Mountain Home Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1915-1946, 1923-12-07
Author of

must still be drunk as owls" Ant
thought how Captain Smollet
would have sent them skipping.
Meanwhile the schooner gradually
ell off, and filled again upon an
other tack, sailed swiftly for a min
ute or so, and brought up once more
dead in the winds eye. Again ant
again was this repeated To and fro
up and down, north, south, east, and
west, the Hispaniola sailed BY
swoops and dashes, and at each repe,
tition ended as she had begun, with
idly flappng canvas. It became plain
to me that nobody was steering. And
if so, where were the men? Either
they were dead drunk, or had desert
ed her, l thought, and perhaps if
could get aboard / might return the
vessel to her captain.
The current was bearing coracle
and schooner southwark at an equal
rate. AS for the latter's sailing, ii
was so wild and intermittent, and
she hung each time so long in irons,
that she certainly gained nothing, if
she did not even lose If only !
dared to sit up and paddle l made
sure that I could overhaul her. The
scheme had an air of adventure that
inspired me, and the thought of the
water breaker beside the fore-com-
panion doubled by growing courage.
Up | got, was welcomed almost in
stantly by another cloud of spray,
but this time stuck to my purpose
and set myself with all my strength
and caution to paddle after the I'M
steered Hispaniola. Once l shipped
a sea so heavy that l had to stop and
bail, with my heart fluttering like a
bird, but gradually 1 got into the
way of the thing and guided my
coracle among the waves, with only
now and then blow upon her bows
and dash of foam in my face.
l was now gaining rapidly on the
schooner. l could see the brass glis-
ten on the tiller as it banged about,
and still no soul appeared upon her
decks. could not choose but suppose
she was deserted. If not, the men
were lying drunk below, where l
might batten them down perhaps,
and do what l chose with the ship.
For some time she had been doing
the worst thing possible for me
standing still. She headed nearly
due south, yawing of course all the
time. Each time she fell off her sails
partly filled, and these brought her,
in a moment, right to the wind
again. l have said this was the
worst thing possible for me; for,
as she looked in this situa-
ton, with the canvass cracking like
cannon, and the blocks trundling and
banging on the deck, she still con-
tinued to run away from me, not on
ly with the speed of the current,
but by the whole amount of her lee
way, which was naturally great.
But now, at last, / had my chance. |
The breeze fell, for some seconds,
very low, and the current gradually |
her. the Hispaniola revolved
slowly round her center and at last
me her stern, with the
cabin window still gaping open and
he lamp over the table still burning
IN into the day. The mainsail hung
like a banner. She was
Itock-still but for the current.
For the last little while had even
ost, but now, redoubling my efforts,
began once more to overhaul the
.hase.
l was not a hundred yards from
Ter when the wind came again in a
lap; she filled on the port tack and
vas off again, STOPPING and SKIM
ming like swallow.
My first impulse was one of de-
pair, but my second was toward
oy. Round she came, till she was
roadside on to me-round still till
he had covered a half, and then two
birds. and three fourths of the dis
ance that separated us. could see
he waves boiling white under her
orefoot. Immensely tall she looked
O me from my low station in the
oracle.
And then, of sudden, / began to
l had scarce time to
hink-scarce time to act and save
myself. was on the summit OF one
well when the schooner came stoop-
ng over the next The bowsprlt was
yer my head. 1 sprung to my feet
nd leaped, stamping the coracle un-
er water. With one hand l caught
he iib-boom. while my foot was
edged between the stay and the
race, and as / still chung there
anting, a dull blow told me that the
chooner had charged down upon
nd struck the coracle and that
,as left without retreat on the HIS
aniola.