Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1904-03-25

6hOulder) VIII be wise enough to take
a sight and navigate the ship. Keep
your eyes open and don't let her get
away from you"
So the Oracle Jackson came into the
hands of her untutored crew, and
while the skipper and his mate slum-
bered on the saloon deck the thread of
smoke ceased to blow from her slender
funnel and two sails were set to give
her steerage way. Thus she swung
| drunkenly on her unknown course
! staggering, pitching, Keeling through
/ the beaded seas. Afternoon dimmed
into dusk; swirling fog and wind
wreathed her and smothered her till
the men at the wheel craned their
necks in vain to catch glimpse of the
waves that roared in the darkness. or
foamed over the rail and beat her
/ dumbly down till the crew chung dizzi-
! ly to each other and swore blasphe-
mously that they had seen their last
dawn.
Night blanketed the ocean and
Knocked the scanty beams of the lights
The watery steam poured hoarsely
through the whistle as the bos'n
pulled the cord in dread of an answer
from the invisible. The gale rose and
Numbered in the sails till the rigging
tautened to the breaking point. The
engineer stood by the helmsman and
prayed that he might be spared again
to hear the throb of his engines in the
ships bowels. Other times he eXhort-
ed his assistant to keep up steam
enough for the whistle and pumps.
Then when the strain was too great
they suddenly fell to talking shrilly.
In the end they started the engines
again, and by the aid of headsail
kept the almost uncomfortable steamer
from falling into the trough and
laundering. ITS all off f we don't
make SINE port t'night," said the en-
gineer when the dawn glmmered.
M Goals Almost gone, an m engines
r lettering on tn plates, md tn DRINKS
re drunliener n ever"
I'VE ought "a throwed the liquor
over the side" mumbled the bos'n
through lips bleeding from the singing
brine. II thought they were too full
to lush any more"
Steward nd me just tried t wake
em up" the engineer went on. " Nd
the mates past talking STILL
81 reckon it nd do us heap Of good
to have a drink Of that same" growled
a sailor, avidly
mo you don't!" yelled the bos'n,
distractedly. mo liquor for you. My
God Amt we 'ad enough?"
"Hell's wide open for them guz-
zlers," said the engineer in chilly rage.
9TH old man was good sort till the
mate got a-hold of him. The mate
always was bad one, anyhow"
so he was" assented the bos'n.
THE old man always stuck right by
him, though. Always held him his
job. Always stood between him and
the fellows ashore that wanted to fire
him. Always said he was smart sea-
man, and never let on to the owners
that he drank Now he's got his pay,
and we're drawing 1t along Of him.
Look at that"
The group looked as the bos'n sprang
to the aid Of the man at the wheel. A
huge boiling wave rose straight up out
of the ocean, and scared in black maj
esty while the Oracle Jackson wal
lowed helplessly and her emptied sail
Slated uselessly. Still obedent to
her helm the little steamer turned
sullenly to mount this precipice of wa
!, ter. She thrust her nose into its huge
flank, and then, as the weight of it
throttled her, the men in the pilot
house threw themselves together on
the wheel and chung there
, The bos'n was the first to get back
his power Of speech. Were going
. ashore!" he shouted.
The engineer looked a question, and
a sailor tossed him an explanation:
THAT was breaker in shallow water.
, AS they waited for the next, while
the engineer yelled down the engine
room speaking-tube, the door leading
from the cabin opened. 1t showed the
; gray, sodden face Of the mate. They
did not greet him. He stepped slow
ly in, and they saw that he was wiring
ing wet. He slid across the deck t.
the plunge of the ship, and pushed hi!
face out of the window. The day haC
come in gloom, and the gray mist an(
driving scud shut out all view few
= yards from the side. From the welte
3 to windward rose another wall Of hiss
ing water and fell crashing on tn,
!, decks Of the Oracle Jackson. TIL,
mates face flushed, and he dragged
the men, thrown down by the impact
to their feet Then he seized tn,
Y wheel and motioned to the engineer t
approach. Steam" he ordered, thick
t ly. "We're goin' shore. Steam!"
r The throb of the engines changed Il
d a steady beat, and the steamer foun,
o herself for an instant. The mat
g handed the wheel over to the bos'l
and sailor, and tore of his JACKIE
d and shirt till he stood before then
n naked to the waist. Then jumping be
- tween them with thIlndered Orde