The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1905-09-07

:
forward, and in an astonishingly brief
time, considering her small crew. the
Mellish, like the stranger, was going
fret with the wind on her quarter her
best point of sailing, her course now
making wide obtuse angle with that
of the approaching ship.
Nov, then, men. lay aloft and shake
the reefs out of the topsails. Stand by
to loose the fore and main topeallant
sails as well.''
why, what's wrong, Seymour ?"
said Talbot in surprise. II rather ex-
pected we should be in Massachusetts
bay this evening, and here we are head
Ing south again. Isn't that Cape Cod
that blue haze yonder? Why are we
leaving it? What's the matter?"
Take the glass, man; there, aft on
the starboard quarter, a sail! You
should be able to see her from the deck
now. Can you make her out?'
Eyes, by heaven, it's a ship, and
large one too! What is it, think YOU.
SEYMOUR
IAN English ship, Of course-a frig-
ate; we have no ships like that in these
waters or in our navy either-more's
the pity
"Whew! This looks bad for u.s."
"Well, we're not caught yet by long
sight, Talbot A good many leagues
will have to be sailed before we are
overhauled, and there's many a slip
twist the cup and the lip, you know;
that old stale maxim is truer on the
sea than any place else, and truer in a
chase too. A thousand things NAV help
us or hinder her. See, we are going
better now that the reefs are out and
the topgallant sails set, but it's a fear
full strain on our spars. They look
new; pray God they be good ones" he
continued, gazing over the side at the
masses of green water tossed aside
from the bows and sweeping aft under
the counter in great swirls.
The spars and rigging of the Mellish
were indeed fearfully tested, the masts
buckling and bending like strained
bow. The wind was freshening every
moment, and there was the promise Of
a gale in the lowering sky of the gray
afternoon. The ship felt the increased
pressure from the additional sail which
had been made, and her speed had ma
terially increased, though she rolled
and pitched frightfully, wallowing
through the water and smashing into
the waves with her broad, fat bows
and making rather heavy weather Of
1t. In spite Of all this, however, the
chase gained slowly upon them until
she was now visible to the naked eye
from the decks of the Mellish Sey-
mour, full Of anxiety, tried every ex-
pedient that his thorough seamanship
and long experience could dictate to
accelerate the speed Of his ship-rath-
er a sluggish vessel at best and now,
heavily laden, slower than ever. The
stream anchors were cut away and
then one Of the bowers also; all the
boats save one, the smallest, were scut-
tied and cast adrift; purchases were
got on all the sheets and halyards and
the sails hauled fiat as boards and kept
We'll Wetted down. Some of the water
tanks were pumped out to alter the trim
and tighten her, the bulwarks and rails
were partly cut away, and as final
resort the maintop mast studding sail
was set; but the boom broke at the
iron, and the whole thing went adrift
in a few moments. Talbot, anxious to
do something, suggested the novel ex-
pedient Of breaking out a feldpiece
from the fore hold and mounting it on
the quarter deck to use as a stern
chaser. This had been done, but the
frigate was yet too far away for it to
be of any service.
In spite Of all these efforts they were
being overhauled slowly, but Seymour
still held on and did not despair.
There was one chance Of escape Right
before them, not half league away,
lay long shoal known as Georges
shoal. extending several leagues across
the path of the two ships. Through
the middle of this dangerous shoal
there existed a channel, narrow and
tortuous, but still practicable for ships
Of a certain siZe He was familiar
with its windings, as was Bentley, as
they both had examined it carefully
in the previous summer with view
to just such a contingency as now oc-
CURED. The Mellish was large and
clumsy ship, heavily laden and draw
ing much water; but he felt confident
that he could take her through the
pass. At any rate. the attempt was
worth making, and if he did fail it
would be better to wreck her. he
thought, than allow her to be recap
tured. The English captain either
knew or did not know of the shoal and
the channel. If he knew it, he would
have to make a long detour, for in no
case would the depth Of water in the
pass permit heavy ship. as was the
pursuing vessel, to follow them, and,
aided by the darkness rapidly closing
down, the Mellish would be enabled to
escape.
If the English captain were a new
man on the station and unacquainted
with the existence of the shoal, as was
most likely-well, then he was apt to
lose his ship and all on board Of her