Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1917-05-29

needs no eyes to heave the lead.
"A quarter sixr' he sang out, ana
then plaintively: "We'll fetch up on
the Barrier. capt'n. S'pose we try an
get the other hook over"
LET the anchor aloner' roared the
captain. mo anchor chain'l hold In
this. Keep that lead a-going. Tom
Plate, If it's you. What bottom do
you fndr
"Quarter less SIX" called the leads.
man. '"Soft bottom. We're shoaling."
"Angel." said the captain to his mate,
who stood close to him, "we're blow.
ing out the south channel. We've been
drifting long enough to fetch up on
the reef If 1t was in our way. There's
hard bottom In the north channel, and
the twenty fathom lead wouldn't reach
1t half length from the rocks.
"And the south channel lay due
southeast from our moorings." con-
tinued the captain "Wind's nor'west
I should say, right down from the hill
tops, and I've known these blasted
West India squalls to last three days,
blowing straight and hard. This has
the smell Of a gale in It already. Keep
that lead a-going, there"
mo bottom" was called repeatedly
until the captain sang out "That'n do
the leadr' Then the leadsman coiled
up the line, and they heard his rasp-
Ing. unpleasant voice, cursing softly
but fercely to himself. Captain Swarth
descended the stairs, silenced the stew
ard with a blow, felt Of the clock
hands, secured his pistols and return.
ed to the deck.
"We're at sea-" he said. 1.-TWO hands
to the wheel. Loose and set the fore
topmast staysails and the foretopsail."
"What for?" they answered complain
ingly.
mo arguments!" yelled Swarth.
They knew their captain, and they
knew the ropes on the blackest Of dark
nights. Blind men climbed aloft and
felt for foot ropes and gaskets. Blind
men on deck felt for sheets, halyards
and braces, and in ten minutes the
sails were set and the brig was charg-
ing wildly along before the gale, with
two blind men at the wheel endeavor-
ing to keep her straight by the right
and left wind on their faces.
"Keep the wind as much on the port
quarter as you can without broaching
tor yelled the captain in their ears,
and they answered and did their best.
"Where're ye goin', Bill?" asked the
mate weakly as he scrambled up to
him.
Fright out to sea and, unless we get
our eyes back soon, right across to the
Blight Of Benin, 5000 miles from here.
We've no business on this coast IN
this condition. What ails you, Angel?
Lost your nerve? Brace up. Well get
used to 1t. Get a couple Of hands aft
and heave the log. We take our de-
parture from Kittredge Point, Barba-
dos island, at 8 o'clock this morning
of the 10th October. Wen keep
Geordies log book with a jackknife
and stick"
They hove the log for him. It was
marked for a now useless twenty-eight
second sand glass, which Captain
swarth replaced by spare chronome-
ter held to his ear In the companion
way. It licked even seconds, and
when twenty eight Of them had passed
he called "Stopr The markings on
the line that had slipped through the
mates fingers indicated eight knots.
"Seven, allowing for wild steering,
said the captain when he had slowed
away his chronometer and returned to
the deck. "Angel, we know we're 60
ing about sou'east by east seven knots.
There's practically no variation o the
compass in these seas, and that
courseU take us clear Of Cape st.
ROGUE. Just as fast as the men can
stand It at the wheel we'll pile on can
vas and get all we can out O this good
wind. II It takes US into the south.
east trades, well and good. We can
feel our way across on the trade wind
unless we hit something, Of course.
.You see, It blows almost out OF the
east on this side. and'll haul more to
the sou-east and southland as we get
over. BY the wind first; then well
square away as we need to. Well
know the smell o. the trades-nothing
like It on earth-and the smell o tho
Gold Coast, Ivory Coast, Slave Coast
and the Kameruns. And I'll lay odds
we can feel the heat O. the sun In the
east and west enough to make fair
success at the course. But it won't
come to that. Some Of us'll be able to
see pretty soon."
Itwas wild talk, but the demoralized
mate needed encouraging. He answer
ed with a steadier voice, Lucky we
got in grub and water yesterday"
Fright you are, Angel. Now, In case
this holds on to US, why, Wen find
some Of our friends over In the Blight,
and they'll know by our rig that some
things wrong. Flanders Is somewhere
on the track-you know he went back
to the niger business-and Chink put
a slave deck In his hold down Rio way
last spring. And old man Slack-I did
him a service when ! crippled the
corvette that was after him, and he's
grateful. Hope weu meet him. I'd
rather meet Chink than Flanders In
the dark. and I'd trust a Javanese
trader before either"
"S'pose we run foul Of a bulldogT
"we'n have to chance It This
coasts full o. them too. Great guns,
mani Would you drift around and do
nothing? Anywhere east Of due south
there's no land nearer than Cape Or
ange, and that's $50 miles from here.
Beginning tomorrow noon, we'll take
deep sea soundings until we strike the
trade wind"
The negro cook felt bis way through
the preparing Of meals and served
them on time. The watches were set,
and sail was put on the brig ~ fast -
the men became accustomed to the
new way Of steering. Before night
fall on that first day they were scud-
ding under foresail. topsail and top
gallantsail and maintopsatl, with the
spanker furled as useless and the 5ib
adding its aid to the foretopmast stay
sail In keeping the brig before the
quartering seas which occasionally
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