The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1914-11-05
CHAPTER x.
The Past a Blank.


On the contrary. hope and courage had
prompted her to leap. The night was
clear, with only moderate sea run
ming. At the time the great ship was
passing the banks, and almost within
hail she saw fishing schooner riding
gracefully at anchor. She quite read
lily believed that IL she remained on
board the George Washington she was
lost. She naturally forgot the marvel
of wireless telegraphy. No longer may
a man hide at sea.
So, with that quick thought which
was a part of her inheritance, she
seized the life buoy, climbed the rail
and leaped far out AS the great, dark,
tossing sea swooped up to meet her
she noted a block of wood bobbing up
and down. She tried to avoid it, but
could not, and struck it head on. De-
spite the blow and the shoe, of the
chill water she instinctively Iung to
the buoy. The wash from the mighty
propellers tossed her about. hither
and yon, from one swirl to another,
like a chip of wood. Then everything
grew blank.
Fortunately for her the master of
the fishing schooner was at the time
standing on his quarterback by the
wheel, squirting through his glass at
the liner and envying the ease and
comfort of those on board her The
mate, sitting on the steps and smok-
ing his turning-in pipe, saw the mas
ter lean forward suddenly, lower the
glass, then raise it again.
, Lord almighty"
Whats the matter, cap'n?"
Jake, in Gods name, come ere an
take peek through this glass I'm
dreamin'!"
The mate jumped and took the
glass. Where away, sir?"
"A pint off tn sta board bow. See
somethin' white bobbin up?"
"Yessir! Looks like some one
dropped bolster r a piller over
board. Gods whiskers!" he
broke of.
Then I amt really seein' things"
cried the master. "Hi, y lubbers!" he
yelled to the crew; lower tn dory.
They's a woman in tn water out there.
l seen her leap tn rail- Look alive!
Sharp's tn wordl Mate, you go
long"
The Grew dropped their tasks and
sprang for the davits, and the star
board dory was lowered in shipshape
style.
1t takes a good bit of seamanship
to haul body out of the sea, into
dancing bobtailed dory, when one
moment it is climbing frantically heav-
onward and the next heading for the
bottomlees pit. They were very ten
der with her. They laid her out in the
bottom of the boat, with the life buoy
as q pillow, and pulled energetically
sor the schooner. She was alive, be-
cause she breathed; but she did not stir
SO much as an eyelid. It was a stiff
bit of work, too, to land her aboard
without adding to her injuries. The
master ordered the men to put her in
his own bunk, where he nearly stran-
.gled her by forcing raw brandy down
her throat.
We'll. she's alive, anyhow"
When Florence finally opened her
eyes the gray of dawn lay on the sea,
dotted here and there by the schooners
of the fleet, which seemed to be hang
ing in midair, as at the moment there
was visible to the eye no horizon.
Don't seem T. recognize nothin'."
"Mebbe she's got fever" suggested
the mate, rubbing his bristly chin.
Fever nothin'! Not after bein' in
tn water half an hour. Mebbe she hit
one O. them wooden floats we left.
Them dinged liners keep on crowdin'
u.s." growled Barnes, with a fisher
mans hate for the floating hotels.
Went by without toot. See 'er,
jes' like tn bankers wife goin' t.
church on Sunday? A mile minute;
fog or no fog, it's all the same T.
them. They run us down an never
stop. What tn tarnation we goin'
to do? She'll haff t. stay aboard till
tn run is over. l can't afford t. yank
up my mudhook this time o. day"
Guess she can stand three r four
days in our company, smellin oil
cloths, fish, kerosene, an punk t'bac-
CO."
IF y don't like tn kind o. t'bacco
buy buy your own. l amt objectin'
none."
The mate stepped over to the bunk
and gingerly ran his hand over the
girls head. Gods whiskers, cap'n,
they's bump as bigs a cork on tn
back o. her head! She's struck one
o. them fioats.all right. Where's tn
arnica?"
Barnes turned to his locker and rum
mayed about, finally producing an an
cient bottle and some passably clean
cloth used frequently for bandages.
Sometimes a man grew careless with
his knife or got in the way of pulley
block. With blundering kindness the
two men bound up the girls head, and
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