Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1912-08-22
lCopyri.hl, INV, ~ u. Appleton 4 Company

Copyright. ivy, by u. Appleton q Company
Continued from page 81
say. Zach. he was stewini and sput.
term like pair of fried cells, and La
fayette Gage and Emulous Peters
they're Denboro folks, Mr.. Ellery, and
about sixteen p'ints t'other side of no
account-they was the only passen-
gers aboard except Nat Hammond, and
they put in their time playin' high low
jack in the cabin. The lookout was
for'ard tootin' tin horn and his bel
lerin' was the most excitin' thing goin'
on. After dinner-corned beef and cab
bage-trust Zach for that, though it's
next door to cannibalism to put cab
bage in his mouth-after dinner all
hands was on deck when Nat says:
'Hush!' he says. Don't hear some
thin'?'
"They listened, and then they all
heard it-.all cept Zach, who's def in
his larboard ear.
Stand by!' roars Nat. It's a
squall, dead astern and comm abilin'!
I'll take her, Bile. You look out for
them tops'ls.'
so Nat grabs the wheel and Bile
tears for'ard and sends the two fo'mast
hands aloft on the jump. Zach was
skipper. but all he done was race
around and holler and trip over his
own feet. 1t hit 'em fore they got
even one tops1 clewed down. That
one, the foretopsl twas, split to rags.
The main topsl was set, and when the
squall struck, the rotten old topmast
went by the board 'Kerrash-o!' Course
tsplinters flew like all possessed, and
one of 'em, about a foot long, sailed
past Mats head, where he stood heav-
In his whole weight on the wheel, and
lit right on the pinnacle, smashin' it
to matches.
Well, there they was, afoat, but
with their upper riggin' gone and the
compass smashed fiat. A howlin' moth
wester BLOWN and fog thick as ever.
Zach was whimperin', fidgetin' old
woman, Lafayette and Emulous was
prayin' in the scuppers-and that amt
an exercise they're used to, neither
even Bile was mighty shook up and
worried-he says he was himself. But
Nat Hammond was as cool and re-
freshin' as the bottom of my we'll up
home.
"Then Nat suggests gettin' the spare
compass and, 10 and behold you! there
want any. Compasses cost money
and moneys made to keep, 80 Zach
thinks.
$50 there they was. Wind was fair
or ought to be, but twas BLOWN hard
land SO thick you couldn't hardly see
the jib boom. Zach he wanted to an.
'chor, then he didn't, then he did. and
no on. Nobody paid much attention
to him.
Whatll we do, Nat?' says Bile.
He knew who was the real seaman
aboard.
Well. If twas me, I wouldn't an
Choir till l had to. Probly twill fair
of tomorrow, but IL it shouldn't, we
might have to lay out here all day.
Anyhow, we'd have to wait for full
tide
I'm afraid we're of the course
says Bile, else we'd been acrost the
bar by this time.
WE'LL Nat tells him, If we are of
the course and too far inshore, we
would have made the bar-the Bay
port bar-if not the Trumet one. And
II we're off the course and too far out,
we'd ought to have deeper water than
i've fathom, hadn't we? Course I'm
not sure, but What's that, lands
man?
Three and half, sir says the fell
Ter with the lead That showed they
was edgin' in somewheres. Nat he
shifted. for all the world like a dog
catchin' scent, so Bile declares.
Tell you smell home says Nat,
calm and clipper, and I'd know that