The Opelousas courier., 1900-03-31
A SMUGGLER'S DERRICK.
BY Dawson Stearns.

ShAA
caught the wheel to get the schooner
OH 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 seemed sound,
but the pump threw a 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 3 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! Buoy!
Rope!"
Fred began to keep o sharp lookout
for a buoy, and soon saw, almost di-
rectly ahead, a spar ~protruding end
wise from the water and evidently Sc
ourely moored. Hortense steered for
it, and in a few moments they could
see a cliff of the bold coast Of New
foundland looming directly ahead.
They could also see that a 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 sure it
was not Burgeo, and he could not un-
desstaud the situation at oil. The
cliff was apparently precipitous and
o~verhanging, without any means of
access, and the top was about 40 feet
above the sec level.
"~Saisez-le! Prenez-le! Catch him
rope!" She pointed wildly at the
dangling derrick falls upon which they
now drifted down.
She had evidently Der this done
before and knew where she was, SO
Fred grasped the rope IS they struck
it, and took a round turn to it with a
line made fast to the f~orerigging.
This acted as a temporary mooring,
but what was to be done next he had
not the remotest idea. But Hortense
knew. She confidently pointed mp at
the derrick and said: 'Mans come"
But the 'tmans" did not come, al
though the boy and girl repeatedly
sang out and tried to attract attention.
So absorbed were they in contemplate
ing the dim, unresponsive cliffs that
they gave NO attention to their schoon-
err, 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, aud there
was no time to be lost in using that.
Rushing forward to tell Hortense,
Fred made another maddenin2 discoy-
cry. While pumping, he had not no.
ticed particularly what the girl was
about, but now he found that she had
in some way unrore the tackle from
the block upon the end of the derrick
boom and hauled down one end which
she had utilized to moor the vessel
fast to the buoy with a turn of the
blight around the foremost. 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 til cliff would
soon fix it, but when he showed hel
that the schooner was laundering, she
was panic-stricken and screamed a full
minute, after which she was as calm
as before.
Fred tried to think of q way Of es.
| cape. The schooner was likely to sink
at any moment, and the water was toe
deep right up the cliff to give any
landing there. They might cling &c
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 or such a rope with
his clothes on would be q hard strain.
However, it was the only chance.
Fred hauled down on the hanging
rope until the upper end, in which
Horteuse had tied q couple of knots,
caught hard in the block. Then hs
| showed the girl as well as he could
whak he intended to do, and in spite
Of hi { protestations made o bowline o.
the rope fast around her SO that she
woulGnot sink, even if the vessel die
90 dova. Then he climbed the fore
riggingSf the sehooner-which was
the. s~asiest way up as far $ it went
resied for a fresh breath near tn,
masthead, and started climbing TOWARD
the derrick boom hand over hand.
II the rope had been in q gymnasium
he could have gone up without an,
fear, but out there in the wild air ant
drizzling mist, the fog obliteratinl
everything at a short distance, the SCI
gulls screaming around, as il mad
dened at the invasion of their prem
Uses, and no one at hand to say
word Of cheer, the situation scenes
rather awful. But he went up quick
", reached the block, swung o lei
over one of the guys and pulled him
self mp on top Of the boom.
Then a cry from Hortense arose
Looking down, he saw the masts {
the schooner sinking and the girl il
the water clinging to the buoy. Sh
had brayely RETAINED from screaming
till she saw Fred safe, although th
water had come up on deck almost a
soon as lie had swung off from tn
foremasthead.