The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1906-11-23

ship blown up by the inrusning or the
sea to the furnaces, dragged them fore
IDLY below the level of the protecting
balustrade .
Yet nothing of the sort took place.
A vast cloud Of steam rushed upward,
but it was dssipated by the next
breath of the gale. This incident told
the lighthouse keeper much. The YES
sci had been disabled so long that her
skillful commander, finding the motive
power of no further avail and certain
that his ship must be driven ashore,
had ordered the fires to be drawn and
the steam to be exhausted from all
boilers except one. Therefore her shaft
was broken, reasoned Brand Proba-
bly, the accident had occurred during
the height of the hurricane. and her
steering gear, of little use without the
driving force Of the engines to help,
might have been disabled at the same
time.
When the horror stricken watchers
looked again at the wreck the forward
part had shifted its position. 1t was
now lying broadside on to the seas,
md the lofty foremost thrust its truck
10 within few feet of them.
They were spared one CHASTITY scene
which must surely have bereft the
girls of their senses. The majority of
che first class passengers had gathered
In the saloon. Some chung like limpets
10 the main gangway; a number, most
ly men. crowded together in the draw
ing room on the promenade deck. Far
Their than this they could not go, as the
companion hatchways had been locked
by the officer of the watch, the decks
being quite impossible.
Wien the hull yielded, the spacious
saloon was exposed to the vicious
waves. Finding this new cavern opened
to them, great liquid tongues sprang
into the darkness and licked out hap
less victims by the score. OF this APP
palling incident those in the lighthouse
knew nothing until long afterward.
When the ship struck, the electric dy-
namos stopped, and all her lights went
out. The lighthouse lamp, owing to its
rays being concentrated by the dioptric
lens, helped not at all to dissipate the
dim and CHASTITY vision beneath, but
the great frame of the fore part of the
vessel served as q breakwater to some
extent and temporarily withheld the
waves from beating against the col
umn.
Hence Brand, straining his eyes
through the flying ruck, fancied he
could make out the figure of the cap
tain as he left the bridge and, with
some of the crew. took shelter behind
the structure of the library and state
cabins on what remained of the prom
enade deck. At the same moment the
frenzied occupants of the library and
gangway contrived to burst open the
door Of the main companion.
If they had to die, they might as well
die in the open and not boxed up lin
impenetrable darkness. AS a matter
of fact, the bolts were forced by man
who fired his revolver at them. The
sea quickly discovered this new outlet.
The next wave, passing through the
saloon, sent tons of water pouring
through the open hatch. One good re-
suit accrued. The strong canvas avn
ing which prolonged the spar deck was
carried away, and the group Of survivs
ors, benumbed with cold and wholly
overcome by their desperate position,
could see the entire height of the gran
lite column in front crowned with it's
diadem Of brilliance. The liberated
passengers saw 1t fer the first time.
The sight brought no hope. Between
ship and lighthouse was a true mael-
strom of more than sixty feet Of water
created by the backwash from the
stonework and the shattered hull.
Even If the passage could be made, of
what avail was it? The iron entrance
door was full fifty feet above the pres
ent level of the sea. 1t could only be
approached by way of the rungs of
iron imbedded in the granite, and ev-
cry wave, even in the comparative
moderation caused by the obstructing
wreck, swept at least twenty feet Of the
smooth stone tiers. 1t is this very fact
dom IL ever serving as refugees for ship
wrecked sailors. The ascending ladder
is so exposed, the sea usually SO tur-
bulent under the least stress Of wind,
that no human being can retain hand
hold or footing.
Yet there was one faint chance of
succor, and 1t was not sailor who
grasped 1t. The first that Brand knew
of the desperate venture was the sight
of spectral man climbing up the
shrouds of the foremost. On steamer
whose yards are seldom used for sails,
the practicable rope ladder ceases at
the fore, main or mizzen top, as the
case may be. Thenceforward a sailor
must climb with hands and feet to the
truck, a feat which may occasionally
be necessary when the vessel is in
dock It is hardly ever attempted at
sea.
The venturesome individual who thus
suddenly made himself the center of
observation carried a line with him
Not until he essayed the second portion
of his perilous ascent did Brand realize
what the other intended to do, which
was nothing less than to reach the
truck, the very top Of the mast and en-
deavor to throw rope to the gallery.
And he might succeed, too-that was
the marvel of IL The taperinp spar