Rocky Ford enterprise., 1899-07-06
DICK RODNEY: {
Or. The Adventures of
An Eton Boy.

BY JAMES GRANT.

CHAPTER XXV.-(Continued.)
AIS over now." said Tom Lam
bourne. as he grasped the tiller with
firm hand, after. carefully wrapping
blanket round poor Hislop, who droop-
cd beside him in the stern-sheets.
Which way shall we pull?" asked
the bowman, as we paused with our
oars in the rowlocks.
''lt matters little, mates" cried Tom,
in a loud voice. with his left hand ct
the side OF his mouth. to send what
he said forward above the roar OF the
wind and sea. I'VE must be many
hundred miles from Brazil. the nearest
land. and we can do nothing now but
keep our boat alive by baling and
steering till daybreak. Now. Master
Hislop." he added, lowering his voice.
how do you feel, sir?"
Il feel that am quite in your way.
my lads-a useless hand aboard, to
consume your food and water" re-
piled Hislop. family.
why. SIR" said Probart. the stroke
oarsman, "you don't think we could
have left you to burn in that poor old
brig?"
mo, not exactly: still I am Of no
use to you, and feel"
What. sir. what?" asked Tom. anx-
iously.
Heart sick and despairing." moan
ed Hislop. letting his chin drop on
his breast.
Don't talk so. SIR" said Lambourne.
stoutly: despair never found a place
in the heart Of n British sailor"
You are right, Tom: and perhaps
I'll gather headway and get to wind
ward yet"
"Of course you WILL" replied Tom,
cheerfully; but here's n sea coming
together. lads. pull together.".
Despair might well have found a
place in all our breasts at that awful
crisis; but Toms bluff and cheerful
way prevented our hearts from sink
ing. though the hours of that awful
night seemed dark and long.
Well, without compass, chart. or
quadrant, there we were. ten in num-
ber. in an open boat, tossing upon q
dark and stormy sea, envcloped In
clouds. with the red lightning gleam-
ing through their ragged openings. or
at the far and hat Acknowledgement
of where we were. where to steer for.
or what to do. and full of terrible
anticipations for the future!
We were silent and sleepless.
My heart was full OF horror. grief
and vague alarm, when I thought OF
my home-the quiet, the happy and
peaceful old rectory. with all who loved
me there, and whom l might never see
again.
The hot tears that started to my
eyes mingled with the cold spray that
drenched my checks, and there SEEM
ed but one consolation for me. that my
father. my afrectionate mother and sis
ters. dear Dot and little Sybil, could
never know how perished by hunger
or drowning, II such were to be my
fate.
All the stories I had heard or read
of ship-wrecked mcH-thcir sufferings,
their endurance of gnawing hunger
and burning thirst, their cannibalism,
their mortal struggles with their dear
sst friends for the last morsel of food,
for the last drop of water. and how
the weak perished that the strong
might live-crowded upon my mem
ory to augment the real terrors of our
situation.
So suddenly had this final catas-
trophe come upon us that we had con-
siderable difficulty in assuring our
selves of its reality, and that 1t was
not q dream-a dream, alas! from
which there might be no awakening.
So hour after hour passed darkly,
slowly, and silently on.
The turbulence of. the wind and
waves abated, the lightning passed
away, the scud ceased to whirl, the
vapors were divided in heaven. and
faint light that stole tremulously up
ward from the horizon served to indi-
cate the east and the dawn of the COM
Ing day.