The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1899-12-20

night, when the Christmas trees In the
churches had been .pnladen, that the
home corners saw an ominous flash across
the southern sky, and the trail of the
rockets acted like cry of fire on the
men.
The duh silence in the Nantucket lanes
reSounded with the frantic yell. Wreck
on the south shorc!" Every ablebodicd
man was en- foot in an instant. Tim
Henderson aud all of No were there,
too, but not the old hand engine.
1t is not over three miles to the south
sho,7 from the village of Nantucket.
! When the men had reached the scene,
| the life savers had sent line over the
mast of the brigantine Henrietta Rog-
crs, less than half mile away. But
the vessel WAS acting ugly and was loath
to stand still She pounded ON the shoai
and tugged ut the line over which ran
the trolley of the breeches buoy.
Three were already saved. but every
moment 1t seemed as IL the line would
break, As the mountainous seas heaved
and broke over the cliffs the line and
its burden We're buried out OF sight.
Then the line, released from its tension,
snapped into the air like lash. and
yet somehow the breeches buoy held TO
It's trolley, and its human freight staid.
too, slowly feeling Its why to the bank.
The captain of the vessel was the last
to come. The men had cheercd them all
us they were picked up, half drowned,
and carried into the station by willing
hands. 1t was ready to cheer now as
the last man was slowly coming shore
ward
But the words died ON their lips. un-
uttered The line had caught When re-
leased from the clutch of the waves, n
dark object was tossed into the air. Each
moment ii seemed MS IL the captain would
be thrown into the sen That moment
would be his last. for nothing not even
a lifeboat, could live In that sea.
1t was not n time TO stop and consider.
The life saving captain was about TO
speak to his men, to command them to go
TO almost certain death, when form
shot out of the darkness and grabbed the
life line. The men on shore sworc, not
softly" but above the roaring of the
storm they were heard and II seemed as
IL they called him fool No one knew
who IL was, for he was scarcely In view
long enough. even II he could have been
recognized. Each time the line flew into
the air the men ON shore held their
breath.
Once man mud line narted and disnp.
peared low groun mingled with the
storm. Then the line flew up again, and
the man was again slowly creeping to-
wnrd the buoy.
There was no timekeepcr for That race
with death. 1t seemed MS IL hours had
passed when the buoy again yielded to
the pull from the shore, and the two men
We're brought to safety.
When they picked up Tim Henderson,
already unconscious, they carried him to
the station ms tenderly MS II mother gath
ers her child to her arms. They had for
gotten to cheer nj first That came later,
when the waiting crowd saw the fisher
man stepping forth into the open mir.
Tim walked baek 10 town. He resent
ed my demonstration, He went home.
Persls Hayward waited ali day for him.
but she did not understand him yet. IL
she thought II was for her that he risked
his life. size WAS mistaken She learned
about that afterward.
Christmas night tho wind had changed
to northeast, and the rain had turned In
TO sleet aud snow. But the weather did
not count with Persis. She had the
street TO herself MS she half walked and
half blew down Ncwiown -wa"s=. s'u.7ss'
she had Tim TO herself too.
II has never been really known what
happened. but il has leaked out that Tim