Willmar tribune., 1899-09-20

tie pposition that thejy knew E4llshl a
ours Weakness, and fenred The ain showing
Bof our colors was but i sign Of strength and
fearlessness, if not ! lure beckoning them
to ruin. had not dreamed Of such an
easy conquest; and for The while it was ali,
8 could do to restra;:i t he eStravagauce Of
my feelings. j turned to Miss King. Her
pallor had given way and left two bright:
spots; of excitement which glowed on ney
cheeks and matched well the brillian.
eparkle Of her eye. She was trembling with
suppressed emotion, and as Isheld out my
hand to her in unspokcn ncongratulation, she.
took it, and, lifting to her lips my grimy
fingers, rose without q word and hurried
forward. . 81 Ss.zs==s# .s=2,7 &. s5
The impulsive spirit Of her brother
showed itself in the cry he gave as, with half
a sob and half laugh, he danced about the
deck and then threw himself into my arms,
breaking therefrom, shaking his fist at the
retreating boat, and in mighty n-Quaker
raood, though in Quaker style, damned the
British high and low, ahoat and ashore.
."A curse on thee, thee white-livered,
scarlet backed cowards!" he shouted at the
end. ITO let two men and girl drive thee!
Oh, by the Lord God above me, the battle
is not with the strong! Donald! Donald!
mark thee well! ! tell thee we will yet best
them though they send the whole ships
company! We will rise from the depths!
Thy hand and head have SO far shown the
way! Thee viii yet. .prevail!"+ =sss. e. !.
I was well aware that this exuberance was
hut the reaction following strain. / felt the
relief myself, but knew, despite the fact that
we were so far safe, the repulse would prove
but respite. The lump that had risen to
my throat when saw that the enemy was
beaten off still held me specchless, but it
passed presently, as did also the wildness
Of the youth, and ere long we were speculat-
ing as to the next probable move of the dis
comdted redcoats. It was true that had
realized the first part of 1ny secret hope of
overcoming the boat, but, On scanning the
horizon, there was no sign of rescuing
wind, though thought the south held some
promise of later breeze. There was naught
to do but stand at bay and await the issue.
Nor did we await it for long. The sun was
sliding rapidly to the edge Of the sea, being
but an hour high, its path lying in line
with the now thoroughly becalmed schooner
off our quarter; its glare throwing dazzling
pathway betwixt the two vessels. It is
ncore than likely they scented the ad-
vantage given them by their present posi-.
ton, for not long after the return of the
first expedition against us saw three boats
leave their side and proceed along the track
OF binding glitter .s.t y.
To aim into this eye-watering brilliancy
with any but mere chance of hitting a
mark was an impossibility, but, with the old
determination to face the worst, Ames and
I repaired to our posts, though the girl still
fingered forward. 49,,
As saw the uselessness of protracted de-
fensc, I let her bide away, knowing that at
the bow she would be clear of flying bullets
when the boats should come near enough to
return our fire. How the attack was planned
was at once apparent, for to cover the onset
of the boarders the schooner again opened
on us with it's forward piece. In evident
fear of striking their own men, they aban-
doned their former manner of ricochetting
the ball across the water, and instead drove
point blank at us. Although we lay plain
target, and their schooner, like the Phan-
tom, was at rest, the first shot flew wide of
us; the second passed somewhere aloft, yet
SO near that I heard the horrible humming
OF the ball, and the third To this day
they know not all they did, nor, for the
matter of that, did at the time.
We had let the boats come near, that we
might shoot with effect, and had fired and
was about to pass the rifle to Gertrude, who
in my excitement fancied had by this time
returned to the companion, when to my
establishment saw she was not behind me.
There was no time for protracted search,
for, as sprang from the cabin, where had
gone to look for her, heard her brother
discharge two pistols in quick succession and
saw boat sweep under our counter. In an
instant it had hooked on to our ssarboard
channels. With round oath Ames seized
the two remaining pistols and poured their
contents into it with scarce a chance of
missing, while rushed to his side, and
lifting the heavy hatch cover from the cabin,
against which it had been leaning, hurled it
Oh to the heads of the packed mass below.
Beyond the fact that no man boarded the
schooner at this point, what execution was
made by the broad and bulky timber never
knew, for at that moment the third shot
from the schooner struck the foretopmast
just above the hounds. In q laundering
crash down came the spar with the square.
sail, the outer canvas, topmast, fore and
back stays, blocks and upper running, gear
in general, the broken mast shifting the
deck with the sound of an explosion.
The din of the shot and the tumbling
wreck slowed me around as though I had
been on pivot, but it was only to see that
all wasA lost. From beneath the foresail
Doom saw that the other boats had board
ed us on the larboard bow, and already half
a score of men were swarming over the side.
Even then my thoughts went to the girl,
but she was nowhere in sight. Body and
brain work quickly in times of excitement,
and thinking that possibly she had fallen
through the gaping hatch and into the hold,
though time was scant, sprang for the
opening and looked down, calling her by
name. There came no answer, neither was
her body in sight, the dull gray of the lead
alone meeting my eye. Springing again to
nly feet, drew my clitlass and retreated. to
the quarter deck where stood Ames With
drawn steel, his back braced against the
wheel and his breath coming and going q
though from violent exertion. :s :, ~
=" Els the final stand, my lad!" e1-
claimed, as / ranged myself by his side and
turned to face (for the last time, I thousht)
the enemy, who. were now pouring !. aft.
Gertrude is gonel ! could find her; ro-
where!" q |Ss:5s 3 .=..1 .ss
''I know it!'' he painted. "The game M
Il marked her when She = IS ..sE.5
/ lost the rest, for at that instant an Off
Ger whom ] at once recognized came run
ming up, followed BY half dozen marines.
As he caught sight Of me he halted, and,
cycling me with profound astonishment, sud.
denly broke out IA. 4=@
Good God! 'tis Thorndyke! Touch not
that man, on your lives!" he shouted.
Here's game worth whole watch! Sur
render, ye rebel! Throw down your arms
! and surrender! Cant you see you are
Eteaten? You doubly damned spy, the rope
will have its own! isy Saint George, but