The Opelousas courier., 1903-05-30
At THE END OF THE LOG-LINB.
Bv ALBERT w. TOLMAN.
NIIIEIII INlIIJSIIgI .IIIII1IA ~ wv u NlINGS

HLlSut uuuGT uQGy 40 l. "OAhOo' "~ "S
log line, shimmering with p%hosphor-
escence wherefit SKINNED the surface,
like a. cord of fire. I remember think
ing how high our speed must be to
make the line turn so rapidly.
81 had been Out WURRrnaoe boom again
and again in much rougher weather,
and never given the danger a second
thought. A man will u a certain risk
nine times and escape. The 10th time
he is punished for his carelessness.
This was my 10th time.
NY duty took me a little longer
than the others, and by the time / had
finished there was nobody else work
ing on the boom. I had just tide the
last knot when the schooner gave a
sudden roll to windward: / lurched
back, lost my footing and in an in
slant was flung into the water. AS l
sank l gave a shout for help, and the
last sound that reached my ears as the
waves closed over me was Johnson's
cry of alarm:
oman overheard! Man overboard!'
81 was heavily and warmly dressed.
| had on thick fisherman's boots, and
a leather jacket under my REFER, and
so was in no condition for swimming.
My situation was a desperate one. A
man who falls in the night from a YES
sci moving SO rapidly as the Never
Fear stands but little chance Of living
to tell of it.
CAS- my head anne above water, l
shot an anxious glance in the direction
where l supposed the vessel to be. She
was nowhere in sight! For a few Sec
onds I tasted the bitterness of certain
death. Then I was lifted from the
trough of the sea by a hugh comber,
and saw the Never Fear so feet away.
At the same instant down across the
pillows came the should:
Light the torch!'
"a few minutes before / had been
warm and comfortable in the cabin
over my game of checkers. Now l was
fighting for my life in the freezing
seas. A great wave overwhelmed me,
plotting the schooner from my view
once more. When I was lifted aloft
on the crest of the next comber the
vessel was rs feet farther away.
Hope was almost dead within me,
when suddenly I saw the log line, like
a ray of light. cutting the waves near
by. That line represented life to me.
made a grab at it, but missed it alto
gether; my hands clutched cold water
and nothing more. / tried a second
time, and just touched it with the tips
Of my mittens.
"Once more, I grasped at it desper-
ately, despairingly. This time I caught
the cord fairly in my hands, but it was
SO small and was running SO rapidly
that I could not retain my hold. The
line was Of cotton, wove hard, and
about the size of a lead-pencil.
81 knew that the end Of the line must
shoulder, I saw the ripple of the log
not thirty feet away. If that once
passed by me, all hope was gone.
determined to hold fast, let my finger.
suffer what they might, and with
sudden effort l closed them once more
The cord tautened under my weight
and began to pull mi along. But, griI
hard as could, it slowly slipped
through my lacerated fingers, cutting
them to the bone. I cannot express
to you the mental suffering caused
me by that slowly escaping line. 1
seemed but to prolong the agony of
certain death.
my hold loosened. The cord dartet
forward again; and then my finger
closed in. a final grip round the bras
fin of the log! 1t was my last, my onl.
chance. 1t was like taking hold of
propeller, and my hands were Gu
frightfully as the I'm revolved for al
instant before it stopped. The onl,
thing that saved my fingers from beini
hliterally sliced to pieces was the thicl
mittent I had n. | was jerked ahea'
for a few feet, the strain telling fear
fully on my arms and shoulders. The
J the line slackened, as the schoone
! came up into the wind.
J Just then, with a burst Of smok,
] light the torch famed up, reVealinI
/ every detail Of the vessel and fashin
in sparkles innumerable across tn
foaming black waters. / shall neve
: forget how the Never Fear looked t
! me IN that brief moment. Her sail
j were shaking, and every rope stoo
sharply out. AS she rolled her dec
| toward me I could see the tubs an
fsh-kits, the nests Of dories dashed be
: tween the fore and main rigging, an
the anchor on the bow. ! could see N
shipmates preparing to do all the
could for my rescue. Halt q doze
! we're getting q dory over. / knew ths
i. / had been seen, for fingers were point