Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1901-10-29

Craddock and the Norwegian were
i jammed beneath mass Of wreckage.
comparatively unhurt, but unable for
the time being to extricatc themselves;
and so, In monentary expectation Of
death, they remained until the WIND
/ and the sea subsided, and the sun came
up out of the east rs smilingly as
though no havoc had been wrought
since he last bade them both good
night.
There Is no calmness like unto that
| which succeeds q storm, and In the
/ south sea 1t is difficult at such time
to realize that the tempest has come
and gone. Only the wide expanse OF
sea to the south and west with it's huge.
unrufilcd, rolling swells and the corpse
of the schooner lying full two fathoms
out of reach Of the summit Of the high
est heave of the restless water, man.
| gled, broken. dripping. gave evidence
Of the terrific war of the elements that
had waged through the night. The
herculean strength Of the Norwegian
was in evidence when the sun rose at
last over the world. Piece by piece he
removed the debris which confined him
and bis friend. and at last, somewhat
shaken, badly bruised. but in nowise
appalled,, they stood side by side upon
| the dismantled and broken deck.
Before them was the endless stretch
of water, bepeath them the stranded
hull of the Mascot. behind them, when
wonderingly they turned their heads to
| discover the meaning Of the shadow
that was cast upon the sea. loomed
huge, cone shaped mountain Of obsid-
ial formation. which glistened even on
the shady side. where the rays Of the
risen sun could not touch its surface.
1t was q mountain which lowered
about 1000 feet into the air. shaped
like a pineapple cheese with the top
cut Off smoothly and evenly two-thirds
Of the distance to where the summit
might have been had the formation
continued on to its natural apex. No
where was there another bit Of land in
sight, and this could hardly be desig-
mated by so dignified name.
There is no need to comment upon
their conjectures and their plans. The
towering mountain rose literally out Of
the sea, and, with the exception Of the
rock upon which the wreck Of the
schooner rested. there was nothing else
than water in sight-water and sky
and sun and clouds. All, yes; there
was one more thing-a land bird, which
fluttered down from the heights above,
rested for moment upon the wreck
and then scared away again until it
disappeared in the direction of the
mountains top.
1t was long after noon when that oc-
Cured, after Craddock had found the
implements Of navigation among the
wreckage in the cabin and by taking
an observation had decided that they
were in latitude 22.10 south and longi-
tude 17S.15 west. He found also the
water soaked chart, but 1t afforded
them no information. There was no
record of such a mountain at that spot.
that they were some hundreds Of miles
southwesterly from the Tonga islands
and that the nearest point Of land was
the island Of Kaafa, 200 miles or more
20 the northwest.
But that land bird was an inspiration
to the Norwegian.
"Mountain or no mountain, scalable
or not, Grad" he said after watching
the bird until 1t disappeared from view
on Its return flight, there are trees and
earth and fresh water on the summit
or perhaps on the other side Of that
mountain. That bird would not be
here without them"
Investigation demonstrated that one
Of the boats might be repaired. and
they began work upon it at once. Wa.
ter and food they possessed in abun.
dance, for the schooners stores were
almost intact, although tumbled about
In the most abject confusion.
It Is not necessary to enter Into the
details of their three days search
around that mountain Of crystal, which
did not exceed two and half miles In
circumference, with never a fissure or
a crevice in its smooth and even sides
save dark and oblong hole as large as
church door fully hundred feet
above the surface Of the sea and d.
rectly over the place where the schoon'
er was stranded. 1t was not until they
had exhausted every hope Of finding
another that they turned their atten-
tion to that, and they would not seri-
ously have considered 1t even then had
It not been for the land bird which had
called upon them the day after the
storm. That fact alone had convinced
Thorgensen that the island contained a
place of refuge. The wreck was pre-
carious resting place, for at any mo-
ment another storm might arise and
destroy It, and 1t was his inventive gen.
ius which solved the problem that con-
fronted them.
The signal gun was stored in the hold
amidships, and by rigging tackle they
hoisted 1t to the deck. There, after re-
peated trials. they succeeded in throw
ing q six pound shot with a line at
tached through the aperture. At first
It would not bear the weight Of a child,
but at last the projectile somehow be-
came wedged, and Craddock, being the
lighter of the two, essayed the task OF
climbing. Once within the embrasure
of that dark and forbidding place. he
disappeared. and when he returned the
two men set to work with will. so
that they soon provided sure and safe
means Of ascent and descent, and with
the early morning Of another day they
began their tour Of exploration.
The opening through which they pass
ed into the mountain was indeed
crevice which extended from that point
upward to the summit, although 1t
pierced no farther down. and was 80
narrow above that 1t could not be dis
cerned from the sea. But 1t became
wider as 1t pierced the mountain and,
leading downward on a gentle incline.
at last broadened and opened upon a
wide expanse Of valley more beautiful
| to behold than words of fancy can de-
pIct. 1t was tropical Eden surrounded
on every side by towering clins OF
smooth obsidian. hopelessly unscalabie.