Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1904-01-15

er was safe for the time, but when til,
wind fell and the ice went abroad, al
it did at dusk, our case was hard Al,
ever. The Can't Help 1t leaked. w.
turned to pump ship with a will, bu
the most we could do was t. keep til,
water down. The working crew wal
dashed t. the mainmast, and the res
kept below. 49,
"By and by the men began T. get sea
sick. One after another they fell bacl
in their hunks and vowed they couldn't
work. BY morning each of the rest OF
us was doing two mems work. 'Twas
hard, twas wonderful hard, but there
was nothing for il, and twas n won
derful sight harder when only Bowls
and | were left t keep the Can't He'll
1t afioat. nit
"'Bowls.' says I, we can't do it,
"'Tom,' says he. well try
"The water gained on us inch by inch
By night l was beat out and Bowls was
almost ready t give in.
"'Come on says he. an we'll have
word with that fo'c's'le crowd.
But not a man would stir from his
bunk-not a mani They were so sick
that they didn't care whether they
went t the bottom or not. We turned
to again and kept the pumps going for
an hour. The sea was quieter then.
and | thought that we might stir up .
man or two of the crew t help US. So
down we went.
"'Men,' says Bowls, If some O. you
don't lend a hand she'll sink
I'm too sick. whines one.
"I can't stand up! whimpers an
other. m
"sYou go, Bill says a third. -
There they were, lying like logs
sick enough, I'll be bound, but not toe
sick t. strike a blow for their own lives
not too sick t. lend a hand t. tive
beaten men.
Pump awayv says one. Wei
come up in the morning.
Men says I, I'm beaten OUT
Men, shouts Bowls, losing his tenn,
per, I'm not, but I'll sink afore I'll
do another stroke t. a V the lives O.
such ours as your
Nor would he. We crawled on deck
and I staggered t the pump.
"sCOme on, Bowls says T..
mot a stroke says Bowls. Let
EN- dier
Il kept the pump going alone until
fell fat on the deck. How many
hours will she float, Jim?' says 1.
-Four. I low says he.
Twill be morning then says 7.
with my ear t. the deck I could hear
the water slashing about in her hold.
l knew she was filling by inches and
would wobble and sink all of a sud
den. But [ was too tired and sleepy to
care much about that. BY and by l
fell asleep, while Bowls paced the
deck, muttering. / felt, before con
seriousness left me, that sleep was near,
and / was glad that the Can't Help 1t
was to take her last plunge before my
sleep was over.
"But in that I was mistaken. The
dawn was breaking when I awoke.
The rail was then within a few inches
of the water, and Bowls was fast
asleep on the main-hatch. Off the port
quarter, with her sail all set, was a
trim little fore-an'-after, bearing down.
Her skipper told us. when he had
us safe aboard, that he had sighted the
Can't Help 1t when he rounded Long
Cape-the land off our stern. sir, as the
ship lies now-and had made haste to
our rescue. We said we were glad
he had happened around just at that
time.
"'Look here, boys!' says one of our
crew. There's the last o. the Can't
Help It.
.Down went the old topsail fatfish,
and her bones now lie somewhere t.
the west o. the Shoal o. Wrecked
Ships.
".Huhv says Bowls, looking that
man square in the eye.
"None o. that crew." the skipper con-
Guided, was w shipmates along O.
Bowls and me again." Then, with a
roar. Hands on deck and stand by!
Well hang her down in Deep Cove for
the night."-Youth's Companion.