Lower coast gazette., 1914-01-10

any use for old-tme seamanship, or any call Tor
courage. I've never seen a sea that couldn't
master in a boat like this by using plain horse
sense.
We stroIled about till rain fell, and then
rowed out to the Zuleika. ,ghe wind had begun
blowing, not hard, but as # It had found cut
where it wanted to blow from, and the ram
cams harder and harder. / could see little ttzzy
punches of darker cloud come crawling out OF
theseast.
At supper everybody seemed cross, Or at
least dismal. Even Mr.. Bagley's smile wasn't
so cheerful as usual. The way the boat began
TO rock didn't make things any better. Even
Meg got pretty white and appeared to lose her
appetite. The only person who really looked
cheerful was Hilda. She waited en- us. with a
broad smile on her red Norwegian face. ! heard
her telling John that at home she had helped
her father sail his boat.
Captain Shackmore was pretty sad looking
on account of his toothache. Once | asked him
about the barometer-there was one on the
wall opposite. 1T isn't low at ALL | said.
Ae smiled, a kind of one-sided, toothachy
SnllG. ~ Sl ILLS COGSly kG SGlG, CASGPc Aat
literary fellows stories, big blows don't come
with a low glass. They begin with the glass
high and falling"
Just then there came a big roar of wind and
the boat rolled way down on one side. Then
there came another. And all the while now
she was lifting and jerking and jumping on the
new waves. Except Mrs. Beverly who only
screamed, we all slipped on slickers and crept
out or deck. It was nearly dark. Everything
looked black except the white tops of the waves.
You could hear the top Of the water sizzle; the
spray was driving through the air.
Bagley sang out to John to help with the
anchor and took his place at the wheel. The
rest Of us huddled under our oilskins in the
cockpit. Captain Shacknore stood in the mid
die, but didn't offer to help.
Well, we were. off, bat that didn't do much
good. Every mile. we went the worse it got.
Before we were even halfway to the land,
things were simply awful.
The white tops Of the waves would come SKY
high out Of the dark and catch US and go thun-
dering all about us, and up we'd go into tie
clouds, and down again, with another BIG mass
OF mad white water chasing us, and the wind
yelling like 3 hundred crazy b~anshees. The
rain was tearing along, mixed in with the
spray. Some rain may calm the sea-that rain
did'n It just joined in the general riot
/ went below 70 get dry. I'll the women ex-
cept Meg were lying tlat On the floor, dreadful
" sick, with Hilda taking care Of than. So !
went back to the deck. Meg was lying there,
wrapped up in coats and things, as white as q
ghost, with her eyes shut. began to feel aw-
fully queer, too; so | craWled over and lay
down near her. Afoer that it didn't matter
much for awhile what happened. Sometimes
whole buckets and barrels CT water dashed
over lis. Once the boat swung way round and
I heard Captain shackmore yell, "Hard aport,
for your life" but | didn't really notice much
Of anything till the engine stopped.
] suppose that awful motion had broken
something, or the water had got into something.
Anyhow, stop the engine did, with a sort Of
cough-and there we were. / can't tell you how
it felt. It wasn't rolling, and it wasn't pitch
ing. 1t wasr't even up and down. It was JUS
being picked up and slung, and picked up ane
~ SlUiiS dSdiii, 1Ul W 2IA, DGSSA 'dAGt SNio SHY
way but upside down, and we felt that tha
might come at any moment.
Meg and | clunp together, side by side, dog
sick, yet watching and wondering when the enc
would come. Once, as we went way down or
one side, ! heard a crash ard screams from in
side the cabin. That sounded like the begin
ming of the end. Then | looked up and saw
Captain S%hacknore.
The light from the port showed him yer,
plain. He didn't look like the same man. /
made me feel safer just to look at him.
Bagley had gone down to try to get the engin,
going. Captain Shackmore stood outside b.
door and shouted down to him:
Mr.. Baglay, can you get that engine t
run? Can you made it run now, right away
before we're bottom up? Can your
Bagley stuck his head out. He was yer,
white, and his eyes rolled about. I coulan'
hear what he said. Captain S%l,aekmoce JUS
yelled at him again with his hands to his moutl
Get back there with you. Start it if you can
You can't? Well. then. give YOUR orders. Yo,