Marshall County independent. (Plymouth, Marshall County, Ind.) 1897-1902, 1899-06-02
CHAPTER XXIV.
The ThunderbOlt.

An emotion OF mingled freedom anO
satisfaction possessed the whole crew
on being rid Of cur tormentor, and
Lambourne now took charge of the
brig. which he was perfectly able to
handle and work. though ignorant OF
navigation as a science. and having
but a vague idea of the course to steer
for the Cape Of Good Hope.
She was hove in the wind while in
the moonlight. about two hours after
the exiting scene which closes the
last chapter. We committed to the deep
the body of AntOnic's last victim the
poor apprentice. whom the sailmaker
sewed I'D in his hammock. to which.
being without shot or other suitable
weights. we tied sack OF Goals to
sink thu. corpse
The ::ead-yards were filled again.
and. as Il anxious to leave that por-
ton OF The sea as far as possible
astern. .-e hauled up for the cape. Tom
Lamtous ne ordered every stitch of
canvas nat the spars would hold to
be spread upon the Eugene. that she
might as he said walk through the
water in her own style.
All he could DO at first was to keep
her in the course we had been steering
On the night these disasters began. for
as yet we knew not to what degree of
latitude. south or north. We might
have been drifting; however. We cal
culated that Hislop, weak as he was.
might be able to take a solar observa-
tion anu prick off our Place on the
chart, in the course of six or seven
days
We had the usually snug little cabin
cleanSed and cleared from the debris
created by the outrageous proceedings
of Antonio. who must have gone to the
bottom with all Weston's valuables
and money about him. as we could
find neither: and the sweet expression
of the poor widows face. as it seemed
TO smile on us from the miniature
on the after-bulkhead contrasted
strangely with all the wild work that
had so lately taken place on board.
HislOp and l were restored to our
former berths. and then more than
once in my dreams the pale olive-green
visage and glaring eyes Of the Gu
banO came before me. and again |
seemed to see him clinging unpitied
and in desperation to the slender boom
which swung above the seething sea
for his death and all its eOncomitant
horrors haunted me and made me un-
happy.
The intensity of the heat in that
season suggested the idea that we
could not have drifted far south Of the !.
line
So great was it that the upper spars
OF the Eugene appeared to wriggle or I
vibrate like serpents aloft in the sun
shine; while so hot. so clear and so |
rarefled was the atmosphere between I
decFG that it was suffocated. especially /
III the lulling of the faint breeze. A /
white heat seemed 10 make sea and 4
sky grow pale, and the former cast +
upward a reflection from its CLASSY /
surface and long smooth swells that
was hot-hct beyond al description.
Though ever and anon the upper
deck was drenched with salt water. it
dried Immediately emitting strong
CdoT of wet wood while the skids over
the side failed to keep the paint. tar
and rosln rising in large burnt blisters.
About the time when we hoped that
Hislop would have been well enough
TO make an observation, even by being
placed in chair ON deck, the weather
became so rough that he was unable
to leave his berth. and during all that
day the brig drove before a heavy
gale, with her courses hauled close
up, the fore and main topsail yards
lowered on the caps, and their canvas
close reefed.
After the heat we had endured, the
reader may imagine this gale would /
re refreshing and a relief. Not so.
TIE atmosphere. as it became dark /
with gathering clouds. increased in /
density, closeness and heat. thus about /
the time We should have had clear twi- |
light, the hour was gloomy as a north
ern midnight-so dark that the men
in the tops. or those lying out along
the foOt-ropes at the yard-arms, when
under close-reefed tOpsails, could not I
lie seen from the deck, while the breeze /
that swept over the ocean was breath /
less-hot as the simeon of the desert: |
and our men knew not whether they |
were drenched by perspiration or the
spOOndrift torn from the warm wave |
tops by the increasing blast.
The peculiar appearance of this black /
gale alarmed and bewildered Tattooed |
Tom. who could make nothing of it.
while poor Marc Hislep, whose skill /
would have been invaluable to us.
when he heard the singing out on deck. |
the thunder Of the bellying courses |
struggling with their brails. the roar
Of the wind through the half-barad |
rasts and rigging the clatter of blocks
and feet overhead. writhed in his bed. |
and mourned his own inactivity, or
rather incapacity: but he sent me to
tell LambOurne to cover up the an
chors with wetted canvas, as it was
pot improbable by the state of the |
atmosphere. that it was full of cleo |
tricity and thus we might be in a
dangerous way.
Tell Tom" he whispered. cit is a
trade-wind gale know if to be So
Howe | asked, when you are ly
ing here below"
by the barometer. which remains |
high. while the wind is steady" re-
Piled HislOp in low voice, for he
was still very weak: eff the barometer
fall, be sure it will become typhoon. |
and then, with a short -handed craft,
heaven help US, But - Tom it is
II