Camas Prairie chronicle. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1901-1917, 1906-12-07


CHANGING frequently to the northwest,
from which the wind blew strong and
cold.
1t was, according to my remembrance,
past nine O'Clock that the steady pres
sure of the wind fai cd. In its place
came gusts, fierce and uncertain, spaced
with lulls of restless calm. Ignorant as
l was of sea weather, l began to grow
uneasy. There seemed a menace in the
dark, mysterious wall of cloud to wind
ward, a rampant edged with silver from
the moon. Motionless it hung like a
heavy curtain that at it's rising would re-
veal some monstrous spectacle. For the
first time l realized the insignifcance
of our boat, its loneliness amidst the hur-
rying wastes Of the sea, and my anxiety
passed into alarm. 1t was about this
time that my nausea suddenly left me.
This was a great relief to me, for l was
well aware tnat an excess Of sea-sickness
may result in a serious prostration.
1t was in one of the lulls have mem
toned that Isaac gave my cousin the
helm and with his mans assistance low
cred the sail on the smaller mast at the
stern which, l believe, Is known nautical
" as the jigger. They also reefed the
larger canvas on the foremost The
Agnes Jane, which was now not more
than four hundred yards away, showed
no sign of following our example.
mark Pennyfold must be mazed,"
said Isaac on his return aft. '"B must
have zeen us were chasin' e, yet e gives
we no chance O. speaking i'm; and now
. be CHANGING his boat by carrying on
with that press O. zail. Place to keep thy
hand on the tiller, EUR"
The little Cornishman rolled forward
| to where l sat, and stood, making a hol-
( low of his hands. A great stiffness held
the sea and air, save for the whisper
of the gliding waves.
1.-THE Agnes Jane, ahoyE
He drove the words over the black
waters like the blast of trumpet.
'@rhe Agnes Jane, ahoyw
Again he called, and this time there
came an answering voice.
thelpw it cried-the one woodland
was silent. We waited, but that was all.
1T is no good. Treherns," said my
cousin. '"They have an ugly customer on
board who does not mean to be taken.
He has his pistol at their heads as like
as not. They must take their chance
Of"
His words were lost in a stirring note
like the throbbing of giant harp-string
a note that rose to a shrek and then
melted into a rattling, drumming roar
the uttermost diapason of the storm.
wind. For some seconds we heeled over
so that l could have dipped my face in
the bubbling waters; and then, slowly
gathering way, we shot forward through
the flying spray, with Treherne yelling
to his man in tones that even outsoundeC
the squat itself.
We were upon her almost before re
allied the disaster that had befallen her
1 caught a glimpse of the level line Of
timbers about the keel, the red sail:
awash in streaks of kissing foam; anC
then / saw my cousin lean out and griI
a something in the water. For mo
ment thought he would be dragged from
the boat, but Isaac, letting go the tiller
circled his legs with a pair of muscular
arms and held on like the little bulldoi
he was. With three great heaVes Ora
den lugged the dripping thing he held
to the boats edge; with a fourth hi
landed it fairly on board. The Agnes
Jane had gone, and with her the unfOr
tunate men she carried-saVe Marna'
only.
Thus Fate in its own strange manner
had given him to us at last!
Shouting like a mailman, started to
wards the stern, where my cousin Wa'
bending over the huddled body he haC
saved But even as l did so l saw
a black mass, crested and streaked will
kissing white, rush up from ths PbscuritI
u wIfidWard. For q space 1t seemed II
hang above US, while Isaac yelled as h
tugged wildly at the tilleF. Thea. will
a wild roar that drummed In my ear
like the explosion of a mine, it threw 1t
self upon Us, hurting me into the bottom
of the boat, choked, deafened, and blind
ed.
(To be continued.)