The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1907-07-18
he P1underers
BY c. j. cUTLIFFE HYNE.
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with every roll. Another flash of light
ming blazed out overhead, painting
, white the shaft OF the hatch and show
ing at its foot a muddy sea of water
full Of floating .straws and barrel slaves
and litter Cambel was out OF sight,
and the lower hold was afioat almost
to Its deck beam. But presently the
explorer returned, swimming rather
than walking, as another fash showed
them, and he leaped to the battens
which made the stairway to overhead
with the haste of a man who knows
that the waste OF moments may well
cost human lives. The men clustered
about him round eyed as he gained the
deck for a word OF what he had seen,
but he brushed through them roughly
and made for aft. 1t seemed to them
that no spoken sentence could have
given worse report of what had be-
fallen than this mute action. The fell
lows knew that officers always make
the best of everything IL there is a.
best to be made, and so the silence was
terribly suggestive.
At the same moment, as II to con-
| firm their worst fears, the steamer
took heavy sea clean over her fore
| castle head, and above the din OF the
water as 1t came cascading down into
the lower deck there arose wild cries
| Of: "She's sinking!" Her bottoms
blown out!" shes settling by the
head!" .E,
Yelling these 4 tidings, the men
scampered back to the bridge deck,
where, saving for the few driven of to
set the mizzen topsail, all the rest Of
the steamers complement were collect
ed
She's settling by the head! It's
making a clean breach over her this
minute! She'll be down with US II we
dOn't lOolr ntItnlr
Then another voice cried LET the
foul old tramp go to hell by herself!
| She shan't drown me, for one, while
she's got a boat that'll swim. Come
along boys" whereupon a naked half
dozen OF deck hands and firemen made
rush for the foot Of the upper bridge
| ladder. -
At the head of that ladder stood Cap
tain Kettle, grinning like a tortured
| fend. The crew were acting precisely
as IL had been planned that they should
| act. They were doing what a labor
iously formed plot had compelled them
to do. But at that moment the cap
tain's weakness for battle nearly got
| the better of him and was within an
ace Of making him attempt to upset
the entire apple cart. The idea Of his
men, the despised all nation rabble
whom he had browbeaten into subjec-
tion all across the broad Atlantic, TAX
now, was too much for him to swallow
In a single dose. Sooner than submit
| he would have ruined everything ten
times over. Consequently he drew on
the first man who advanced up the lad
der and his eyes lit up with the steady
| passionless glare of slaughter
| The fellow was brave enough, des-
perate, too, as a man could be, but
upon certain death he hesitated to ad-
| vance. Indeed when Kettle, coming
down the ladder himself, thrust him
furiously back he retreated to the
| bridge deck, as did those who were
with him.
But the other men of that worthy,
! crew had no mind to be tprannized
over any longer when the steamer was
| momeDtarily settling down under their
! feet and drowning was an immediate
question. BY the funnel stays and by
one another's backs they swarmed on
to the top Of the fiddle, and thence
| gaining the boat platforms set about
cutting adrift the grimy awnings with
| their knives and clearing away the
tackles and falls. They shipped rud-
ders and fitted the plugs, and one or
| two with more forethought than their
frightened fellows shouldersd the boats
| water breakers and took them aft to
where the condenser tap gave upon the
| lower deck.
Kettle did not interfere. He had held
the bridge deck ladders against all
comers and in some cranky way felt
| that his honor was unsmirched. But
he gave no help, no hint, no further
| order, and surveyed the scene with
folded arms and sour thin smile. Pat
rick Cambel, being moved by a differ
ent set of feelings, acted more hu-
namely.
Take time, men," he sung out cody,
| IF you will be towards and leave the
ship. I don't think she'll sink-at any
rate not yet"
The men had knocked away the
chocks, hoisted the boats and swung
the davits outboard.
Keep your heads, you trembling
idiots. Pass painter forward before
you begin to lower and don't lower un-
| til you've Wctualed the boats. You've
at least $50 mile run before you can
make Charlotte harbor which is your
best port with this wind blowing, and
| as like as not you'll miss your road
when you get inshore among the keys
and reefs and be week getting there"
few of the men, seeing the force
Of this. ran below and raided the gal
lery and the stewards storeroom, of
what they could lay hands upon. But
| they only brought up one load of tins.
| They were frightened lest the others
| In their terror should go without them.
| So they bundled their gleanings pell-
| nell onto the floor gratings, and with
a dozen men in each the boats began
| to lower away. When they touched the
water, the falls were let go, to over
haul as they chose, and then unlocked.
| The boats rode by their painters,
swooping on one sea up to the level of
the bridge deck, diving twenty feet
down in the next trough and lying in
great danger of being stove to pieces.
A man in each was standing by the
painter. Others We're getting out the
oars.
Where's the donkeyman?" cried
some one.
"And Mr.. Cambel?"
And the skipper?"
"Oh, in the other boat"
"Then cast off. We've got all. and
we must be clear Of the old ship before
she founders. or she'll take US down
too."
The painters were slipped. and from
| either beam the steamers lifeboats di-
verged under the backing impulse of
their oars. Out of sight of one another
they dropped astern. and each picking
favorable chance they slowed round
II