The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1910-05-03

Sh1uS LIS eye dlOHS Tue HOFEO0. linen
he turns to the fust officer. who was
standin' by
"'You got the sun today, didn't you,
Mr.. Greevisr
"'Aye aye, sirP
"'How far do you reckon we are
from the one hundred and eightieth
meridian?
"'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.
We'll, my man. he said, kind of
chucklin',' 4 reckon Mr.. 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 a-tryin' to see
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 could see,
and l didn't see no hope. went be-
low and put my arms round Mr..
Withers, who was a-sittin' pale and
thoughtful-like. and tried to tell him
about it all, but my speakin' tube was
clogged, so | couldn't say nothin'. and
one of my mates had to tell him. He
thanked me and asked how the wind
was a-holEin' | says it was a-dyin'
down. The DIOR went out of his face,
and he said solemn-like. Then there's
no putin of my sailin' day for the
big ocean
II rubs my shirt sleeve agin my eye
and goes up oil deck to look for wind.
Do you know boss. the sails was
a-fappin' ! turned my eyes skyNard.
feelin as If there wasn't no hope no.
where. and seen that the thin thick
ness wot 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' at 'em too. Then
some Of the other men on deck begun
to watch 'em. and pretty soon up
comes all the off watches. every man
a-lookin' out at them ragged clouds.
"Arter awhile the cap'n, SEEM it
wouldn't do to put off preparations
any longer, called all hands to shorten
sail and git the ship ready for a gale.
Well, 1t stiiek us bout eight bells. It
wasn't r &c of them white squalls wot
blows over In a hurry, but a roarin'
wind, backed by big bank of clouds.
1.-THE Polly Milford went over on her
beam ends. but the flynn jib 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 high wave and was buried In
sea Of buttermilk
"At any other time, boss, we'd ruther
not seen 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, it begun
to look as If one man d better hang
than hull crew go to the bottom.
amt a-goin' to tell you bout that
black night. them roarin' waves, that
howlin' wind
"All to onct the flynn jib busted into
ribbons. The cap'H lost his head and
was a-givin' orders so wild that no
one would obey 'em; the fust officer
was a-shakin' with fear and it begun
to look like we'd got to git some un
to command or founder.
There WIS rush for the forward
gangway. Down went half a 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 anything except
drownin'. Mr. Withers TUX the helm
hisself. sent me below with a gang
to work the pumps managed to git
| up another jib and saved the ship.
'"The next mornin' the wind dropped
to ten knot breeze, and there on the
horizon was land. We knowed we'd
crossed thSsdate line. and Mr. Withers
was saved. Afore noon we rounded
to In the harbor at Wellington.
"Of course there wasn't no more
tryin' anybody. The cap'n had been
tried afore jury of wind and waves
for fitness to command and had been
convicted. Mr.. Withers got the vessel
on the next voyage. and that's the end
Of this ere yarn"