Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1915-09-01

C-e-os-c-~ c-s-D-s- c9-s-cs~-. Go c~.Ce-c
aboard the Belle E1leue. for. in the
iesseuine seawaE. she rolled not so
evillv. Peterson epranc n the deck
as the bow Of our boat rose alongside
on a wave and made fast our iinc
when williams and ] had followed we
took 8 general inventory Of the Belle
Helene. All the deck gear was gone.
spare oars and spars, q canvas or 50
and some coils Of rope. Beyond that
there seemed no serious damage, un-
less the hull had been injured by its
pounding during the night
It's a mud bank here. 7 think, Mr
Harry" said Peterson. She may have
ripped some Of her copper on the oys-
ter reefs. but she seems to bed full
length. and maybe she's not stra iued,
after all"
There's the line Of channel guides. "
said I. pointing to row Of sticks driv-
en- into the mud a couple Of miles in
/ length.
Yes" said the old man. "tbe chan
neTs not more than a biscuit toss from
( here. We came right across it. II #
hadn't been in the dark we'd have
/ gone through into the lee Of the island
/ and been all right Now, as it is,
were all wrong"
''Hoxg do sou mean I asked
J How'll we get that anchor up?'
I grumbled he. IF we start the engines
and try TO crawl up by the capstan we
/ couldn't pull her out Of the mud. If
we put on a donkey engine we'd snatch
/ the bow cut Of here before we could
lift the hook And until we do, how
are we going to move her: There $
the channel but its as far as ever.
/ We can't sweep her Off. OF course, and
we can't pole her off.
We'll. Peterson. said ]. let rs. by
all means. hope for the worst"
smiled. seeing that be now was pos
sesscd OF his normal gloom
We'll" said he, we went on at fun
tide and hard aground at that This
wind Is blowing All the water ont Of
Cote Blanche. OF course if the wind
should turn and drive in again We
might move her if we caught her at
high tide once more. Until that hap
pens / guess we're anchored here for
sure"
THE glass is rising now. Peterson. "
said I pleasantly.
''Oh. yes. it may rise little, said
he. and of course the storm gone
by for the time But ! don't think
there's going TO be any good change
of weather thatH hold very soon. But
now Williams and III &c below and
see if we can start Il pump, / expect
she's sprung 4 leak, aii right"
Shaking his head in much apprehen-
sion, the old man made his way with
Williams first into the engine room.
For my own part, l turned toward my
cabin door All at once as I did SO it
seemed TO me ] heard a sound It
came again. a sort Of meek. difident
sound, ezpectant rather than complain
ing And then I heard an unmistaka-
BILE scrapiug at the door. fastening,
I flung 1t open. was greeted with
great whine Of JOY and trust
PARTIAL I cried, and caught him
by the paws as he put them on my
shoulders and rubbed his muzzle along
my cheek. Whispering Partial Oh,
my dear chap. I'm glad 70 see you.
AS matter of fact, bad forgotten
Partial these three days, other things
being on my mind
We may be here FOR a month. said
Peterson gloomily. looking at the Belle
Helene. now rolling just little. her
keel fast full length ia the mud bar.
Il don't think there's ever going TO be
any change Of wind-it'u blow steadi-
~ this way for a week anyhow"
Il presume, Peterson. said I coolIy.
''that you don't see the sun breaking
through the clouds over there at all
And / fancy that you will not believe,
either. that the sea Is Iulling now"
7 heard Williams chuckling as ne
stool q over his engine. Thus, chug-
ginc on merrilv with the long, oily roll
of the sea under rs. we presently once
more ran orr surf and this time had
small difficulty in winning through
for. once we felt the ground under US,
we simply sprang overheard and wad
ed in. dragging the boat with US. waist
deep sometimes IN the food, nut on the
whole quite safe.