Evening star., 1926-10-17

he Dread Laurabada of the Pacific

ten in the tugging sheets. And then
success or failure.
The yacht spun like cat as the
headsails jerked her head away from
the wind and the seas. Her motion
became smoother, easier. And ever
the surging monOdy of the surf grew
louder Would we never get around?
How slowly those seconds dragged
The silhouetted coast ran to meet us
as we swung about until the chasing
seas threw us down their steep faces
On and on we raced into the shOal
water.
"Wem never make it: we'll never
make it, Murcett was repeating over
and over to- himself when the head
sails flapped over and the skipper's
yeice. cool. collected. cut to us:
IAN right. lads. set what's left OF
the mizzen now. We're around.
The tattered sail was hoisted. The
ship heeled and gathered headway.
We clawpd off the coast. heading into
new dangers only guessed at.
Then we set to hail out the cabin.
Hours passed. hours and hours. while
the buckets went from hand to hand
and the ship gradually grew less ana
less sluggish. We spoke little.
1.-TWO men to watch. the skipper
finally commanded. lone forward as
lookout and one at the wheel. keep
YOUR ewes peeled for the barrier reet.
Constancio and l took the first trick
while the others stumbled below to
the cheerless cabin.
Rain. Rain. Rain! How 1t did rain.
The night seemed as fluid as ihe
ocean, aS the crashing sheets OF wa
ter drove across us. The wind seemed
to have lost something of It's 1nry
hut the ocean was still on the ramp
age. =.
The mizzen Slated hellishly. II
sounded like a neversilent gun with
it's hanging reports. watched 1t dis
integrating from my post at the wheel
Rit by hit It tore into shreds and dis
appeared. R-r-rip. Bang. R-r-r-rip
Bang-bang! That was the song oi
the mizzen through the hours.
Where was the barrier reef? Some
where lust ahead it was screaming
and laundering. Our eyes played us
tricks. A dozen times one or both OF
us lookouts summoned the rest on
deck only to find that the glimpsed
head of q giant sea had fooled us into
thinking 1t was the reef.
TOWARDS the end of my watch the
last of the miZzer tapped away
and I hove the ship to with the helm
hard down and the StaySail pulled 1r
fiat. Consta ncio and I furled the jib
called the other watch. and turned in
Nothing happened. except many other
idle calls for "All hands" as the rect
seemed near. until the little cook and
I again took the deck at in the
morning.
The skipper had figured that. hove
to. we were drifting to leeward III
about knots. and that. by daybreak
we should he in position off Table
Point from which we could run tC
safety with our headSails. When
relieved him. he pointed to y dark
patch off the starboard quarter and
said There's Table Point; call me
when we can run behind it," Ther
he went below.
That's not Table Point. sair." Con
stanciO 10 minutes later was hOwlins
in my ear: that's Grange Isla and"
mo. impossible" | replied: I'VE
couldn't possibly have drifted that
far" but Constancio insisted and
gradually became convinced he was
right.
Grange Island, let me explain. is
tree-covered isle some miles west
of Table Point 1t lies in the midst
| of perfect tangle of Jagged reefs an(
it is popularly supposed to have NJ
passage between ii and the barrier
reef. The charts show that there Is
no passage.
At once l called the skipper. for. II
that land was the island, we had beer
blown willy-nilly into situation full,
AS perilous as that from which wee
escaped eight hours previously
Coming dawn verified our fears WI
were between Grange Island and ih'
| barrier reef,
| "Well fellows we've got one cha nc.