Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1900-03-14

foremast seemed uninjureG. Fred
caught the wheel to get the schooner
on her course again and steady her,
which was done easily, despite the
loss of her head sails.
Fred then set about inspecting the
schooner. The hull seemsd sound,
but the pump threw stream of
clear sea water, showing that the yes
sci leaked.
However, the valve sucked after
about ten minutes of vigorous pump
ing. which seemed to show that the.
leak would not seriously endanger
| them unless it should increase.
Fred was on the lookout forward
about o'clock, when he thought he
heard surf. At the same moment the
girl changed her course more to the
westward, so as not to head directly
on shore. care We near the harbor?"
the youth called; but she seemed puz-
zled, and all the explanation she
would give was, ''Non! Non! Buoyl
Rope!"
Fred began to keep sharp lookout
for buoy, and soon saw, almost di-
rectly ahead, spar protruding end
wise from the water and evidently Sc
curely moored. Hortense steered for
it. and in few moments they could
see cliff of the bold coast of New
foundland looming directly ahead.
They could also see that n rope fell
from the boom of q derrick on the
cliff, and was made fast to the buoy
below.
The girl was evidently arriving at
exactly the destination she had
sought, but Fred was quite surs it
was not Burgeo, and he could not un-
derstand the situation at all. The
cliff was apparently precipitous and
oveshanging, without any means of
access, and the top was about 40 feet
above the sea level.
''Saisez-le! Prenez-le! Catch him
rope!' She pointed wildly ct the
dangling derrick falls upon which they
now drifted down.
She had evidently seen this done
before and knew where she was, 80
Fred grasped the rope rs they struck
it, and took round turn to it with q
line made fast to the forerigging.
This acted as temporary mooring.
but what was to be done next he had
not the remotest idea. But Hortense
knew. She confidently pointed up at
the derrick and said: '.Mans come"
But the ''mans" did not come, al
though the boy and girl repeatedly
sang out and tried to attract attention.
So absorbed were they in contemplat-
ing the dim, unresponsive cliffs that
they gave no atten ton to their schoon--s
Ell, which would have been almost
ashore had the tide not kept her surg
ing outward.
The schooner was sinking fast. The
only obvious method of escape was by
the rope from the derrick, and there
was no time to be lost in using that.
Rushing forward to tell Hortense,
Fred made another naddenine discov-
cry. While pumping, he had not no.
ticed particularly what the girl was
about, but now he found that she had
in some way uurove the tackle from
the block upon the end of thu derrick
boom and hauled down one end which
she had utilized to moor the vessel
fast to the buoy with turn of the
blight around the foremast. The free
end, knotted, was far above reach.
When Fred pointed out what she
had done she laughed and assured
him that some one on tn cliff would
soon fix it, but when he showed her
that the schooner was laundering, she
was panic stricken and screamed full
minute, after which she was as calm
as before.
Fred tried to think of way of es-
cape. The schooner was likely to sink
at any moment, anu the water was too
deep right up the cliff to give any
landing there. They might cling to
the buoy after the schooner sank, but
the chances of rescue would be doubt
full. The only hope lay in that single
bit of hemp which hung from the der
rick boom.
He had been good at rope climbing
in the gymnasium of his school, but
to go up 40 feet on such rope with
his clothes on would be q hard strain.
However, it was the only chance
Fred hauled dc n on the hanging
rope until the Ii. g. end, in which
Hortense had tied q couple OF knots,
caught hard in the block. Then he
showed the girl as we'll as he could
what he intended to do, and in spite
of her protestations made bowline OF
the rope fast around her so that she
would not sink, even if the vessel did
go down. Then he climbed the fore
rigging of the schooner which was
the easiest way up as far as it went
rested for q fresh breath near the
masthead, and started climbing toward
the derrick boom hand over hand.
If the rope had been in gymnasium
he could have gone up without any
fear, but out there in the wild air and
drizzling mist, the fog obliterating
everything at short distance, the sea
gulls screaming around, as if mad
dened OF the invasion of their prem
ises, and no one at hand to say
word of cheer, the situation seemed
rather awful. But he went up quick
ly, reached the block, swung leg
over one of the guys and pulled him
self MP on top of the boom.
Then cry from Horteuse arose.
Looking down, he saw the masts I
the schooner sinking and the girl in
the water clinging to the buoy. She
had bravely refrained from screaming
till she saw Fred safe, although the
water had come up on deck almost as
soon as he had swung off from the
foremasthead.
Fred shouted encouragement to her,
but how could he lift her and her wet
clothes-a weight of 130 pounds at
least-up sheer height of 40 feet?
Ha tried To oct the end of the rome