The Rich Hill tribune. (Rich Hill, Mo.) 1903-1911, 1910-03-31
CHAPTER x.
In Which I Hear the Tale OF the First
Officer.

In Which I Hear the Tale Of the First
Officer.
futile required a while getting
started, pulling aside his dangling
coat.tails 20 SIT down facing me. and
then ~twiddling his long fingers with
his gaze bent on the deck. / take it
that his intellectual operations were
naturally slow. although he was swift
enough in an matters appertainiug 90
seamanshlp. Anyhow. he sat there for
so long, his whole appearance so sleek
and oily, that 7 lost all patience. shut.
fling my feet on the deck. The noise
served TO arouse him.
1T commenced somethiu' like over
two years g sir" he began. mouth
ing each word with care. "A little
earlier in the season than this is now
/ was master OF the whalln' bark
Betsy. sailin' from Province town.
al We were hOmeward bound after
about is months cruisin' IN the South
Pacific. carryin' a fair cargo OF oil an
whale trimmings. We were roundlu'
the Horn. being about 20 degrees west
and SO degrees south when tho real
trouble began. j know that was nth.
er a low latitude. but We had bcon
buckin' against head winds an a high
sea for more'n O. week. an besides
were shc t-handrd. i've OF tho crew
hayiu skipped out at Somers island.
where We put in after fresh water.
Anyway. Sc vas about there that a
storm hit as from out the u%or'east. /
guess % must have been one end OF a
hurricane ! never see uothin' hcrccr
even IN those seas There WAS nothIn'
TO do but turn tail an sCud. the ropes
and canvas being so stin with icn.
Well. we battCued down. an took
chances, but for a while 4 thought
every wave was Eoin' 20 do for the OF
hooker an send Us an TO Dayy Jones
] couldn't see five feet from the rail.
an ] had to keep diggiu' ice out o.
my eyes 10 see at all The wind had
the feel OF q solid wall. SIR"
futile WAS leaning forward now. his
elbows on the table. Hls lean. solemn
cOunteuauce had lost its Ilstlcssucss.
and I also noticed the eager interest
imprinted On the faces OF his I've com.
rades.
we was jest roundin' the point. ="
he went on as soon as he took a long
breath, 'thc Betsy kcclin' over SOS
her deck was hah awHsh. an with no
more than maybe 100 yards o. clear
water 90 tine good Rack o. an ugly
loobiu' hoadland the coast seemed to
TALL away sudden INTO a sort o. cove.
which was piled high with great leo
hummocks. behind which the ice wall
rose up sheer almost 10 the top o. the
rocks. There was a zortor shelf along
the edge OF Il, an a-sottin' up there 10
full view was the damndcat lookiu'
vessel ever / saw Ia so years o. sea
farm. so help me God. sir, / saw
Il with my " eyes. as plain as I'm
lookin' "a you Il was h1stcd up all
o. 20 feet above the lower ico.neld. an
sort o. carccncd over whore Il was
iroEc fast so AS to show tho decks
amidships clear 10 the inner rail. You
remember thom ships what Columbus
sailed I'M Wen. this hooker vas that
kind. only a blame sight bigger.
hN'ha'A NV as ohN Vt fNN NhNf NNA hAA'
had the same sort o. build-a big high
stern, with an ~attcrcabin clear acrost
II, the waist sunk down In a curve, an
the fo'Custle raised up like a house,
with blunt bows, an a monster bow.
spirit fOrkin' straight up into the air.
The whole OUTFIT was so cased with
Ice an glittered so In the sun that {,
seemed like a part o. the Ice elf.
which had took that queer shape from
thawin' an freezin'. Damme n
didn't think II was somethin' like that
for a minute-a blame freak o. nature
but when / grabbed the glasses, an.
got a good look through them, Il was d
ship all right, the kind you road
about In the books what n~nyiEatod
these waters a hundred or moro years
ago. ! was SIN a-starin' at Il with all
my eyes when we raised the stern
which stood h'istsd up a bit higher
than the bow. an where the steady
dash Of the waves didn't break clear
over Il, an the sun fell Just right 81
| read the hookers name. by God.
did. sir II was there plain a. dsy
Donna Isabel. Cadis."
! Cro III CONTINUED