The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1915-03-15

| ''"hb oii anu tnen round
ing up to windward and drifting
down upon it. But this time he
missed by forty feet, the boat
passing astern.
Number four boat" Oofty.
Oofty cried. his keen eyes readine
Its number in the one second
when 1t lifted clear of the foam
and upside down.
alt was Henderson's boat. and
Fith Ihim had been lost Holyoak
md Williams, another of the
Iueep-water crowd. Lost they in
dubitably were; but the boat re-
manned, and Wolf Larsen made
vne more reckless effort to re-
eoyer 1t. ! had come down to the
deck, and saw Horner and Ker-
loot 'vainly protest against the
attempt.
by God, I'll not be robbed of
my boat by any storm that ever
blew out of hell" he shouted
and though we four stood with
our heads together that we might
hear. his voice seemed faint and
far, as though removed from us
an immense distance.
Mr.. Van Weyden!" he cried.
and i heard through the tumuuIt
as one might hear a Whisper.
stand by that jib with johnson
and Oofty. The rest of you tail
aft to the main sheet! Lively
now! Or III sail you all into
Kingdom Come! Understand"
And when he put the wheel
hard over and the Ghosts bow
swung off, there was nothing for
the hunters to do but obey and
make the best of risky chance.
How great the risk realized
when | was once more buried be-
meath the pounding seas and
clinging for life to the pinrail at
the foot of the foremost. My fin
gers were torn loose, and | swept
across to the side and over the
side into the sea. could NOT
swim, but before / could sink I
was swept back again. A strong
hand gripped me, and when the
Ghost finally emerged, j found
that | owed my life to johnson.
II saw him looking anxiously
about him, and noted that Kelly.
who had come forward at the last
moment, was missing,
This time, having missed the
boat and not being In the same
position as in the previous in
stances, Wolf Larsen was com
PEELED to resort to different
maneuver. Running off before
the wind with everything to star
board, he came about and re-
turned close-hauled on the port
tack.
Grand" Johnson shouted in
my ear, as. we successfully came
through the attendant deluge. and
| knew he referred, not 70 Wolf
Larsens seamanship, but to the
performance of the Ghost herself.
1t was now so dark that there
was no sign of the boat; but Wolf
larsen held back through the
frightful turmoil as If guided by
unerring instinct. This time,
though we we're continually half
buried, there was no trough in
which to be swept, and we drifted
squarely down upon the upturned
boat, badly smashing 1t as II was
heaved inboard.
Two hours of terrible work fol-
lowed, in which all hands of us,
rrJtwo hunters, three sailors, Wolf
Larsen, and I,--reefed. first one
and then the other. the lib and
Hove to under this
short canvas, our decks were COM
.paratively free of water, while the
Ghost bobbed and ducked amongst
the combers like a cork. :.
& had burst open the ends OF
my fingers at the very first, and
during the reefing l had worked
with tears of pain running down
my cheeks. And when all was
done, l gave up like a woman
and rolled upon the deck in the
agony of exhaustion.
In the meantime Thomas Mug
ridge, like a drowned rat, was
being dragged out from under the
forecastle head where he had
cravenly ensconced himself. II
saw him pulled aft to the cabin
and noted with a shock Of sur
prise that the galley had disap-
peared. A clean space Of deck