The times., 1899-08-20
From the Royal Yard DoWn
BY Morgan Robertson.

:. I !. !. !.
AS night descended, cold and damp, the
wind hauled. and by 9 O'Clock the ship was
charging along before half-gale and
rising sea from the port quarter. When
the watch had braced the yards, the mate
ordered the spanker brailed in and the
miZzen-royal clewed up, as the ship steer
ed hard. This was done, and the men
coiled up the gear.
Let the spanker hang in the brails-tie
up the royal ordered the mate from his
position at the break of the poop
Aye, aye, sir" answered a voice from
the group, and an active figure sprang into
the rigging Another figure-slim and
graceful, clad in long yellow oilskin coat
and sou 'wester which latter could not con-
fine tangled fringe OF wind blown hair
left the shelter of the after -companionway
and sped along the alley 10 the mates
side
The foot-rope, Mr. Adams she said,
hurriedly "The seizing was chafed, you
remember
by George, Miss Freda,' said the Off
Ger. Forgot all about it. Glad you spoke
come down from aloft," he added, in a
roar.
The sailor answered and descended.
Get piece of spun-yarn out o. the
booby-hatch and take it up WI you,' con-
tinued the mate. Pass a temporary seiz-
ing on the lee royal foot-rope. Make sure
it's all right fore you get on it, now"
Aye, aye, SIR
The man passed down the poop steps, Sc
cured a marline spike and the spun yarn,
and while rolling the latter into ball to
put in his pocket, stood for moment in
the light shining from the second mates
room. The girl on the poop looked down
wi, hr,i1s fo.-
young fellow, with more refinement in his
face than most sailors can show; yet there
was no lack of seamanly deftness in the
fingers which balled up the spun-yarn and
threw half-hitch with the blight of the
lanyard over the point of the marline-
spike. AS he climbed the steps, the girl
faced him, looking squarely into his eyes.
BE careful. John-Mr. Owen. The seiz-
ing is chafed through. | heard the man
report tit was Dutch George of the other
watch. Do be careful"
''Eh, why-why, Miss Folsom he STAN
mered; thank you. But you startled me-
I've been Jack for three years-not John
nor Mister Yes, it's all right, +
Get aloft to that mizzen-royal,' thun-
dered the mate from near the wheel.
AYE aye, SIR He touched his SOU
wester to the girl and mounted the wealth
er-mizzen rigging, running up the ratlines
as a fireman goes up a ladder 1t was a
black night with cold rain-and having
thrown off his oiled jacket, he was already
drenched to the skin-but no environment
of sunshine green fields and woodland OF
of fower-scented air ever made life bright
er to him than had the incident of the last
few moments; and with every nerve in his
body rejoicing in his victory, and her bit
ter words of four years back crowding his
mind as a contrasting background, he
danced up and over the futtock-shrouds,
up the topmast rigging, through the cross
trees, up the top gallant rigging TO where
the ratlines ended, and he must climb on
the runner of the royal halyards. As the
yard was lowered this was short climb,
and he swung himself upward to the
weather yard arm, where he rolled up one
side of the sail with extravagant waste OF
muscular effort; for, she had said he was
not a man-and be had proved her wrong
he had conquered himself, and he had
conquered her
He hitched the gasket, and crossed over
to the lee side, forgetting in his exhilara-
ton, the object of the spun-yarn in his
pocket and the marline-spike hung from
his neck stepped out on the footrope,
passed his hands along the iackstay to pull
himself farther, and felt the foot-rope
sink to the sound of swapping strands. The
jackstay was torn from his grasp, and he
fell face downward, into the black void
beneath.
An involuntary shrek began on his lips
but was not finished He felt that the last
atom of air was Jared from his lungs by
what he knew was the topgallant yard four
feet below the royal; and. unable to hold
on, with freezing cold in his veins and at
the hair-roots, he experienced in its full
ness the terrible sensation of falling
whirling downward-clutching wildly at
vacancy with stiffened fingers.
The first horror past, his mind took on
a strange contemplatiyeness; fear of death
gave way to mild curiosity as 10 the man
ner of it. Would he strike on the lee
quarter, or would he go overheard? And
might he not catch something? There was
rigging below him-the lee-royal back
stay stretched farthest out from the mast,
and If he brushed ii, there was possible
chance. He was now face upward, and
with the utmost difficulty moved his eyes
he could not yet, by any exercise of will
or muscle, move his head-and there, al
most within reach, was a dark line, which
he knew was the royal backstay, and with
in this, two other ropes which he knew for
the top gallant though he could see no
ratlines, nor could he distinguish the lay
of the strands-the ropes appeared like
solid bars. This, with the fact that he
was still but a few feet below the top gal
liant yard, surprised him, until 1t came 10
him that falling bodies travel over six
teen feet in the first second of descent,
which is at a rate too fast for distinct
vision, and that the apparent slowness OF
his falling was but relative-because OF
the quickness of his mind, which could not
wait on sluggish optic nerve and more
sluggish retina.
Yet, he wondered why he could not reach
out and grasp the backstay. 1t seemed as
though invisible fetters bound every mus
Gle and joint-though not completely. An
intense effort of will resulted in the slow
extension of all the fingers of his right
hand, and a little Strengthening of the arm
toward the backstay; but not until he had
fallen to the level of the upper tcpsail yard
was this result reached. It did no good
the backstay was now farther away. AS II
led in a straight line from the royal
head to the rail, this meant that he would
fall overheard, and the thought comforted
him. The concusson would kill him, OF
course; but no self-pity afflicted him now
He merely considered. that she-who had
relented-would be spared the sight OF
him crushed to pulp on the deck.
AS he drifted slowly down past the ex-
panse of upper topsail he noticed that his
head was sinking and his body turning SO
that he would ultimately face forward but
still his arms and legs held their extended
position. like those OF speared frog; and
the thought recalled TO him an incident OF
his infancy-a froghunt with an older
playmate, his prowess, success, wet feet
and consequent Illness, 1t had been for
gotten for years but the chain was started
and led to other memories, long dead