Evening star., 1925-06-21

| Pegwell now had the cleanest. driest
bunk in the forecastle. He stole lem
ons from the steward. which he hid
cunning!y. From time to time he cut
one in slices, fastened it to ships side
or bunk board, thereby driving puz-
zled bugs to other. less exclusive
quarters. He stole nails from Chips:
made shelves for his little comforts,
pegs for his fine new clothes.
BY the time the clipper crossed the
line PeGwell only dimly remembered
Larry'S treachery. He only mistily
recalled the job he had got but had
never worked at. 1t was easy for the
old man to slip back into the habits OF
a lifetime, even though the snip was
II hard place. The great outstanding
point was that for the first time in his
dreary life old Pegwell sailed deep
water possessed of everything neces-
Sary for comfort and some luxurieS to
| boot. And this he owed to Mary Bland.
Old Pegwell usually fell asleep with
a f1aShback of memory to Il snug lit
tie store on a dingy waterside over
| laden with a stock of wonders, pre-
sided over by a laughing girl whose
| big, brown, friendly eyes sometimes
! he'd just a trace of trouble. Then he
would think darllly of Larry, only to
sink into sound slumber in the
warmth of Larry's woolies under
! Larry's bsa nkets.
| DEG WELLS bunk was no longer
dry. No mans bunk was. The
| forecastle was II reelins, freezing,
weeping dungeon peopled with mis-
cradle devils to whom hell would have
! been Heaven. For 80 days the clipper
had been battered by a uorthwesterly
| gale off Cape Horn.
When a man came from the wheel
after a two-hour trick he was blue.
and lottery, and grinninS, and more
| than little insane.
! Pegwell stood his wheel warm and
| dry. He felt the bitterness of the
weather and the ships stress. but for
once his old bones were not rackcd
with extreme cold The ship steered
badly. They sent the young ordinary
seaman to hold the lee spokes.
You just put yer weight TO ii
when ! shoves the helm up or down,
me SON. said Pegwell The lads
| teeth chartered: his lanky body, un-
| dernourished, 'twiXt boy and man.
shook like royal mast under d
thrashing sail
"Y-yessir.' he chartered. fearfullv
PegweH glanced sharply at the lad
once or twice. Since their first en-
counter over the change of hunks, the
lad had not been remarkable for po-
liteness toward the old man. But
there was no hint of impudence in
| that "Yessir"' The boy looked blue.
Grumbling. taking hand from The
wheel when he could. gripping d
| spoke desperately to check it. the old
man peeled off his heavy monkey
| jacket.
slip into this Yer jacket. me SON."
| he roared. The lad thawed. When
the watch was up, he was glowing.
! Old Pegwell was warm, but wet
| through with driving snow. He
watched his chance to shuttle along
the main deck between seas. The lad,
! less cautious. started first.
When they were in the deep waist
| the new helmsman let the ship go off
and a mile-lonS kissing sea reared up
and fell aboard the length of her.
! decks cleared themselves through the
ports, he clawed his way. choking
and blinded, to the forecastle, soaked
TO the skin, his broken teeth chatter
! ilIg with the icy chill.
Where's III young felier?" he chat
| tered
! Il see him dashed up against tn
| galley growled the man nearest.
Hell git here. Can't lose Them
| kind"
He didn't git here" The young
ordinary seaman never rounded the
Horn. He went overheard to death
wearing old Pegwell's monkey Jacket.
MAKING northing and westing
AA with dry decks, though the wind
was bitterly cold. men with all the
sailorman's improvidence discarded
| tattered oilskins and Soggy socks.
And with all the fiendish frailty of
I Cape Horn weather, the fair wind
blew itself out. a rolling calm fol
| lowed, and then another. fiercer
northwesterly gale shrieked down and
drove the ship back into the murder
Gus gray seas to the southwark.
Pegwell clapbered stiffiy out of the
| rigging after retying the points of the
! reefed main topSail. The main deck
! was seething chaos of rope-snarled
water. In the roaring torrent men
were being hurled along the deck.
Only a frantically waving arm or leg
! indicated that a man was not dead.
| Then a greater sea Numbered aboard.
| 1t smashed the boat gallows.
4 spare topmast was torn loose
| from chain lashings and chocks: a
massive stick of oregon pine. roughly
squared, it hurtled aft on the torrent,
broke "a sailors half drowned body
cruelty, and crashedPend on against
| the poop bulkhead
Pegwell and the watch fought with
the spar. The seas endued the timber
with devilish spite. Twice all hands
We're torn from their hold, rolled
about the flooded decks in the icy
water, battered near to death by the
murderouS stick.
In a lull they secured the spar. The
| boats were gone. They picked up
tangled gear, and took two mansled
men from the meshes.
The wind struck afresh. 1t stag
eered the ship. And While she stag
Sered and hung poised another chuck
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