The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1912-04-22


began to weaken under the continu.
Gus strain; and by ten that night
they could no longer hold the boats
head to the sea. She fell of once
or twice, and nearly filled when in the
trough. There was little to do but
make last effort to hold her The
steady second officer came to his last
resource.
There were FIVE oars in the boat.
Four OF these he dashed into a drag
by fastening two of them in the shape
of a cross, and then flashing the other
two across the end Of the cross. He
had a spare line of some length in the
boat; and with this bent to the paint
err, he had a cable of at least twenty
fathoms, which he led over the bows
and TO the drag. The drag was weight
ed with some chain that lay forward
The fifth oar he kept aboard, and
used it himself for a sweep to hold
her head as nearly as possible behind
the drag and to the sea.
He was tired, sore, and hungry, but
he kept the boats head true for hours,
and his people huddled down in the
bottom, and prayed or swore as the
humor took them. The children wept,
and some of the older women tainted
and Law prone. These gave no trouble.
Some of the younger ones still insist
ed on moving about, and brought the
wrath OF the mate upon them III no
uncertain manner. Smith Yves making
q fight for their lives, and would not
tolerate any hysteria. He smote all
who disobeyed with his usual imper-
sonal and rough manner; but the TWO
Girls we're now too much cowed to
give him trouble. They sobbed the
night long. holding to each other'
while the boat tossed high in the air
or fell far down the slopes of ugly
seas. And all the time the water
hroka over her low gunwales as she
car well down under her load of living
freight.
II was about midnight when the old
man. who had been unruly from the
first. sprang upon a thwart and
plunged over the side with a shril'
scream.
Smith saw him, and made a pass to
catch him with the oar; but the old
fellow drifted out of reach. The Sec
ond officer swung the boat as far as
possible toward him; but still he
could not reach the figure that showed
foating for few moments in the
darkness. Then Mss Roberts, who
was close to the stern sheets, spoke
up.
"Oh, the pity of it, the pity Of that
old man dying like this! VIII no one
save him?" she cried
Her companion sat up.
"There's no one aboard here who
can do anything but bully US women.
If we had a man here, we might save
him. | would jump after him myself,
but | can't swim. It's horrible to see
him drown right alongside of us in
this darkness"
Smith heard and smiled grimly. He
was tired out sore, and almost eX-
hausted but he was full of pluck and
fight still. To drop the steering oar
might prove fatal if a Comber struck
the boat. He called to the stroke oars
man who took the oar. Smith took
the stern line, gave a turn about a
cork jacket that lay upon the seat,
and then over the side he went, call
ing the men to haul him in when he
gave the word.
The affair had only taken a few
moments and the form Of the old fell
low was hardly under the surface.
Smith floundered to him; but, being
poor swimmer, as most sailors are, he
was quite exhausted when he finally
grabbed him. Instead of easing on
the line, he hung dead upon it, hardly
able to keep his face out of the sea.
The girls watched him over the gun
wales, but keeping their places. Two
men started to haul him in without
waiting for a signal; and they hove
upon the line with a right good will.
1t was old and dryrotted, as most
lines in lifeboats are, and 1t parted.
Smith felt the slack, and knew what
/ it meant. The cork jacket held him
above the surface, and he looked at
the boat which seemed so far away in
the darkness, but in reality was only
few fathoms Yet it was too far for
him to make it again It meant his
death, his ending.
He tried to swim, but the exeruon
of the day had been too much. His
efforts were weak and ill-directed, and
he floundered weakly about, drifting
farther away all the time.
The stroke oarsman called for an
other line. There was none except