Evening star., 1924-09-08
Continued from Yesterdays Star.)

| continued from Yesterdays Star.)
| The pair crawled into Monks Cove
at last plastered with mud. their
clothes torn to rags. A feeble pilch-
ard-oil "chill'' burnt in one or two
windows, but the cottages were de-
sorted. Spindrift, mingled with clots
| of foam. was driving over the roofs
In sheets. The wind pressed like a
hand on ones mouth; 1t was scarcely
possible to breathe facing 1t. Several
times the boys were forced down on
all fours to avoid being blown over
backward. The roar of the sea was
deafening. appalling. Cleaning hills
| OF surf hove out of the void in quick
succession, toppled. smashed, flooded
the beach with foam and ran back
sucking away the sands.
The small beach was thronged with
people; all the Covers were there
men. women and children, also a few
farm folk, drawn by the guns. They
sheltered behind powders, peered
seaward, and shouted in each others
! ears.
| "Spanisher, or else Portingal,"
| Ortho heard a man below.
Jacky's George seen she off Cribba
at sundown. Burnt a tar barrel and
fired signals southwest of Apostles
| dragging by her lights. She'll bring
| up presently and then part-no cables
won't stand this. The Minstrelll
have her"
Nc. the carracks, with his set"
| 100 poun'. They'll crack she like a
nut"
Carracks, Minstrel or Sharks Fin.
she'm ours" said the first. "Harkenw
Came crash from the thick dark
ness seaward, followed a grinding
noise and second crash. The watch
ers hung silent for a moment as
though awed. and then sprang up
shouting.
Struck
"Carracks have got herr"
please God general cargo"
Shan't be long now, my dears.
pickinS for one and ALL"
Men tied ropes round their waists
gave the ends to their women folk
| and crouched like runners awaiting
the signal.
A dark object was tossed high on
the crest of breaker, dropped on the
beach, dragged back and rolled up
again.
Half a dozen men scampered to-
ward 1t and dragged it in, a ships
pinnace smashed to splinters. Part of
carved rail came ashore. a poop
| ladder, litter of spars and a man
with no head.
These also were hauled above the
surf line; the wreckers wanted a clear
| beach. Women set to work on the
spars, slashing off tackle quarreIing
| over the possession of valuable ropes
| and block. A second batch of spars
washed in with three more bodies
tangled amongst them, battered out
| of shape. Then mass of pIankine
timbers, barrel slaves, some bedding
/ and, miraculously, a live dog. Sud
denly the surf went black with bob
ping objects; the cargo was coming
in-barrels.
| half-ton rocks will toss wine casks
| afrlly. The breakers flung them on
tho beach; they trundled back down
| tne slope and were spat up again
| The men rushed at them whoopine.
rushed right into the surf up to their
waists. laid hold of prize and clung
| on; were knocked over sucked under
thrown UP and finally dragged out by
| the women and ancients pulling like
horses on the life-lines. counle of
tar barrels came ashore among the
! otnerS Teresa who was much in
evidence, Immediately claimed them.
and with the help of some old ladies
piled the loose planking on the wreck
OF the pinnace, saturated the whole
with tar and set it afire to light the
good work. In a few minutes the
gaze nad Tanned up a royal blaze.
| Ihat done, she knotted a salyaesd
halliard about Bohemia, and with
Davy, the second farm hand, Teresa
ana the two boys holding on to the
shore end, he went into the scramble
| with the rest
barrels were spewed up by every
wave, the majority stove in. but MANY
intact. The fisher-folk fastened on
them like bulldogs. careless of risk.
One man was stunned, another had
his leg broken. An old widow, hav-
ing nobody to work for her and
maddened at the sight of all this
| treasure trove going to others. sud-
denly threw sanity to the winds.
dashed into the surf, butted a man
aside and flung herself on a cask.
The cask rolled out with the back
drag. the good dame with it. A
breaker burst over them and they
went out of sight in a boil of sand,
gravel and foam. Bohemia plunged
after them, was twice swept off his
! feet, turned head over heels and
bumped along the bottom, choking,
the sand singing his face like small
shot. He CROPPED out blindly, grasped
something solid and clung on. Teresa,
feeling more than she could handle
| oh iici ilHc, SSllcu 1OE HSIp. "A dozen
| sprang to her assistance and with a
tug they got Bohemia out, Bohemia
| clinging to the old woman, she still
clinging to her barrel. She lay on
the sand, her arms about her prize,
three parts drowned, splitting salt
water at her savior.
| He laughed. "All right. mother;
shan't snatch it from zee. 'Tis your
plunder sure 'nough" Took breath
/ md nh rod oo1x f,fo TIL
| flow of cargo stopped; beams still
| came in, top mast, more shattered
| bodies, some lengths of cable, bed
| ding, splinters of cabin paneling and
broken chest, valueless odds and
ends. The wreckers set about dispos-
| ing of the sound casks; men stag
gered off carrying them on rough
| stretchers; women and children rolled
others up the beach; the coils of, rope
disappeared. Davy, it turned out,
had brought three farm horses and
left them tied up in a pilchard press.
These were led down to the beach
now, loaded (two barrels a horse)
and taken home by the men,
| Teresa still had a cask in hand.
Bohemia could hardly make a second
journey before dawn. Moreover, 1t
was leaking, so she stove the head
| in with stone and invited every
body to help themselves. Some ran to
the houses for cups and jugs, but
| others could not wait, took off their
sodden shoes and bailed out the con-