, 1909-07-15
The Last VoGaIe
of the Donna Isabel

demented.
Make fast. Break the ice out of
hat ring, Kelly, and pass a stout rope
through it. Now furl the sail, the
rest of you. Fend her off. Cole: that's
III right, keep your oar there. Mr..
De Nova, you will remain in charge
of the boat. I'll see what she looks
like aboard: Johnson come along with
ne
[ picked my way forward into the
bows and stood up, striving to obtain
some kind of a grip on the forecha!ns
which would enable me 20 haul myself
nj. Everything | touched was ice, so
thick as to render objects shapeless.
Give me a lift. Kelly; easy, now,
Until ! get a handhold. There. that
will do, my lad"
1t was a slippery. dangerous perch.
the vessel plunging somewhat. but the
upper ice was slightly powdered with
snow. yielding a little purchase, and
.inally discovered a brace for my fee
Which enabled me to reach down and
assis, Johnson to scramble up beside
ne. Fortunately the bulwarks we're
not so high proportionately as wide,
and We succeeded in sliding over
them. coming down rather heavily on
de solil "Cck. Here the snow made
walking possible, although underneath
The ice was thick and smooth, COM
polling caution. All forward was a ter
.ible raiiie of wreckage, a iumbled
mass of tangled spars, with the great
.opmast II all its hamper right
where it had fallen, a portion of the
port bulwark smashed fiat. A hum
mock OF ice rose Ike a great hill from
1baft the butt of the foremost. which
stuck up maybe 80 feet, clear over the
torecastle deck. leaving everything
sh2pelvss and ~grotCsque. Where Inc
stOpt vas steeEest, ne wind had sweep
a 'ay the snow leaving the ice beneath
Gear: and there. frozen completely
In, like a painted picture, was the fully
revealed body of a man. | never saw
any sight more grewsome than that
ice-shrouded figure; the arms out
stretched. the short, black beard rem
derins more CHASTITY the white, dead
face. i gripped my hands onto John
sons shodlu.r, n h. was s!lGk ns
like an aspen, his " face colorless
in the moonshine. | wheeled him
about s~avagely.
Don't lose your nerve, man. You've
seen dead men before. Come. there's
nothing to do here; wen Try how slt
looks aft"
He followed me like a dog, casting
n"easy g%lances backward over his
SHOULDER. The dec was clearer oi
ratfie beyond the folemast, u ga
gap III the ~port-bulwarks amidships
showing where the wreckage had
probably beef swept overheard. The
mainmast had been ripped out, lsav.
Ing a great, ugly cash in the .ieck
plank, and in falling had so smashed
fiat one corner of The cooks galley that
we could look in through the jagged
opening thus left. All the front por
iion was snow and ice, but the further
extremity appeared dry enough, re-
vealing a brick oven, "A table screwed
to the wall, II an overturned scuttlt
OF Goals littering the deck. Ii was not
a desirable spot, yet would afford pro
lection from the frosty night wind,
and be much better than the oren
boat. Besides, | realized how those
othe"s must feel down there, bobblnp
up and down against those i%ce-caked
sides.
Johnson" | said, my eyes wander
ing toward the dimly revealed trent OF
the after-cabin, which appeared utter
ly shapeless under its mantle. "We'v.
got quite a job ahead of us to break
through this w~reckage. I'm for hav.
ing the rest of the crew up to help
US. Climb oveT into the main-chains
and cut out some stems with your