The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1910-03-04

MI ~ 1hS WILL
by the court to hang at noon on Fri
day, the goth of June. There won't be
no SIGH day fer us. This ere ship left
Wellington a year ago and has been
a-sailin' and a-sailin'. till we've gone
clean round the globe. You're naviga-
tor enough to know, cap'n. that we've
lost one day in our reckonin'. Tonight
we'll cross the international date line
and jump a day in u record. 1t
won't be Friday, June 80, but Satur-
day, July L.
"Boss, you'd oughter seen the way
he looked at me when / said that. 1t
seemed as if the idee struck him hard.
""This is Thursday he said, amt
it?
"'Aye, aye, sir!
".If we don't reach the date line
afore tomorrow noon it'll be Friday.
and the hangin' will be legal
"'Aye. aye, sir! But If we do reach
the date line afore tomorrow at noon
it'll be Saturday accordin' to the new
reckonin', and Mr.. Withers can't be
swung accordin' to the sentence of the
court
1.-THE cap'n looks up at the sky and
skins his eye along the horizon. hen
he turns to the fust officer, who was
standin' by
"'You got the sun today, didn't you.
Mr.. Greevis?
"'Aye. aye, sir!
"'How far do you reckon we are
from the one hundred and eightieth
meridian! 4
"'Bout ninety miles, SIR =.
"Then the cap'n put his eye round
the horizon .ag'in. l knowed well
enough what he was a-thinkin' about.
With the wind we was a-gittin' we
couldn't make the date line afore the
! time set for the hangin' Worse'n that,
the wind was a-dyin' out.
"'Well, my man. be said, kind Of
| chucklin',' Z. reckon MI. Withers II
hang, and hang legally.
"Boss, as we men walked forward,
do you know, every mothers son Of us
had his eye on the sky "atryin' to Sec
some sign Of wind. But there wasn't
no sign nowhere. A thin thickness
stood on the horizon. but that didn't
mean nothin', so far as l could see.
and l didn't see no hope. l went be-
low and put my arms round Mr..
Withers, who was a-sittin' pale and
thou%ghtful-like, and tried to tell him
about it all. but my speakin' tube was
clogged, so l couldn't say nothin'. and
one Of my mates had to tell him. He
thanked me and asked how the wind
was a-holdin'. l says it was a-dyin'
down. The color went out of his face.
and he said solemn-like. Then there's
no putin of my sailin' day for the
big ocean,
Il rubs my shirt sleeve agin my eye
and goes up on deck to look for wind.
Do you know. boss. the sails was
a-fappin'. turned my eyes skyward,
feelin' as If there wasn't no hope mo-
where. and seen that the thin thick
ness wot I told you about was a-thick-
| enin' some more. Besides. there was
a few bits Of clouds wot looked higher
n the misty bank behind. with dark
centers and ragged edges. turned
about to the quarterback and seen the
cap'n was a-lookin' al 'em too. Then
some Of the other men or deck begun
to watch 'em. and pretty o up
comes all the of watches. every man
a-lookin' out at them ragged clouds.
carter awhile the cap'n. SEEM it
wouldn't do to put OF preparations
any longer, called all hands to shorten
sail and git the ship ready for a gale.
| Well, 1t struck us bout eight bells. 1t
| wasn't none of them white squalls wot
blows over in q hurry. but a roarin'
wind. backed by a big bank of clouds.
1.-THE Polly Milford went over on her
beam ends. brit the ilyin' lib had been
left. and that Studded her. and after
rockin' to port. then to starboard. then
to stern. she slid down from the crest
| Of a high wave and was buried in q
sea of buttermilk.
"At any other time. boss. we'd ruther
not seer that wind. Now we prayed
for It to keep a-blowin'. But as night
wore on we found the ship was a-leak-
It,; then she listed, and-well. 1t begun
to look as IL one man d better hang
than a hull crew go to the bottom. l
amt a-goin' to tell you bout that
black night. them roarin' waves. that
howlin' wind.
"All to onct the 6yin' lib busted into
ribbons. The cap'n lost his head and
was a-givin' orders 70 wild that no
one would obey 'em; the fust officer
was a-shakin' with fear. and 1t begun
to look like we'd got to git some I'M
to command or founder.
There was a rush for the forward
ganRway. Down went half . dozen
Of us. and up we brings Mr.. Withers
and puts him in command. The cap'n
didn't make no protest. He was too
skeered to think OF anything except
drownin'. Mr. Witbers Tux the helm
hisself. sent me below with a gang
to work the pumps. managed to git
M another jib and saved the ship.
1.-THE next morDt1 the wind! dropped
20 ten knot breeze. md there ON the
horizon was land. We knowed we'd
crossed the date line, and Mr.. Withers
wns saved. Afore noon Ne rounded
to In the harbor at Wellington.
"Of course there wasn't NJ o
tryins anybody. The cap'n had teen
tried More n iury OF wind and WIVES