The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1901-12-15

VI 3VOO-OASS0AS VI 80
junk, or the water We "a shipped whe
the rudder went. had put out the gale
fire. and We could get nothing hot. eve
q man could have been spared t
cook it.
Breakers ahead shouted the voice Of
sailor. and then ere the words were scarc
out Of his mouth. q TARA crash-a shive
and Jolt through every plank and timber.
Wild turmoil of falling mast and spar an
beaten foam and roaring billow. and W
knew we were on the rocks.
A great cry arose from the vessel au
dfble above the roar and shrek of win,
and wave. a great. an awful cry Of despair
ing, dying men. We clambered up the deck
steep as a roof now.. and waist deep Il
water to where the how of the vessel witt
, part OF the foremast was driven high upol
the rocks. and there We clustered together
a little above the worst sweep of the waves
clinging on to what was left of the shroud
! n ropes.
So We chung through that night, frczal
with cold. sick with hunger. wet. shiverine
gasping wretclies. knowing not il we shou' {
ever see the morning again. or whether til.
dawn that would be vouchsafed to US wouIt
be the mystic light OF the world beyond
the grave.
At last. at last the dawn came. and with
the first gleam Of light the worst ferocity
OF the storm abated a little. and present.,
as the darkness slowly melted away we un.
derstood more of our situation. Our shir
had struck on a long and jagged reef OF
rock. running parallel with the shore
whose rugged cliffs doomed dimly through
a haze of flying foam and spray. II We
could only cross those intervening yards OF
raging. foaming waters. thai tempestuous
whirlpool Of swirling. eurging. torn and
broken waves. We might be safe.
How Is the tide?' I said to Tom, who
still chung by me. rs It ebb or flow DIV
think?'
He shook his head. "How can one tell!''
he said in a hopeless tone.
IF one could get q rope across" I said.
ut is not fary'
The Lieutenant gave me permission to
try. though from his face I saw he only
thought l was going a little quicker to my
death.
Then I got a coli Of thin rope and fastened
one end round my body: while the other
was spliced to a strong cable. so that. II I
got to land. I could haul the rope to shore.
so as to make q help and stay for the others
through the broken smother Of surf. Then
I slid down the side Of the vessel on to the
reef. which now at its highest part was
beyond the worst sweep of the waves,
though the foam slid up knee deep. frothing
and kissing as every bil!ow broke.
But I succeeded almost better than 1
hoped. and. breathless. painting. gasping.
cut and bleeding In a dozen places. 1
reached the last point Of rock visible to me.
when to my dismay I found 1 was much
farther from the real shore than I had
anticipated. n that still a wild smother Of
foaming water stretched between me and
safety.
And as I fought and struggled, my
strength failed me more and more, and a
sharp. strange pain in my side seemed to
choke what little breath I had left. and I
had never reached that shore alive. but
that just as I felt all my power fall. Some
n clutched me and dragged me w.
The cord!' I gasped. and fumbled at my
waist. 1.-The cord-puil-pull!v
At first they did not seem to understand
my meaning. but then one. quicker braine1
than the others. cried cut:
God be thanked! Yes! It's the cord round
him he is naming. Is it fixed aboard yon.
vessel. honey?' he asked me.
Eyes. yes. I painted. Pull. pulitzer the
love Of God. It is on a cable, and then the
others can come ashoret"
And 30. sheltering under a rock from the
worst keennees Of the wind. 1 a the in
finite Joy Of seeing my friends come safe
ashore. for the cable. held aut and fast
by the kind islanders. served as a good
support in the whirling waters. The last
to reach shore was the yourg Lieutenant.
and then he and I. and Tom. for Tom
would not quit me. though the Others. were
carried on to the house. climbed painfully
the steep path. n so reached the old Grey
House built up there on the slope of the
hill. and looking nigh as gray as the crags
by which 1t was sheltered.