The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1909-03-30
CHAPTER Xxx.
oasvfiaAs l. c hetlura Z o'..I'oa

a turning n0rtnWafd, Dut IL III III! tLaos,
4 vague, confused-an expanse OF sleep
4 less hours, raging seas, snow, sleet,
sEand Ice, in the midst Of which we bat.
tiled for life in as desperately terrific
a fight as men ever waged against ma.
s;ture. can see and feel 1t all clearly
Il enough, yet the Incidents IRE SO eom-
mingled that the separate days and
nights appear one continuous event,
awithout beginning or end. hear the
II ceaseless howl OF the wind, the growl
\ of grinding Ice, the shifting Of tons OF
water, the threshlng OF loosened can.
was, the rattle Of blocks aloft, the
K thousand noises emitted BY the strus'
3.gling fabric under foot. see the swirl
q OF snow; the crested seas, boiling IN
tnadness; the CLEAN Of pursuing ice.
fields; the towering pinnacles OF giant
bergs oyerhanging our mast-heads;
5athe flying clouds. and the settling
down about us Of the ghostly frost fog.
III feel the wild plunge down into the
hollow; the slckenlng, staggering ef-
I. fort to climb up; the dizzy balancing
upon the crest. and that awful drop
& agnin into the he'll below!
No man on board will ever know
how we made It: how we ever found
passage through those wind'lashed
4 channels; how We ever kept upright
y under the. pounding Of that sea: how
Il the Sea Queen ever shook her trem-
4 bling decks free from the tons OF Ice
y and water, and rose staggering to the
crest Once our engines broke. and
1 for two hours we rolled helplessly.
4 while Mcknight and the Chilean tin
kered at the damaged machinery, and
\! the great waves buried us. and
smashed the charthousc into fraG
\ ne1lts. Once the rudder.chains be-
4 came ffonled with Ice. and we swung
Unto the trough Of the sea hurled over
A until our lower yards tralled In the
water and half the yacht shivered he.
meath the smother, We hanging Oh for
5Eour lives, drenched and buffeted by
Il the waves. The jib-boom snapped like
VA pipestem, and huge, ugly hole was
h ripped out of the forward bulwarks.
II Up to the neck In icy water we
chopped away the rattle. and flung 1t
4 overboard. Gustafspn. shrieking Wild
s:31y3f for help, went with the litter. while
y his mates bore Symes below groaning
from a broken leg.
Mersiful heavens, how that Ice came
Il down, pursuing us like the very Fiend!
4 Once 1t pressed so closely against our
quarter, that the sea, rebounding from
Y OF Its front, boarded lis, sweeping aft
Gin "a vast wall. 1t caught Dade open.
4 Ing the companion door, hurled him
\ smotherlng backward and flooded the
h cabin a foot deep In Icy water. Yet
Il we held to II, our eyes aching, our
\ limbs frozen, our oIlskins stiff with
gtce, the exposed flesh OF our faces one
b fostering irostbite. bruised by the
" shocks, half dead from fatigue. dizzy
4. from the battle. But It was no sea.
! manshln which saved US; 1t was a
u 1nerclful Providence. for at times the
tsmother was so thick we ran into 1t
4 blindly, not daring TO breach to with
$all that Ice after us, driven by the
wind and not knowing what was ten
yards ahead. or ten yards behind.
During all that time | scarcely left
Il the deck, although Dc Nova served his
watch on the bridge in the flying spray.
4 Dade fed me- rs best he could. and
what brief snatches OF sleep caught
were on the diyan In the cabin, my Icy
clothes dryiEs on my body. saw
4 nothing Of the women; there was no
TSstime. no opportunity. I doubt II eth.
y er could have kept upright amid the
lawful pitching Of the yacht, for was
sobllged myself 10 creep from one
I hand.grasp to another. So ! saw moth.
Sing Of the ladies. but Dadc succeeded
n5taking them food-cold proyendcr,
for the galley was wavc.lashed, the
cook; driven below-altlongh how the
lad ever managed II Is d mystery. and
&he reported that Celeste cling to her
4 bunk, sick and frightened, but that
Lady Darlington was about and
4 dressed whenever he went In.
sSS Some time during the third day the
wind had blown itself out. or else We
Aliad been driven beyond the sweep Of
II, Anyhow, Il died down Into faint
$puffs. but the sea remained heavy. the
! fog thickening rs the guile ceased.
This curtain. coupled with the sparse
light there was, left the decks SO
L dark that we attempted little clearing
up. merely pointing the yachts nose
more directly northward ut half-sneed,
gtrustlng the Almighty to furnish lis
with clear water. Indeed. there was
sbnothlng else TO do with that ice'pack
back Of us. and the fierce seas pound.
ling our$poop. Besides. had come TO
the end OF my endurance. and when
de Nova came llmplng forward, hang
ling to the lifeline, to take his watch.
N crept below more dead than alive.
and clawed my way across the cabin.
Lady Darlington stood braced In her
Y doorway. yet for the life OF me |
j could not speak. although trled-my
ahead nodded on my shoulders, and |
Sfell forward across my bunk, asleep
\ before ] even struck the mattress,
SSDade said she made him pull of my
lssboots and loosen my muller. stand.
ling over him until II was done.
4 ~ II was not aleep-it was more like
death, for ! never stirred or knew
anything. I lay exactly ~ ] fell, utter.
~ dnsensible TO either noise or motion.