The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1903-12-04


great caldron. Timothy preferred 70
dive.
AS he went down he had some fear
that he might never come up again,
together with a feeling OF thankful.
ness for the two seconds Of grace that
had allowed him TO go down with his
lungs well filled with air.
The distance under a double-header
Is four times that under other waves
running at the same time. and the un
dertow offers no aid to the swimmer
for instead Of a current running strong.
~ seward, II is a mere tangle Of
swirlng water, running nowhere. TIM
othy dived deep striking out strongly
but carefully, and opening bis eyes
Under an ordinary wave the light
Is blue-green; under n double-header
there is no light, for water dashed into
foam Is Opaque as a plank ceiling Salt
water hurt Timothy's eyes, and he
kept them open only long enough to
make sure that he was in the dark.
The pressure on his lungs became
! intolerable, and he let out some of the
air in them, Immediately wishing he
had tried to save 1t a few seconds
longer. He opened his eyes, saw no
| sign Of light I'm the black mass above
him, and struck out again. fear clutch
ing at his heart as he felt how inef-
fective had been his stroke. and real
! lied that repetition of even such weak
effort was beyond his power until he
might breathe again. Then he felt
himself trying to laugh at the remarks
those fellows in the boat would make
about him when they got ashore, and
he wondered half stupidity if this was
the beginning Of the delirium that
comes to the swimmer who hSs made
his fight and lost.
A sort of frenzy seized him- and lie
struggled wildly to reach the surface.
Only for a second. You haven't got
me YETI Savagely defiant the word
seemed to form themselves and to find
| some strange method of utterance. lie
lay without movement, strange lights
flashing before his eyes, a great roar
ing filling his ears, an unreasonable
weight depressing his chest
He foated slowly to the surface, so
nearly unconscious that he hardly
knew enough to be glad when he felt
! the sunshine on his face. His lungs
had emptied themselves, and he rolled
over on his back to draw breath rs a
mountain Of solid green water adj
yanced toward him from the ocean.
But the sometimes relentless sea is
sometimes strangely merciful. The big
green wave lifed the exhausted boy
tenderly, passed under him, breaking
just beyond, and swept roaring to the
| shore.
Three good breaths restored limo
thy's senses and revived his courage;
he had not been near enough to drown
ing to lose his strength. There were
still more waves T. be passed before
the boy was beyond the surf But
there were no more double-headers
and some Of the waves did not break
till they neared the shore Timothy
swan on, soon finding himself beyond
the rollers and among vast waves that
rose and fell, but did not break.
Then he heard cry: Help! Help"
1t was q strident voice, but weak, as
of one too frightened to ill his lungs
for a good, honest shout.
AS Timothy raised himself in the
water and turned his eyes in the di-
rection when the sound seemed to
come, he saw the boat he had watched
from the shore, and recognized in the
persons clinging to her sides Will Pc
ters and the three boys who had so
persistently nicknamed him Timorous
Jimmy.
The boat was right side up, but full
of water; the mast, stepped through
the bow thwart and without stays,
had been unshipped and with the sail
was dragging astern. The wind was
light, but the boat was driving slow
ly shoreward, and the boys clinging to
her were not making the slightest eff
fort to keep her off, although they
could not but know that if they at
tempted to reach shore through the
heavy surf the destruction of the boat
was certain and their death by drown
ing inevitable.
"Hellon' shouted Timothy "KeeT
her off! Keep her off till the surf goes
+ down."
AS he called a vagrant wave brokC
to seward of the prevailing surf line
Timothy dived, rising close to TIT
overturned boat and seeing three boy
= wildly clutching for more secure hold
I in the wreckage.
2 Within arms length Of the boat, Blu
? having altogether lost his hold, VII
) | Pntnrs was thrnshino ahnnt arms an