The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1900-05-12
CHAPTER XIV.
The T~hunderbOlt.

An eHlOLiOu VI HiuSleu IIeeuoA anu
satisfaction possessed the whole crew
on being rid of our tormentor. and
Lambourne now took 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
Tor 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 q sack OF Goals to.
sink the corpse.
The h~ead-yards were filled again,
and, as If anxious to leave that por-
ton of the sea as far as possible
astern, we hauled up for the cape. Tom
Lambourne ordered every stitch of
any 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
as 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 vas.
might be able to take a solar observa-
ton ana prick off 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
find neither; and the sweet expression
of the poor widows face, as it seemed
to smile on us from the miniature
on the after-bulkhead, contrasted
strangely with all the wild work that
had so lately taken place on board.
Hislop and l were restored t. our
former berths, and then more than
once in. my dreams the pale o~live-green
visage and glazing eyes of the Gu
bano came before me, and again |
seemed to see him clinging ~unpitied
and in desperation to the slender boom
which swung above the seething sea
for his death and all it's 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.
So great was it that the upper spars
Of the Eugene appeared to wriggle or
vibrate like serpents aloft In the sun
shine; while SO hot, so clear and so
rarefied was the atmosphere between
decks that it was s~uffocated, especially
in the lulling of the faint breeze. A
white heat seemed to make sea and
sky grow pale, and the former cast
upward a reflection from its CLASSY
surface and long smooth swells that
was hot-hot beyond all description.
Though ever and anon the uppeI
deck was drenched with salt water, il
dried Immediately, emitting a strong
odor of wet wood, while the skids oyel
.he side failed to keep the paint, tai
and rosin rising in large burnt blisters
About the time When we hoped thai
Hislop would have been we'll enough
to make an observation, even by being
placed in a chair on deck, the weather
became so rough that he was unable
to leave his berth, and during all tina
day the brig drove before a heavy
gale, with her courses hauled elosl
up, the fore and main topsail yard!
lowered on the caps, and their canvas
close reefed.
After the heat We had endured, tn
reader may imagine this gale woult
be refreshing and a relief. Not so
The atmosphere, as 1t became darl
with gathering clouds, increased il
density, closeness and heat, thus ahou
the time we should have had clear twi
light, the hour was gloomy as a north
ern midnight-so dark that the mel
In the tops, or those lying out aloni
the foot-ropes at the yard-arms, whel
under close-reefed topsails, could no
be seen from the deck, while the breez
that swept over the ocean was breath
less-hot as the simeon of the desert
and our men knew not whether the
\ were drenched by p~erspiration or tn
} spoondrift torn from the warm wav
tops by the increasing blast.
:. The peculiar appearance of this blac
gale alarmed and bewildered Tattooe
Tom, who could make nothing of /
while poor Marc Hislop, whose ski
would have been invaluable to III
when he heard the singing out on decl
the thunder of the bcllying course
struggling with their brails, the roa
, of the wind through the half-bare
masts and rigging. the clatter of block
and feet overhead, writhed in his be-
and mourned his " inactivity,
ratheN incapacity; but he sent me
tell Lambourne to cover up the al
chors with wetted canvas, as it Wa
not improbable, by the state of tn
atmosphere, that it was full of ele'
eHcity and thus We might be in
dangerous a
Tell Tom" he whispered, "it is
trade-wind gale-I know it to be So
-, How" I asked. when you are !!
ing here below"
by the barometer. which remail
high. while the wind is steady" +
piled Hislop in a low voice. for !
-. I'm ,,n-y- ,traal. .tif tho hq rnmptl