The Clio messenger. (Clio, Mich.) 1907-current, 1917-10-05


Throw your light down, McCann-ay,
that's betterl"
The latch of the door was forward
I could cling to it, and have my right
hand free with which To WELD the
Ratchet keeping both feet .wedged on
the threshold. The light was the mer-
est glimmer, yet sufficient to reveal
the paneling of the door, and hacked
ut this fiercely, exerting the full
strength of my arm. A dozen blows
splintered the upper panel, and then
/ sent the keen blade crashing down
ward, gouging out great chunks and
splinters until jagged passage had
been made. sufficiently large for the
passage Of a body. The water was
deeper in the cabin than In the open
ing, drenching me nearly to the arm
pits. Mccain called in warning. his
voice cracked with a terror he could
no longer control.
wait; I'll be there In a minuteT
shouted back. my only fear lest he de-
sert us. The bulkhead still held; this
torrent was water which had found
other entrances; no doubt 1t would
eventually increase In volume and sink
the vessel, yet there was still ample
time for us to escape. There would be
no sudden plunge while that bulkhead
held.
"Are you all right, Miss Vera2"
asked anxiously. "Where are you?
Can you see me?"
Eyes; I am clinging to the perth"
Her voice was excited but clear. "The
weter Is up to my shoulders. Is the
opening sufficient"
"For you, think, IL you can make 1t
alone. should have to knock out
another panel to get through myself"
"There is no time for that, and no
need. I'm coming now; watch out"
Our two bodies SO obscured the faint
glow of the lantern dangling from Nc
Cams hand above that / could see
nothing, yet managed to grapple her
arm, and thus assist in dragging her
into the jagged opening. The water,
surging to the sodden roll of tie
doomed yacht, and now damned by her
body, poured over us both in suffocat-
ing volume, but the struggle was only
for a moment, and then / had the girl
safely clasped in my arms. her head
elevated well above the receding flood.
''Now, grasp the rug" l ordered, as
I thrust her light form upward. ut
will help you creep up the slope Of the
deck. Creep on back, Mccain, with
the lantern; never mind NELL find
a way out"
She possessed sufficient nerve and
strength for the effort. There was no
hesitancy, no word of protest. Silent
ly, inch by inch, she fought her way
aft, her feet slipping on the wet planks,
but her fingers gripping desperately
at the sustaining cloth. could see
only the outline of her revealed against
the CLEAN Of the lantern, as Mccain
clambered upward in advance. could
hear the grooming Of the bulkhead to
the strain, and realized that the tim
bers could not long hold against the
immense weight. Suddenly the fear
had come into my heart; not until then
had I paused to think-effort had OBJ
scured all conception Of danger; but
waiting there in that black hell, the
creaking Of timbers In my ears, the wa
ter clutching my throat, the full hOr-
ror Of 1t overwhelmed me with sudden
terror. My God! Surely we could not
have accomplished all this, and still be
doomed to die like rats In q hole. At
least we must reach the open deck, and
have a chance to fight for life under
the stars.
Yet once I had attained the
cabin, all this left me. CHASTITY as the
wreck Of that interior appeared, the
wider space brought back to me the
seaman's courage. There was hope yet,
an opportunity to fight. Mccain had
dropped the lantern on the overturned
piano, and was urging the girl for
ward toward the stairs. Terror made
him oblivious to everything except a
mad desire to escape, but she was
g,ancing back, as though in search for
me. 1 clambered to my knees amid
the litter Of furniture, and snatched
up the light barely in time to keep it
from smashing on the deck.
II am all right" called confidently.
Get outside both Of you as quick as
you can"
Never in all my life have expert
enced the same sense Of relief as when
I stumbled out Of that companion onto
the open deck, and felt the night air
in my nostrils; yet not until then did
my brain truly grasp the desperate ma
ture of our situation. The CLEAN of
the lantern revealed the sharp slope of
the deck, and the surge of water churn-
Ing from rail to rail scarce dozen feet
away; the rifle Of tangled spars and
ropes to port under which / knew lay
dead hodieS. tho SmoS shed bulwarlS