gale abated, and
all but the watch went below.
Calm weather and heavy rains sue,
ceeded the gale; but the Eugene stead.
lily kept her course. and two days after
when spanking along before fine top.
gallant breeze, we picked up bottle
which was described by the watch
floating and bobbing in the water 8
few fathoms distant from the brig. She
was at once hove in the wind, and His.
lop went in the stern boat to bring the
bottle on board, ~
As the most trivial incident becomes
of interest on board of ship, where the
daily occurrences are so few, and the
circle Of society SO limited, consider.
able concern was excited by the ap.
pearance Of this bottle, which seemed
to have been freshly corked; and on Its
being broken, we found scrap Of pa
per-torn apparently from a notebook
-whereupon hurried and agitated
hand had penciled this brief notice:
'The Mary, clipper ship, of Boston
Goth Nov. 1861, momentarily expected
to go down-pumps worn out, and the
leaks gaining-C Captain and first mate
with all the boats, washed away-God
help us!'' =.
''The goth Of November? 1t was or
that night we encountered the heavy
gale." said Weston.
We had been on the skirt of the tenn.
pest, as Hislop maintained, while the
Yankee ship had probably suffered all
the fury of it. From the main-cross.
trees Capt. Weston swept the sea with
his telescope, in vain, for any trace OF
her; so II that melancholy scrap Of pa
per told truth, all was doubtless over
long since with the Mary and her crew
In the cabin that night a conversa-
ton on the probabilities of her de.
struction or escape led to a recurrence
to the miraculous manner in which the
unlucky Dutch schooner had floated SC
long with me; and mentioned to Yves
ton and Hislop the additional terrora
I had endured by the effect of imagina-
tion, and recollection Of the strange
incidents told me by Capt. Zeervogel;
but they ridiculed the story of the poor
man, chiefly, thought. because 1T was
the yarn ola Hollander."
Though l am a scotchman." began
Hislop a
And come of people naturally SUI
perstitious. !" suggested Weston, paren-
thetically
I. AS all large-brained races are" re-
torted the mate, while filling his clay