Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-09-30

% N
~
reached the stage where the terrific
pressure caused the weeds to roll up in
such a pack along the guard-rail amid
ships as to withstand my weight when
1 stood upon it.
1t was imperative now to resort to
every known stratagem in last des-
perate effort to avoid becoming stalled.
My efforts were accelerated through
my knowledge that complete stall
here would spell absolute defeat We
were within a hundred yards of the
open water at last, and not weed
we're we passing. One would have
sworn it was stall. Did I? Not yet.
dropped the deck pole to the bottom.
which was but few feet. 1t was just
as I had hoped and really expected;
at least a half acre of the obstruction
was giving way before us. The victory
was ours.
Triumphantly, dropped to the warm
engine room and Invested myself of
wet clothes. A set of dry buds and a
comforting smoke as the Jewel battered
right and left the last remnants Of our
would-be captorS, and I was already
feeling an eagerneSS to challenge the
dark and angry old st. Johr5.
It was gruesome-loo.iinC night, I'll
confess, but 1 had been in the game too
long, I felt, to be unduly influenced by
appearances. Not that I was blind to
the possible dangers that confronted
me-; far from it. was fully alive to
the fact that a storm was in the MAX
ing, but had my usual expectation of
using that steadily growing force to
great advantage, as I had done many
| times before.
I reasoned that i I could stand the
trough" of those seas a reasonable
distance out, COLI then ease away
| before that steadily GSCreaSing gale and
SHOW some clean h1ah" for thirty -odd
miles to Jacksonville,
| A small part of my 0g4go consisted
of some valuable squared sticks of cedar
consigned to pencil company
Through the lack of room on the in
side, had stacked a dozen of them
| on the cabin top, as I had often done
before.
In all my experience I had never los
any part of cargo. / felt just pride
OVcI GIAlo IcCOIQ, dS d ItSulL Vi WHICH,
| grew increasingly careful. I knew The
little ship must take some severe roll
for the next 20 minutes and resolved
not to allow myself to become too care
less and thereby, perhaps, suffer my first
loss.
THE Jew .!a3 soon awash in wilc
turmoil of seas on the broad st
Johns. AS the roll became threatening
I modified the hazard somewhat b.
bearing away SO as to take their con
tact little nearer quartering. Thus
proceeded for some distance, when tW,
unforeseen happenings took place.
A long, stark, blindig flash, the frs
of the unexpected hurricane. Binding
did I say? On my word, and I regre
I can't say it as vehemently as I meal
it. 1t simply left me straining into
pit of blackness the equal of which m,
many years of experience failed to re-
call.
But this staggering blackness was bu
secondary to fleeing glance that froz
my bloG. Just a lightning glimpse, i
was true, but how well, how painful,
well, knew what it could mean to m!
overloaded little ship
|
froth by gale, were flying high in thu
air over the back of a wicked-lookint
drift log. That glimpse of split sec
ond's duration registered upon my con
seriousness the serious fact that the LOS
was almost directly across our path al
we tore madly before the fury of tn,
storm.
Impulsively, and without a second!
hesitation, hauled the helm hard-a
starboard and waited with bated breath
what seemed certain disaster. I had NJ
sooner brought myself into a state O.
rigidity against the threatened crasl
gerous, thud against the port guard raj
somewhat forward OF amidships.
The contact had zen glancing one
and for once fate had exceeded my wild
est hopes. And felt deeply Thankful
as reversed my tactics now and de
voted my energies to port helm, for
knew that while had won that Skin
mish against heavy odds, yet, owing t.
the wild plunging we were now perform
ing, we were being threatened by an
other danger quite as disconcerting a
the first. We were already beginning t.
fall painfully heavy into that deep ant
dangerous trough. And now thos
! storm rladdened seas were alread
|
side.
AS another electric bolt split tn
blackness, it found me gazing directl
at another "drifter" as it shot by, par
alleling our wave-buried deck. Heavens
thought I, suppose it had come bar
IL inches closer and caught that cabin
side!
Acting first and leaving deliberatiol
for later, I threw the reverse lever il
neutral and cut a racing engine will
an upward perk Of the throttle. Then
with spray-drenched head we'll out o
the window, I anxiously awaited TIT
next flash. 1t came, and with it sigh
that brought me very lively realization
of the desperate situation before me
In front and on all sides were splash
ing, charging, laundering, death dealin
logs of every description.
A sudden lurch to starboard, and on
of my chaotic thoughts came a sudder
remembrance of those heavy sticks O.
cedar overhead, with their additional
, attendant danger. Every second now
! in one NAV or another seemed to ado