The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1903-11-05

him to see perfectly. Wnen tne sun
shone outside the weird light in his
prison grew brighter, gradually ebbing
away as darkness fell. Generally speak
ing, it was light from a. m. till p. m.
During the long hours of daylight poor
Engellandt worked Increasingly with
his mallet, knocking continually on the
ships side. Was there ever such mo-
notonous, heart-breaking task-1ghtlng
against death in that floating TOMB,
with no better weapon than hammer?
For all he knew he was tapping out his
death-knell in those persistent strokes.
What thoughts surged through his
brain during those awful days!
Thoughts of the wife and little ones
at home, anxiously awaiting news OF
his ships safe arrival in port-or. pos
sibly even now mourning him as dead,
consequent on hearing news that cap
sized galliot resembling his had been
sighted. The probability of death in
his floating prison he resolutely put
from him, hoping continually for res
cue-the rescue that was so long IN
coming. When night came he coiled
himself up in some old sacks and a
spare sail, which were slowed near the
keel. and slept He knew that at any
moment, but especially at night, some
shin might strike his all-but-submerged
vessel and send him headlong to the
bottom of the sea- Nothing that he
could do, however, could avert such
contingency, and so this extraordinary
man Law down calmly every night and
endeayored to sleep, doing of at inter
walls. but rarely losing consciousness for
more than an hour at time. And SO
the days of his Imprisonment passed
by each hour seeming to have feet OF
lead. He had no watch or clock. but
he could tell by the light whether IL
was day or night, and he made notches
on beam to record the passage OF the
DAYS. He had not, of course, any idea
of the direction in which the ship was
drifting. but fancied it was 5. ). +.
The notches grew in number the light
came and went, the little store OF food
got smaller and smaller, and still there
came no sign of rescue, no sound from
the outer world How would it all end?
| Would it be sutfocation by the failure
of the air supply, starvation when the
| food was exhausted or would the wreck
| sink with him beneath the water ana
bring oblivion that way? Many man
| would have gone raving mad under the
awful strain. but this simple Sallor-man
still hoped for rescue, keeping up his
tapping hour after hour and day after
day, till the mallet was quite worn.
Once he thought the end was very
near 1t was evidently bright, sun
shiny day outside, and the sun beating
upon the ships iron plates heated the
air inside to such an extent that En-
| gellandt was presently tlghtlng tor
| breath. He shifted his position lower
down near the water, but the air was
scarcely better here, and 1t was with
| difficulty that he was able to breathe.
1t seemed as if everything was over
| Then. lust as he was about to give up
the struggle gale arose, the sea be
came agitated, and with the rolling of
the ship the air freshened. He was
able to breathe easily once more, and
for the time being the situation was
saved Whenever the sea was rough.
the air inside the hull seemed to be re.
newed, and the discovery OF tins tact
removed his anxiety about the ar sup
ply. By this time thirst was beginning
! to trouble him somewhat, for no water
was included in his slender stock. He
was never really hungry, cooped up in
that iron box, but he would have given
much for a drink There below him
was water-dark and green and cool
and inviting-but that way lay madness
and death Reckoning up his stores he
had at most three or four days food
left. And there were now twelve
notches on the beam. For eleven days
and nights he had existed In that
floating tomb, drifting along through
the seas No doubt the submerged
wreck had been sighted many times,
but no one had thought it worth
while to investigate. Would it be so to
| ~, bnl,,. oOOpD II
the worst came to the worst and his
stores were exhausted. Engellandt
made up his mind to die fighting. He
would put lifebelt he had in The cabin
round his waist, dive down into the
water below, and endeavor to open
those tight-jammed cabin doors and so
reach the open sea. 1t was mad ven
ture and almost certain OF failure, but
he might as we'll meet death that way
as by starvation or thirst in his iron
prison. 1t was Thursday, the 30th, and
drawing towards evening The light
was slowly fading from the water, and
all was still as the grave. Poor En-
gellandt, thinking it useless to kpock
any more that day, had lain down on
his sacks to sleep, his pulse beating
wildly. What was that sound? Was
he going mad OF were those footsteps
on the plates above his head? Jump
ing up. he seized his hammer and
knocked furiously, frantically on the
ships side A moments silence, and
then-thank heaven.-there came an
answering knock. Help-so long de
layed and all but despaired of-had
arrived at last. But although only a
thin plate of metal separated the poor
prisoner from his rescuers, commune
nication with him proved a difficult
matter. All efforts to detach plate
failed but finally nut was loosened.
Through the hole it covered the parties
were enabled to converse. Engellandt
learnt that his rescuers were the mate
and two seamen of the Norwegian
steamer Aurora, Capt. Soerensen. The
wreck had been sighted some 10 miles
off Rixhoft, and the boat had been sent
to examine it, ALI the time the men
were conversing the compressed air in
side was escaping through the nuthole
at terrific rate. Capt. Engellandt;
fearing that if the air was exhausted
the ship would founder, asked the mate
to replace the nut and tow him to the
nearest port The officer accordingly
babe him goodbye, shut down the nut
and returned to the ship. A few
minutes later towing commenced. On