The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-05-05
'wot's the matter? wot's yer goin' t

"Wots the matter? Wot's yer goin' to
do?
Whats the matter. What's the mat
ter! Don't you see, and the blasted bulls
eye starin' you in the face? What am I
goin' to do? Why, I'm goin' ashore over
to them lights. See them? And I'm goin'
to take this bloody boat with mel
Coin to take the boat with you? Why,
Choky-" But Choixy was off to the
bridge, and by the time they had fully
comprehended his meaning he had the
wheel unlashed.
The Lotus, while the wheel was dashed,
had turned her nose slightly away from
the shore, but under the feel of the helm,
which Reardon put over, she came around
with a magnificent sweep, and charged
head down toward an electric light on
shore three miles away
Lets do something" cried Morley.
Wen alb be drowned"
But it was not theirs to do. She was
charging blindly to the distant surf-whit
ened edge of the water like an old plains
bison to the edge of a canyon, and de-
struction awaited at the end of the run.
Yet in her soul she seemed to know, and
in her soul she revolted. All day the
faithful engine had toiled for them under
protest-underfed, uncared for, unwash-
ed. All day from it's heart it had pump
tenn through it's veins, over and over, till
it thinned and grew weak, till Reardon,
looking fearfully at the diminishing tank,
had sought to sustain life in the machine
with hypodermic injections of the hand
oilers. All day it had grown sitter and
sitter in it's joints, till it groaned and
shrieked like a rheumatic. And now in
the critical moment of it's career, when
the greatest things were. expected of it,
A,1 I1fk III t.
fed to the last gasp of its vitality-and
stopped. There was a kissing of steam, a
laboring grinding. sudden cessation of
the throb, and then the momentum of
the boat was all that carried it forward.
Choky turned from the wheel as she
lost way and roared to the others on the
deck below: ~
whats the matter? Who stopped her?"
Nobody" replied Andy. "She did it
herself Choky. Guess she's broke DOWN.
In the glare of the searchlight Reardon
shook his fists and heaped curses on ships,
engines, governments and all that in
them are. The Lotus slid along to within
a mile and a half of the shore and
stopped. The other boat by this. time
was so near that they could see the forms
of men passing the open ports. and the
arm of the searchlight operator showed
plainly,
They've got us now" cried Archer
But Morley had his idea, too, and he
ran in the face of orders to put it into
practice.
Look herer' he said. Cant we launch
one of these boats and get ashore in it
before they get to us?'
Even Choky, in spite of his recent frame
of mind. was taken with it, and they
worked at the davits with the fury of
last hope. The fall snarled of course,
but at last they were ready. and the
four men climbed hurriedly in.
What about the Dago?" asked Archer.
TEL with him. replied the Buckeye.
They lowered cautiously, and, when
big swell went shoreward from under the
steamer, they went with it. Taking their
bearings from the range light on shore,
as their star, they headed the boat to-
ward it and pulled away into the night.
BOAT going off from the Lotus" said
the flag lieutenant to the commander of
the warship.
Rather time for it, should say" re-