Evening star., 1926-10-24

snatching great trees from the shore
line here and there. ripping like
vast saw into the soft. Welding mud
hanks.
CIickety-clank. clickety-clank. How
much more chain? Quick. Quick.
Get those anchors aft.
The mud -caked fiukes broke water:
the sweating. naked hoys ierked the
hooks on deck and started after on
the run. WaEi. hammer in hand. ex
pertly knocked out the stock pins
and lashed the croSs-arms to the
shanks We wanted the anchors to
drag. not to hold. this time.
Splash. Splash, Over they went
and the snaky chains slithered out
like lightning.
AT once. held aft. the schooner
swung her how downstream. howsprit
poised s1uarely At the sheer brown
wave now so near. Thus. dragging
slowly downstream. granted Storage
way by the current. we rode. wait
ing. holding our breaths.
Downstream. hack ~ that mad
wave. the whole Fly River was AT A
level IL feet higher than that on
which We were riding. The Facifc's
king tide" had heen stayed tempo
rarily hy the vehenence of the river
current-stayed, until. reaching its fun
strength. II had At last asserted itself
and come bowling up the river. re-
storing in one hurst Of fury the hal
ance in water levels that Nature or
dains shall always I've kept. We were
witnessing the humbling of the river.
THE boys scamrered aloft into the
7
on opposite sides of the wheel. life
lines about our waists.
Now. 200 yards distant. the waves
jacged crest broke for an instant.
tumhled h,ngrily ahead and creamed
down the steep. brown face of the
Wild sea. The turbulent current
whisked from our side and Slid into
the foot Of the hore. avinE one The
impression that il had rolled under
rather than amalgamating with the
wave.
In trice IL had cut the interval in
two. Fifteen feet high. did I say? II
looked like so to the edge of that
rumpled head.
At last. There was q pounding and
roaring In my head. Eagsing con
striction about my chest. and I saw
the cleaning howsprit plunge its
sleek length into the wave.
Nightmare. A strip of photo-like
pictures reel before mo when recall,
or seek to recall. what happened
The Sir Arthur was hammered
down. her racers bows hooming under
the impact of tumbline tons of water.
The stern pushed hard against my
heels In flash saw the fore
shronds-then water hid their turn
buckles. sharp against the brown of
the boarding water. the white butts
of the ma SITS stood outlined for a sec-
ond-and then they too were wrapped
In solid water.
Water blinded me. filled my mouth
and nostrils. crushed the breath from
my body, fought for me until my
spoke gripping fingers lost sensation.
Then Wagis head Mdicrously draped
with fibrous wreckage hung on him
by the jocose flood which had swept
his feet from under him.
And then things grew more cohe
rent.
The ship was spilling the water
from her scupperS and riding serenelv
on current that now flowed up
stream. The boys were dropping soft
ly from the ratlines and. under Rao's
able directions. taking In the anchors
again. Waei was grinning. I'VE hur-
ry like devil now huh? or maybe you
want see mother fella tonight. huh"
In another five minutes he had his
answer as the Sir Arthur. under the
fun drive of her motor, raced down
stream intent on reaching the start
ing place of the bore. Canoe lsla nd,
before another one was formed.
That night. when tho next flood
tide came in. we were riding quietly
on untroub'ed waters. and. I listened
to the roar of the bore il stampered
on into the jungle above us. I thanked
my stars I Vas not obliged to face
It in the eW1 dark of New Guinea
night.
(Copvrirht 1oo6