Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-13

Dy, you COWaIu!
she opened the door and passed out,
~ leaving him still seated on the bench
She climbed to the wharf and made her way
back to the west bank against the lombard
ment of snow and wind. The green light
was palmer now, and nearer; and soon She
made out in the gathering light of the morn
ing the shadowy outlines of a schooner under
double-reefed foresail and jib. The craft
lurched to an angle of thirty degrees to lee
ward, she rose on her nose and sank on her
tail to an angle of fifteen, and her hull was
mostly out of sight. But she was making
her way, and, even as Mabel looked, the
mainsail luttered from the booms. She did
not know, but the men aboard that schooner
were setting close-reefed nainsail, against
the exigency of hauling on the wind to sail
into the harbor unaided by tug. The fore
boom was to starboard, and she saw it slowly
creep in. She did not know that the canvas
must all be to port when the vessel headed
for the piers. Then the foresai1 jibed, and
the mainsa1 slowly rose and tautened while
the schooner altered her course and headed
directly toward her, seemingly anxious to
hit the beach beneath her. But the leeway
was at work, and her drift carried her east
ward. 1t was problem beyond her COM
prehension as to whether that schooner
would make the piers or 60 to the eastward
to the deadly beach.
She watched and prayed for Bill, while
the wind whistled through her upper gar
ments, and the snow protected her body
from the waist down; for she stood in a
drift four feet high. But in the interval be-
tween the snow squalls she looked to lee
ward, and there, in the jaws of the pier she
saw big black tug, wallowing in the cross
1or6 f1,o1 loo III,
ing her nose into the combers, and again
lifting into view. 1t was Black Jacks tug,
and he had gone out for Bill
God love him and bless him!" said Mabel
Hes good, after all.
And so she watched in the growing morn
ing light, and prayed, not only for the man
she loved, but for the other man who loved
her.
PILL was on deck; he had been on deck
- all night. Starting from Port Dalhousie
under lower canvas, with crew tired out
from the long, hard drill of taking the
schooner through the Welland Canal, he had
sent his crew below to sleep, wisely judging
that he would need them, fresh and strong,
when they made port. But before sending
| them down he had taken in his mainsail and
close reefed the foresail, which, with the jib,
|
daylight. And until the first gray 1ightened
the darkness to the east he and the helms
man had the deck together, Bill showing the
torch toward the last. Then he called his
mate and his men, and said to the former:
"Now, you know what we've got to do.
The wind is due nor'west, and with this sea
there's little chance of tug none whatever
if Black Bill is on tonight. So, just as soon
as we see the light, we must jibe to port
very carefully, mind you, on account of this
old canvas-and put the reefed mainsail on
her If it don't carry away, we can sail in
why" said the mate, @don't someone
kill that black dog?"
Hell get it some day. There's the light.
Loose the mainsai1; but before you set it
get the foresheet aft, ready to jibe"
They obeyed him. They loosed the main
sail to the last peak gasket; then, leaving
the fluttering canvas, went to the foresheet.
Slowly it came in until the boom was nearly
overhead, and the man at the wheel working
like a wood sawyer under the increased diff
Guilty in steering. Then Bill sang out:
"All ready! Haul taut your boom guy
and hang onto it. Stand by to slack away,
one hand; the rest aft to the mainsail. Put
vO1r wheel IN this tO the man at the