The Madison journal. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1888-current, 1916-02-12

: not hopeless remembered Wolf
I Larscns caution He had expected
all hell to break loose. and here II
was. And where was he" | caught
sight of him toiling at the main sheet.
hcaving II in and fiat with his tremen-
dOuS muscles. the stern q; the schOon-
/ er lifted high in the air and his body
outlined against white surge of sea
/ sweeping past. All this, and more-a
| whole world of chaos and wreck-lh
/ possibly fifteen seconds | had seen and
heard and grasped.
| did not stop To see what had be
I come of tn" small boat, but sprang to
the jibshcct. The jib itself was be
ginning To slap. partially filling ana
cmptying with sharp reports; but
with a turn of the sheet and the ap-
! plication Of my whole strength each
time il slapped. | slowly backed 1t.
| This | know. | did my best. | pulled
till | burst open the ends Of all my
fingers: and while | pulled. the flying
/ jib and staysail split their cloths apart
aud Numbered into nOthingness.
Still pulled. holding what ] gained
each time with Il double turn until the
next slap gave me more. Then the
. sheet gave with greater ease. ana
Wolf Larsen was beside me, heaving
in alone while | was busted taking up
the slack
Make fast" he shouted And. come
on"
AS | followed him | noted that in
spite of rack and ruin a rough order
obtained. The Ghost was hove to. She
was still in working order. and she
was still working. Though the rest OF
her sails were gone. the jib. backed
to windward. and the mansail hauled
down fat. We're themselves holding.
and holding her bow to the furious sea
as well.
looked for the boat. and. while
Wolf Larsen cleared the boat tackles.
saw il lift to leeward on a big sea
and not a score of feet away And,
so nicely had he made his calculation,
we drifted fairly down upon it. SO that
nothing remained to do but hook the
tackles to either end and hoist it
aboard noticed blood spouting from
Kerfoot's left hand. In some way the
third finger had been crushed to
pulp. But he gave no sign of pain,
and with his single right hand helped
us lash the boat in its place.
Then we raced. and wildly across
the wild sea. the while hung like a
fly in the CrosStrees and searched for
the other boats. In half an hour |
sighted the second one. swamped and
bottom up. to which were desperately
J clinging Jock Horner, fat Louis and
Johnson. This time | remained aloft,
and Wolf Larsen succeeded in heav-
, ing to without being swept. AS before.
| we drifted down upon it. Tackles
| were made fast and lines flung to the
men. who scrambled aboard like mon
keys.
As before. the Ghost swung out Of
the trough. lifting her deck again out
of the sea. and dashed before the
bowling blast. 1t was now half-past
r five. and half an hour later, when the
l last of the day lost itself in dim and
! furious twilight, | sighted third boat
; 1t was bottom up, and there was no
= sign OF its crew. Wolf Larsen re
b. peated his maneuver, holding off and
| then rounding up to windward and
drifting down upon it. But this time
+ he missed by forty feet. the boat pass.
l ing astern.
Number four boat" OOfty-OOfty
cried. his keen eyes reading its num-
, Der in the one second when It lifted
clear of the foam and upside down.
1t was Henderson's boat. and with
him had been lost Holyoak and Will
: liaMs. another of the deep-water
crowd. Lost they Individually were:
but the boat remained, and Wolf Lar
sen made one more reckless effort to
recover it.
q And when he put the wheel hard
d, over and the Ghosts bow swung off.
i | was once more buried beneath the
> pounding seas and clinging for life
to the pinrail at the foot of the fore
!. mast. When the Ghost finally emerged
a Kelly who had come forward at the
last moment. was missing.
a This time. having missed the boat
l. and not being in the same position as
in the previous instances. Wolf Lar
il sen was compelled to resort to a diff
O ferent maneuver. Running of before
Q the wind with everything to starboard
@ he came about and returned close
2 hauled on the port tack. Though We
/ were continually half-buried, there
il was no trough in which to be swept
and we drifted squarely down upon
e the upturned boat. badly smashing il
@ as il was heaved inbOard.
s CTO BE CONTINUEDJ