The Caucasian., 1907-08-04
In ten minutes q mad che loncboat


showed of from tie sides Of the oil,
brig. ! saw the taIY bent form of Cap
tain Thompson pceriug duwn upon III,
for 4 moment, hut The next instant tn.
boat rose on the bosom of Il swell, an,
that WAS the last ever saw of my ol,
skipper.
The brig quickly faheJe from sight
hid by Il thin mist of haze which hat
suddenly arisen. and, in fact. 0 wa:
conscious of Il strange chang" in the
appearance of the weather The stars
had entirely disappeared from the
armament hid behind the ga,lzy vel
which had SO my st"riouSIy arisen and
low down on the horizon Q noted dark
baak of clouds Bhc heat WAS intense
the stout Scamen wipinS the perspirA
tiOn from their streaming hrowS aa
they toiled AT their oars. Not breath
nature appeared 10 be hushe0 in,e "a
terrible calm.
must confess ! felt ra~her appre-
hensive as'I glanced about The horizon
and looked BACK in the direction where
| knew che old brig must De, rolling
which every moment was increasing
But my fears and apprehensions were
soon chased from my head by matters
Of more exciting interest
Ms we neared thc burning CvaM &
read the name of Ia Ilembrils in let
fnr
light east by she burning spars and rig
gng aloft afforded ample power for me
to form my conclusions
The ship was Il Spaniard. The empty
iavitS and dangling falls told their
own story plain enough to a scaman's
eye.
The burning wreck haH been Gle
serted.
Shooting under the broad. heavy
counter. we caught at ehc iron works
of the mizZcn channels. and directing
NNvo men to remain in the boat, 0 clam
bcred on deck, followed by the other
two Scamen
The ship Wad evidently been on fire
some time the flames having full con
troll of the forward portion. The fore
mast had gone by the board. The top
gallant forecaStle was a sea of fire.
The mainmast was already tottering.
and knew there was no time 10 lose
The smoke was dense and sitting. but
as yet did not affect The extreme after
portion Of the vessel. The decks were
strewn with remnants Of provisions,
half open cases and articles ofscloth-
ing, but no trace OF sbeing
could be seen.
Diving down into the main cabin.
which was half filled with black twist
ing smoke. took hasty glance
about. The rich hangings. appoint
ments and ornamentation surprised me.
that the unfortunate ship had
been designed to carry passengers. The
sharp, shooting CLEANS Of Writhing
flames from aloft penetrated through
the broad skylght. tingeing every OBJ
ject with ruddy glaze
From Stateroom to stateroom l hur-
ried. but found them all empty until
came to the after one. There l ex-
perienced some difficulty in opening the
door, the smoke every moment becom-
Ing more dense and respiration more
difficult. Exerting my strength. the
woodwork gave way, revealing con-
fused mass Of white drapery lying on
the stateroom floor. The very sight |
made my heart beat quick with ap-
1rehension. and. STOPPING, soon ascer- /
aimed that 1t was a woman.
Placing my hand over her heart.
'elt it throb. and without further de-
ny l rushed on deck with her in my
lrms. Through the companionway
with strange dizziness in |
ny head. gasping for breath. but still
my grasp on her had saved
The fresh air revived me, and the
)ain left my head, so that l was en-
lbled to pay proper attention to the
woman who lay helpless in my arms.
Then, for the first time, l looked at
he face of my burden, and by the
right light OF the wreck l discovered
he was both young and handsome. At
hat lUOment the mainmast went crash
ng over the side, sinking with a hiss
q the black water. A shower Of Gin
ers and sparks, a column of roaring
ames, shot on high, followed by the
xcited shouts of the men, who had
capped, panic stricken, into the boat,
rging me to follow.
Clasping the lady with my left arm.
used my right in gliding down the
hips side. The mems oars were
oised. l gave the word, and the next
lstant we were clear of the vessel,
'hich was now wrapped in flames
'Om stem to stern
Dashing some water into the lady's j,
Ice, l began to chafe her hands. The
eatment. though rough, had the de- {
red effect. She opened her eyes,
osed them again as if the awakening S
as painful, but in few moments
as fully herself In a few words l 6
Id her how she had been saved and {
'sured her that in a short time she
ould be in safety on board the brig. {
IL