Charlevoix county herald. (East Jordan, Mich.) 189?-1953, 1910-05-28
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speed, and the Sea Queen fairly
leaped ahead through the icy smoth-
err, flinging clouds of white spray over
the needless figures. Within ten min
utes We began to perceive the huge
mass We were approaching from the
deck, and never before had my eyes
looked upon so gigantic and majestic
mountain of ice. 1t was one i'm
mense cliff towering into the upper
air, being fully 800 feet high, and not
less than 1900 feet in length, with
vast glittering pinnacles rising still
| farther into the sky, its entire front
sheer precipice, cleaning in cold
blue, with hardly a darker shadow
| anywhere to yield relief to the eye.
We rounded its eastern edge so close
ly one could have tossed a biscuit from
| the foreyard against its smooth front,
| the swell of it's motion tossing the dar-
| ing yacht like an eggshell. Symes
| chung to his perch alOft with the grip
of a monkey, swinging back and forth
to the wild swaying of the spar. Sud
denly he yelled down:
There's wind comm from the
| sou'west, sir"
Heavy
Looks to be stiff breeze, an
| it's bringing more snow"
| Lay down from aloft."
I sprang over to consult the bin
nacle-card, and then cast one swift,
comprehending glance at the thicken-
| ing gloom in the southwest. Beyond
| doubt the change had come.
"Give her two more points north,
wheelsman; keep her head nor'east
by nor'-steady so. Mr.. De Nova,
wheel All hands now; stow every
thing; tail on to those gaskets lively,
my lads; we're in for a blow, and a
run for our lives
To my amazement scarcely a man
| among them stirred, the eyes Of the
majority turning toward Anderson
| Evidently there was an understanding
between them; they intended to revolt
and had chosen him their leader. He
stood just in front of the forecastle,
Jumping big figure in his heavy
clothes, his coarse face and ugly jaw
showing beneath a fur cap.
What yer turnin' north for in such
a hurry, Mr.. Stephens?" he growled
hoarsely. "fts not by vote o. the
crew. an we're the ones that's got
they say of it on this voyage. We're for
| keepin along this line O. latitude
for day or so anyhow. Tuttle might
"a got his figgers tangled an missed a
few leagues. Anyhow, We want the
lady to give us her reckoning first"
/ felt the hot blood leap to my face,
and my teeth clenched as l leaned
over the rail gazing down at him.
Lads" 1 said. striving to master
myself. 1--WE put you exactly where
promised l would; I've shown you all
that was here. You can see for your.
selves what will happen If We hold on
any longer. The wind has swept
around; 1t is going to bring that whole
pack of ice down on us. We've got to
run for it, or be crushed. Now what
1 want to know is, are you with me,
or with Bill Anderson"
They held off muttering, yet casting
uneasy chances over the rail. Ander
son stamped angrily on the deck.
ooh, to hell with yer fine words,
he said, grimly. What if the wind
has changed bit? Can't we beat
off the foe under steam the same as
we did before? We're sailor-men, and
not afraid Of rough sea. For one, I'm
damned If / leave that gold to rot
here without huntin' for it."
Words were clearly useless, and
ripped back my heavy coat, dragging
off my gloves, all patience exhausted
Come on, De Nova" 1 exclaimed
you've got serse enough to realize
what this means"
| was over the rail with leap, front
ing them on the deck. Almost to my
surprise the creole landed beside me
and without word We struck out at
the heads in our front. 1t was a fierce
mix-up for a minute, yet only a man OF
two stood with Anderson, the sud
denness of our assault taking all the
fight out of most of them. l struck
Big Bill twice squarely in the face
driving him back against the steps
leading to the forecastle deck; over
these he fell sprawling, his head
humping the plank. The next instant
l had De Nova's antagonists in the
rear, and together We laid them out
against the rail. and none too gently
The mates smile had become ugly
and he would have leaped into the rest
of the bunch. but caught his arm.
CTo BE CoNTINUED)