The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1899-05-12
e999
DICK RODNEY; !
Or. The Adventures of
An Eton Boy.
by JAMES

NY JAMES GRANT.
CHAPTER XIV.
!. The T~hunderbolt.


CHAPTER XIV.
The T%hunderbolt.
An emotion of mingled freedom and
satisfaction possessed the whole crew
on being rid Of our tormentor, and
LAmbourne now tool 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 exciting scene which closes the
last chapter, We committed to the deep
the body OF Antonio's last victim, the
poor apprentice, whom the sailmaker
sewed up in his hammock, to which,
being without shot or other suitable
weights, we tied a sack Of Goals to
slnk the corpse.
The head-yards were filled again,
and, as II anxious to leave that por-
ton OF the g Is far as possible
astern, we hauled up.for the cape. Tom
Lambourne ordered every stitch of
canvas that 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
- 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-
ton ana prick of 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
md neither; and the sweet expression
of the poor widows face, as 1t seemed
to smile on us from the miniature
ON the after-bulkhead, contrasted
strangely with all the wild work that
had 80 lately taken place on board.
Htslop and / were restored to u
former berths, and then more than
once In my dreams the pale olive-green
village and glaring eyes of the Gu
bano came before me. and again l
seemed to see him clinging unpitied
and In desperation to the slender boom
which swung above the seething sea
Tor his death and all its concomitant
horrors haunted me and made me I'M
happy.
The intensity OF the heat in that
season suggested the idea that we
could not have drifted far south of the
line.
30 great was 1t that the upper spars
q the Eugene appeared to wriggle or
vibrate Ike serpents aloft In the sun
shine: while SO hot, SO clear and SO
rareiied wal the atmosphere between
decks that It was snffocated, especially
III the lulling Of the faint breeze. A
White heat seemed to make sea and
skys grow pale. and the former cast
upward reflection from it's CLASSY
surface and long smooth swells that
VS. hot----h0t beyond all description.
Though yer and anon the upper
deck vas drenched with salt water, it
drtsds Immediately, emitting a strong
oder 81 wet wood, while the skids over
the side failed to keep the paint, tar
and resin rising In large burnt blisters.
About the time when we hoped that
Htsl0p would have been well enough
q make an observation, even by being
p1lApeA M Il chair on deck, the weather
bscaIhe % rough that he was unable
~ leave his berth, and during all that
~ the brig drove before a heavy
11ae,sswith her courses hauled close
NJ the fore and main topsail yards
lcsRarsd on the caps, and their canvas
Ello1o heefeds
A1ter the heat We had endured, the
Feader may imagine this gale would
= refreshing and q relief. Not so.
s1he atmosphere, a. 1t became dark
Wtta gathering clouds, Increased in
netty. closeness and heat, thus about
s11lesttne We should have had clear twi-
u { the hour was gloomy a. q north
midnight-so dark that the men
Ed1sSAes3 tor or those lying out along
s3hA~1O0t-E0pes ct the yard-arms, when.
lala1r clooA-reefed topsails, could not
GlaSensfsumaths deck, while the brsexe
ltssNeptsover the ocean was breath
r the simeon Of the desert;
3l61 adprss mon knew not whether they
d9M4le dFsHched " Precipitation or the
i - I&0ndtift torn from the warm wave
IlliIg y Jthe ~increasing blast.
JI&GfTeC0l1Sr ~DnAefanc OF thia black