Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-09-21

Tor the lifeline he had carried down with him
and gave the surtmans signal, three short
jerks and a steady pull That meant the
boat was to pay out line, feeling him. till
he gave the signal to haul away. 1t was ter
ribly silent down there, and suddenly he
heard cry,-a long, thin wall of agony that
froze his blood
The vision of the white-haired little skip
per, huddled in that dark lazarette rose be-
fore Downey. Captain Smith was an old
shipmaster. He must have known, the in
slant he was caught in the cabin in that un-
der-water whirl and swept back into the lit
tie storeroom, that he was doomed. Even
when he found air in his prison, he knew the
smallest hole cut through his wooden wall
would drown him, and finish the sinking of
the schooner. Perhaps he tried to find
way out, the way Downey had come, which
was barred to him. Downey didn't care to
think more of that.
"Poor Cappy!" he said "He's up there in
the sharp of the stern, not six feet from me,
and he thinks we're letting him go!"
He let himself down through the hatch,
feeling with his feet for the lazarette, then
pulled himself under water, swimming
straight for the darkest spot. AT the same
instant the flooded cabin grew lighter, as if
some obstruction had been removed from
the hatchway. "'The diving bells gone!" he
thought. Well, it had served its purpose
HIS lungs were bursting from holding his
- breath; but his shoulder struck the
doorsill, and he f1oundered up in the dark
ness. And suddenly he realized that his
head was out of water. He could hear the
roaring of the sea, and the voices of the men
came to him muffled, and as if from great
distance. 1t was pitchy dark, and the air
was awful; but little by little his eyes accus-
toned themselves to the gloom, and sud-
denly huddled in the very top of the laza-
rette, clinging to the timbers of her, where
the air space was deepest in that oval prison,
he saw the blur that was the form of the
Susan's skipper.
Downey could not make out his face; but
he could imagine it, and he crawled closer,
speaking encouragingly. 1t was only when
he got his hands on him and felt the shiver-
ing form, Shiny with sea water, that he knew
the skipper was alive, and he gave shout
Of Joy.
"Nothing to be afraid Of Cap. We're
going to get you right off-l'm Downey-
Ships Bottom. Ships Bottoms going to
make it, after all. Only we haven't got
slathers of time
He was working as he spoke, listening to
the sounds Of the schooner,-she was break
ing upland hauling in the lifeline, unknot-
IIOIll Ills OWL walsh
to the skipper.
Il reckon III swim stronger than you,
Cap. The boysll pull you up with this shot
line, and III follow right after. I'll just take
turn Of this round you, Cap'n Smith, and
we'll get started.
He was not surprised that the skipper
did not speak, considering his terrible expe-
rience, and, even with the hope of rescue, the
foul air alone was enough to stife him. But
Downey had every move figured out He
could feel the level of the water creeping up
as he finished his preparations, and slowly
and carefully he signaled to the men on the
other end of the lifeline.
They knew he was in the lazarette now,
and Casco's great voice, close to the boards
that bound them, doomed out words of en-
enlargement. He family heard the cheer
that went up from the lifeboat outside, and
Downey's heart swelled. He slapped the
little skipper on the shoulder.
snow, Cap! All you got to do is hold your
breath a minute. Ill steer you out. You'll
90 up like fish on a line. Sue-your girls
waiting for you at Ships Bottom he said
as last inducement, and he swung the little
skipper up in his strong young arms. "All
set?'
Downey didn't care whether it was or not
The shippers very passivity warned him
that the end was near, from sheer fright