The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1903-09-02
III.

E4PnyAal cor prevented tnCif cilDSlIlnS
GSAs5sy before the w%haleboat finally
drew near the Maidstone. The ship
had l!it the reef hard at flood tide, and
the waves had driven her farther on.
Every mast and spar was gone,
wrcncilcd away by the storm and the
waves. 1t was manifcstly impossible
TO approach upon tho weather side
without s;aving the boat, so O'Neill
cautiously rounded tho Stern of the
wreck and briefly considered the situa-
lion.
He did not dare bring the boat neal
enough to enable him TO leap upon the
deck through some of the great gaping
openings in tho sides made by the ire
mcndous gatherings of the massive
spars, and he finally concludcdthnt the
only practicable access to the Maid
.;.one WAS by means of some of the
gearing trailing over the side and
writl,ing about. snakclikc, in the water.
%lntruSting tie tillcr of the whaleboat
to old Price, the veteran gunner, he di-
rccteu that 1t be brought alongside as
close as consistent with safety, and Mt
exactly tho right moment, as they rose
upon the crest Of n wave, he sprang out
into the water aud clutchcd desperate
ly at Il rope hanging over the side Of
the wreck.
The mon swung the boat away from
the ship instantly. and lie found him
self clinging to Il small rope wildly toss
Ing about in the tumultuouS sea. He
was dashed to and fro like n cork. the
waves repeatedly broke over his head,
the life was almost buffctcd out OF him,
but he held on like grim death. Fortu-
natCly the other end of the rope was
fast inOoaTu.
With careful skill and outstanding
his strength as much us possible he
pulled himself along the rope through
the water until he drew neal the side
of the ship. Then, though the opera,
ton was hazardous in the extreme, rs
lie SAW no other method, he began to
pull himself up hand over hand on the
rope along tho side. In his already TX
haustcd state and with tho added
weight of his wet, soddcn clothing the
effort was almost beyond his strength.
lie c~ndcavorcd by thrusting with his
foot to keep himself from being beaten
against the side by the waves, but
without success. for when lie had hard
ly reached the rail nm unusually large
breaker struck him fairly I'm the back
and dashed his head against a piece Of
Jagged timber, cutting Il great cash in
his forehead. Blood filed his eyes; his
head swan: a sick, faint feeling filled
his breast; he hcsitatcd and nearly lost
his grasp of the rope. The men in the
tossing boat n little distance away held
their breath =! terrified ap~prchension;
but, summoning all his resolution to his
aid, lie made IL last desperate effort,
breasted the rail and foil fainting
| prone upon the deck of the ship.
~ few moments In the cold water
which was flooding over ii revived him
somewhat. and lie rose unstcadily to
his feet ana looked about him In bcwil-
dcrmcnt. The change from the tossing
boat to the motionlcss rigidity of the
visc-hcll wreck was startling. There
was not a sign of life on the ship. She
was breaking up fast. Rails were stove
in, boats were gone, three jagged
stumps showed where The masts had
been. and only the fact that she had
been driven so high On the reefs pre-
vented her from laundering at once.
There was Il dead body jammcd under
the %starhoard fife rail forward, but no
other sign of humanity. In front OF
him was IL ~hatchway giving entrance
10 Il small cuddy. or cabin. the roof Of
which rose II few feet above The level
of the deck.
AS lie stood there striving to recover
himself in n brief lull i'm the storm he
thought he heard Il faint voice. 1t
seemed 10 come from beneath him. He
ut once turned and, with uncertain
steps, descended the hatchway. Reach
ing the deck below, he stood i'm the way
n moment, brushing the blood from his
eyes. AS he gradually made out the de-
tails Of the cabin, dimly Illuminated by
a skylight above, he saw a woman on
her knees praying. She had her face
buried i'm her hands and did not see
him until he spoke to apprlsc her of his
presence.
"Madam'- lie began thlckly.
The woman raised her head with
startled quickncss and gave him one
terrified glance. The glass had told
him truly-she was beautiful and
young as well, scarcely more than n
girl apparently. Even the dim gray
light could not hide those things. AS
for him, he was an awful looking spec
tacle-wet, hatlcss, his clothing torn, q
great red wound in his forehead in
tensifying his pallor. He had n heavy
pistol in his belt and Il cutlass swing
Ing at his side.
She atarcd at him in frightened 81
lence and finally rose TO her feet,
deathly pale and apparently appalled,.
He saw that she was a little above tho
medium height. At the same moment
from an obscure corner there rang out
Shrek after Shrek, and another wom-
IN rushed forward, threw herself ON
the deck at his feet and fairly groyelcd
before him.
ooh, sir, for Gods sake, sir" she
cried frantically, good Mr.. Pirate,
don't hang us, sir! We never hurt any
body. Oh. sir, take as away. Wen do
anything, we
"Silence, you coward!" commanded
tho other woman imperiously. "Get up,
Prayers are Of no avail with such
as
Nor are they necessary, madam" re.
piled O'Ncill. 1--WE are not pirates, and
1 am come to save o and shall do 1T.
Will you please come on deckp
81 had rather gone down on the
ship" said the girl %defiantly, evidently