Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1907-02-23

Captain Ben Treat stood in dripping
.oilskins by the windlass of the Glou-
cester schooner Emeline, riding out
the wild February gale that had
roared down all night over Georges.
AS he heard this warning shout from
Sam Lombard, who was holding by
the throat-halyards on the fore-gaff
ten feet above deck, he Rugged his
left arm tightly round the bits, and
strengthened his grasp on the ak that
lay over his right shoulder.
A huge green roller reared its crest
in front of the bowsprit. The schooner
rose abruptly, and surged back from
the assault of the sea. The nine
inch Manila cable twanged like a big
violin-string, and in the lantern-light
from the 'ore-rigging dwindled a
third under the tremendous strain.
The windlass shrieked as the leather
shield ground into the whelps.
Over the bow burst a foaming
deluge. Captain Ben, buried deep,
hung on for dear life, while the tor
rent swept sternward and out
through the shattered bulwarks.
Then he pulled himself together and
relaxed his hold. 1t was perhaps his
hundredth experience of the sort in
the last seven hours.
Light on the starboard bowl"
Although he was only ten feet
away, Lombard's hoarse voice sound
ed family in the roaring gale. The
captain glanced to the right with eyes
\ aching and sleet-dimmed. A gray un-
substantial wrath, the smothered
star between her fore peak-halyards
dimly revealing rope and spar, fitted
| by at ten-knot gait, and was lost in
the gloom astern. Thirty such spec
tiers, some running before the wind
with the peak of three-reefed fore
sail, some scudding under bare poles,
had passed to port and starboard
since o'clock, their cables parted
| by stress of storm or cut in fear of
collision, strewing the sea bottom
with thousands of dollars in good
hemp and anchors.
At sunset one hundred and twenty
sail had lain moored on the Banks
in a five-mile circle. The Emeline
was near the southern circumference,
so that, when the northeast gale burst
at 9 o'clock, the greater part of the
feet lay to windward of her. She
was directly in the path of drifting or
running vessels.
AS the violence of wind and sea
! steadily increased, the captain set a
| double watch, and stationed himself
by the windlass with a sharp AK,
ready to cut his cable at short no
tice. There he had stood for hours,
his face stung by level sleet, hearing
the blast whistling through the
! shrouds and the halyards slapping the
masts, while the schooner plunged
heavily from crest to trough and
labored up from trough to crest. The
breaking seas drenched him with
brine; again and again the cable
snub almost threw him off his feet.
At in the morning it was blowing
a hurricane; the vessels to windward
that had held on all night began to
part and cut their cables and drift
down on the Emeline.
"A schooner, broadside on, little
to port"
Captain Ben strained his eyes
through the smother, and grasped his
ak more tightly. Heaved on an i'm
mense billow and blowing down
upon him, he saw another Banker.
The stranger was coming at a six
knot rate, absolutely helpless. The
crew lined her rail. To cut would
mean that he must lose several hun
dred dollars in cable and anchor, be
blown miles to leeward off the fish.
fairgrounds, and run to Gloucester
to refit. If he did not cut and a col.
lision resulted, thirty lives and more
than twenty thousand dollars would
be sacrificed. In such disaster both
vessels generally go down with every
man on board.
The captain hesitated, weighing
the chances. Nearer drifted the
schooner. Now she was only thirty
feet from the end of his bowsprlt. A
great waves lifted her so that he
could almost look under her keel.
"Cut, cap'n, cut!" shouted LON
bard, in alarm. But still the captain
waited. His experienced eye saw
that the drifting hull would not toucl
his vessel. But the long main-boom
extending twenty feet beyond the
others stern, was almost sure to RAKE
~ ~, h pl
would yield first-spruce or hemp.
The craft were now close together
He swung the ak above his head. On
blow, and the humming cable would
spring asunder.
"Cut! CUT" yelled Lombard
again But Captain Ben had decided
to match his foreshrouds against tn
dancing spar
Down past the Emellne's bowspri
swept the newcomer, her boom-ti
gyrating wildly. The captain hel,
his breath, almost regretting his de
cision.
Four feet from the end the boon
struck against the shrouds. Tn
stout ropes buckled, but held. Wit
a sharp cracking the stick broke shor
on in the sings about twenty fee
from its tip, dropped down and swun
against the strangers quarter, sus
pended by the topping-lift and swash
ing sail. A moment later she wa
swallowed by the darkness.
Captain Ben had little time to cor
graduate himself on his escape. A
he and Lombard peered after tn
vanishing schooner, a big rollel
I sweeping down unperceived, brok
, over the bow. The captain turne
just In time to see it hanging over hi
/ head. Dropping the ak, he clutche
at the bits with both hands; but tn
) briny deluge struck him in the breas
. and rolled him over and over dow
/ the passage between the "gurry-kids
5 and the starboard rail.
. He brought up against the breal