The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1899-01-20

would float, as the wind and sea were
evidently rising together, and to re-
main on board was almost as danger
Gus and hopeless. l had the risk of
drowning by her capsizing, or lying on
her beam ends in the water. and so
laundering and going down.
A plank might start in her sheathing
she might even then be filling by
some u%ncaulked leak! l had no idea
of the state Of her hold, and for many
reasons feared she might sink before
daybreak, and before my p~erilous sit
uation could be discovered from the
shore.
The waves were black as ink; the
sky was moonless overhead, but the
pale, white stars winked and twinkled,
ane. were reflected in the trough of the
ocean. Now, l could perceive foam
cresting the tops of the waves, and
knew that the breeze was increasing
to a gale-a gale hat was blowing
from the land.
This added to my despair, for the
lights had seen soon disappeared, aud
the dark outline of the coast seemed
to sink lower and to blend with the
sea. Clutching the weather rigging,
l could scarcely keep my feet, so slip
perry was the now wetted deck, and so
cold and benumbed were my hands and
arms by the chill atmosphere of the
ocean, and by the salt spray which
ever and anon flew over me in bitter.
briny showers.
l shouted, but tie hooking wind bore
my voice away to seward. With de-
spairing eyes I swept the dusky water,
in the hope of seeing a vessel, a fishing
boat, or the light of a steamer near;
but gazed, with haggard glance, in
vain.
l had NJ hope now but to wait for
dawn Of day; and when it came, where
might and the empty schooner be?
Fortunately, her topmasts were struck.
her foreyard was lowered, and all her
gear made tolerably snug. Her can
vas, however, was only in the brails,
and a portion of the fore and aft
forasa!l having got loose, it
was swelled out by the blast,
and kept her head partially be-
fore the wind, thus accelerating the
rate at which she vas borne from the
land, and being without trimming or
ballast, she danced over the waves,
as l have said, like a cork, but in mo-
mentary danger Of capsizing and foun-
dering. AS dawn drew near, the cold
increased so much that, though at the
risk of being passed unseen by some
coaster, I was fain to creep on my
hands and knees to the companion
hatch, and descend into the cabin.
1t was darker now than ever, for the
lamp had gone out.
ooh, to be ashore!" 1 exclaimed pas
sionately, with clasped hands; ashore,
and free from this floating prison."
l thought of my gentle and loving
mother, and my soul seemed to die
within me. The schooner would be
missed by daybreak-the alarm would
be given; her alarm would rapidly be-
come irrepressible anxiety, which
would soon turn to a despair that
nothing could alleviate.
Sounds like thunder, or like tremen-
dous blows. at times made me start.
These were caused by billets Of wood,
or pieces of pig-iron pitching about in
the hold of the schooner as she rolled
and lurched and righted herself to roll
and lurch again.
For a time 1 covered miserably in
the dark cabin, until my childish fears
overmatched reason, and l crept once
more unOn deck
A regular gale was blowing now, and
the schooner careened fearfully be-
meath it On her s%tarboard side, while
the bellying of that portion Of the fore
and aft foresail which had got loose
aided in %hurrying her faster out to sea.
The light of the coming day was
spread in dull gray over the sky. i'm
parting the same cold tint to the whit
ening waves. Land was still visible.
but it seemed like a dark bank at the
horizon. I supposed it to be about ten
miles distant, but what part Of the
coast, or how far from Erlesmere, !
knew not.
(TN Io oorf;r,oI