The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-06-28

| H. The ship. missing the steadyine pow- CT of the wind, rolled heavily in the \ troughs of the seas, which began to lessen at each instant as if the ocean itself were in fear.
 Suddenly the lighted mist came driy. ing down upon them. A rushing, roar ing sound was heard moaning along the ocean. The next moment the pow CT of the wind fell upon the Bristol | trader | Keep the helm a-weather! Jam 1t | a-weather. for your lifsi" cried Wilder.
 eellowing through the roar of the gust. | The veteran helmsman tried in vain. | The vessel lay almost on her side. Twice her graceful masts raised them.
 selves again, wavering. Then they they yielded to the mighty pressure and the whole machine lay prostrate on the water.
 .cutr shouted Wilder to the mate. . who had already sprung into the miz. zen rigging with an ax. Down came. the implement. No sooner had the ian-
 yard parted than the rest followed.
 The cracking of the spar came next.
 The whole fell like a tree that has been snapped at It's foundation.
 She yielded a little. but a new squall brought her down. Again Wilder gave the order to cut. The matnmast broke
 away. With the crash. the vessel surged from its recumbent position and rolled up. far and heavily to wind | ward. Keep her dead awayr. ordered her captain. ''Hatchets and knives, meni Cut of all! Clear away wreckagem | The ropes that held the broken spars were severed swiftly. The Caroline, dead before the gale by this time. ap- peared barely to touch the foam in her 4 flight.
 The only sail left was the distended 1 sail on the foretop. which threatened to carry away the one rem&ining mast. Wilder, seeing that the lower mast 1t. self was sprung. leaped for the spar with ax in hand. The mate was ahead of him. Tt is my duty" said he. The man jumped into the fore-rig- l ging. every strand and rope-yarn of which was frightened nearly to snap ping. He struck . blow at the ropes Il of the bursting sail. The canvas flew away with a sound like an explosion.
 At the same instant 6 lanyard of the lower rigging parted. Rope after rope followed 1t. For . moment the maze Of timber and ropes wavered. Then 1t fell with mighty crash.
 Wilder spreng to the rail. He saw the victim ranging to the wreckaga. Then 1t was swallowed up astern. Helpless, he had to let the dismantled
 ship drive on.
 At this moment there came the cry. "SAil hoi''
 A ship came through the mist with q swiftness that nearly equalsd the | wind. Not thread of canvas was aboard of her. Each line of spars. even tO the tapering and deheafe top-gal- liant masts was in place. Not q soul
 was on her decks, apparently. Under her bows rolled a great volume of wa ter. She drove by like . dark vision. and in another moment her form grew indistinct in the spray to ieeward. It was the Red Rover.
 All night the Royal Caroline drove before the storm. AS the wind de- creased the sea rose, until the despoiled fabric laboeed dangerously. It de. manded all her captains consummate skill to save her. When dawn came at last she was still anoat: but her lower hold was full of water. and ff
 was evident that, she could not escape laundering.
 The wind went down quickly when the sun began to rise. The sea sub sided with 1t. By the time the broad, 1 golden light was shed in full on the ocean it lay unruffled and polished, though still heaving in long. heavy sweIls.
 l Wilder ordered the men to the l V,
 whisperings of those who spoke of the vessel that had followed them without living hands to work her. mutinied | fiatly, lowered away the stern boat into l the water and pulled away, leaving aboard only the big launch which was
 too heavy to move without tackle. 1 Wilder having threatened them in
 vain, let them go without the two pas-
 sengers. for he saw that they were overloaded and almost surely doomed l if the sea should rise again. Calmly | he told the two women to get into the
 launch, where it lay between the
 stumps of two masts. Hastily he sup | piled it with provisions, stepped the 1 two masts, cleared every flashing and
 waited for the vessel to sink under them.
 Hollow sounds soon issued from the
 depths of the ship. The water broke through her divisions. Suddenly the ] forward part of the desk was blown
 up violently by the pent air. The vessel plunged. Its stern went high. The boat was lifted with it. As | the wreck descended the launch met 1 the seq, nearly burying itself. but re- | covering buoyantly and darting lightly l away. Then, as the water rushed into | the vortex made by the disappearing l wreck, it surged back as if it would dive down the glassy declivity Into the BAplu& WnlrIpoOl. buL tL rose rocking and hung quiet on the surface at last. till the sea slept again. Wilder shaped his course for Long Island and sailed smartly till the mid dle of the night Then a change came | over the sky. Wild looking, long, mar row clouds gathered in the west. | Quickly he reefed his canvas and let | her ride through the rest of the night. Day showed green and angry waves. with large crests Of foam beginning to break on their summits. It was plain l that a gale of wind was coming. Already the boat was laboring heav. l fly in the seas. Just as the craft shot | into a deep vale of water between two rollers. Wilder saw a back form drive past on the glittering top of a wave. Ho recognized it at once as the ships boat, overturned.
 The pinnacle has filled and all her crew is lost" said Wilder, in answer to the frightened cries of the women. Siently the caStawayB sat, while the wilder every minute.
 Suddenly his eyes caught sight of another object. as the launch rose to a crest for moment. At the distance of a mile was a ship, rolling gracefully. under a single sail that was plainly set only to steady her. Only at mo- ments could he see the hull; then, as the small boat sank again between two ridges, all was lost to the eye except the thin lines of her tallest spars.
 But even In those chance glimpses Wilder saw too we'll what vessel it