Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1917-12-14

| q distant star. It was not a start
was far too close to the horizon-be-
yond doubt it was a masthead light
/ down.
I held the lantern behind my body,
and stared out through the void at the
! faraway spark-it was no more than
q. pin-prick, barely visible across
miles of open water, and growing
| fainter each second. read the whole
meaning, despair clutching my heart.
| The vessel had waited and picked up
| the Esmeraldas. boats; believing she
: then had on board all who lived, she
had resumed her voyage. We were
alone, deserted, in the midst of the
dead, possibly without even chance
to save ourselves from going down
with the sodden wreck. l.
| But if there should be chance there
remained not an instant to lose.
flashed the light about into the face
| of Mccain and the girl, the man white
and haggard, his eyes as dull as though
he had taken an opiate, absolutely stu
pefied with fear. But the girl In
| the CLEAN of the lantern her eyes met
mine, full of questioning, but fearless.
She must have seen, and understood
also, for she called to me, clingif3g to
the rail to keep her footing, her ZOOS
ened hair tapping in the wind. .
'They are leaving us, Mr.. Hollis? Is
not that the steamer out therew
SAY, the last glimpse Wen ever have
of her." / answered bitterly, forgetting
myself in anger. ''The d brutes
think more of a few dollars than our
| lives. But We'll make a fight just the
same. Come, wake up, Mccain! Aft
with yOu-oh, yes, you can; crawl
along the rail; once beyond the cabin
there's good foothold. Now, my lady,
I'll not let you fall-good! You are
the better sailor of the two"
I held the lantern in my teeth, and
clambered after them. 1t was a thirty
foot climb, but the rail stanchions
made fair ladder, giving good hand
and foot hold, although occasionally
the hulk beneath us rolled SO heavily
in the sea as to bring us to a pause,
! clinging grimly to the tarred rope in
order to retain our balance. Twice
thought the doomed yacht was actu-
ally going down, as under the blow Of
some swell she leaned heavily to star
board, giving glimpse of the black
water just below where we chung so
desperately. Yet with sodden, sick
ening motion, like the last painful eff
fort Of dying creature, she managed
to right herself once more, every tim
Der groaning in agony, the salt spume
of the sea blown into our faces.
Once beyond the overreach on the
cabin we found opportunity to stand
erect, gripping the iron supports which
had sustained the awning above the
after deck. In the dim rays of the Ian
tern the scene was one of utter wreck
and desolation. There had been four
boats hung in davits above the rails;
two of them were gone; one hung trail
ing overheard, half submerged with
the bow still swinging to the tackle;
the fourth had been smashed into kin
ding. / staggered across to where l
could look down at the dangling craft.
holding my lantern out over the rail.
1t was broken amidships and useless,
but jammed under thwart lay a
mans body; the CLEAN of light rested
on the upturned face, and | recognized
with horror the features of FOsdick.
Sickened, covering my eyes With one
arm, I chung to the shattered rail, COM
pletely unnerved. The voice of the
girl aroused me, brought me back to
manhood.
'Mr. Hollis, the dory is still here!"
I swept the lantern about, confused,
and unable to locate the sound. Nc
Cam was crouching against the cabin,
but the woman, aided by the flag
locker had crept aft, and now leaned
out over the stern rail and was point
ing eagerly down into the black water.
I worked my way cautiously forward
to where she chung, the lantern swung
oversize, it's small ring Of light giving
me view of the whole uptilted stern.
The dory, which had evidently been
kC1L u II. was eStOoAhJ NAAOeits
although half filed, and her oars,
jammed securely under a thwart, were
still in place.
The position Of the vessel the water
logged condition of the smaller craft,
told me at q glance the whole story.
What was left of the crew of the Els
meralda, together with those guests
who had lived to attain the deck, had
made their escape in the two missing
boats-they would hold twenty each,
and were strong and seaworthy. No
doubt the smashed one there had been
lowered first, but the tackle jammed,
and in the wreck Fosdick had been
killed. The others had clambered
aboard the two left, leaving him
crushed behind.
The sight of the little craft, stanch
and buoyant, bobbing about just below
us in the glow of light, brought back
my courage. Ay, there was a chance
here; we could get free of the doomed
yacht; we were not to perish like
drowning rats, helplessly. To be sure,