Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-12-02

us our safety while they must leave
the ship that had been their home.
|. One by one they slowed themselves
away In sailorlike fashion. making
themselves as small as possible. They
had nothing to Say-probably they
would never say very much-but the
story of their misery was told by that
guttering, wave-swept deck on which we
stared every time we sung to wave
crest. They brought nothing with them,
excepting only the captain, last to leave,
according to the code OF. the sea, VINO
brought with him his papers and
treasured chronometer; the SHIPS
drenched cat clawed spittingly to his
shoulder.
"That all, sir?" bawled the mate.
"Thats the lot, mistern'
LET go everything, bowl"
"All gone. sir!" The mate wakened
afresh to ferocity. "Oars-pull you sons
of dogs! Pull, said! Get at it-want
us down the locker? PULL" We began
to pull. our movements cramped by the
pack of humanity about our legs.
THE boat foated very deeply; waves
L that had previously swung. under
| now reared aboard. The rescued began
to bale, using their sou-westers, sea-
boots. ANYTHING. AS for us, we pulled.
Very soon we were clear of the shell
ter of the doomed MiFwaukee's lee. IL
seemed as if every roaring billow must
! swamp us now-water streamed over
| the mates shoulders in magnify1ng cas-
| cades. A furious squall shut down ana
blotted out everything, and through Its
| frantic howl we rowed-hopeleSs men,
expecting death. But the furry passed,
and in a momentary clearing, looking
over the mates head again, l saw the
Milwaukee in her death throes. sup
pose I must have called out, though
do not remember doing anything OF
the sort. The Milwaukees captain,
suuatted beside the mate, turned and
then turned back. He said nothing, but
his face was embodied tragedy. His
| first command, and he had lost her. 1t
was not his fault, as the evidence later
| proved; but to his own way OF think
| ing he had failed in emergency.
I could see it all-rowing strenuously
the while. saw a great white-topped
wave tower high above the squattering
hull. I saw her stern lift YEARLY and
her bow plunge under, and, expecting
to see her swing back in recovery, I saw
nothing. Nothing, save the leaping.
exultant white water that momentarily
CdIIIlcu anu IAAS1l oEI NY d44Soh AIo 41dA4-
tic riot!
I looked at the dripping face Of the
Milwaukee's captain. Then looked at
the face of the mate He understood
he'd lost ship of his own; that was
why he was only mate.
Might have been worse, sir!" he
husked.
Eyes; we might have lost the men,
too. She was good ship!"
There being nothing else to do, we
pulled on toward our own faithful craft,
that might at any hour follow the hope
less road taken by the Milwaukee. We
rowed with renewed energy, deter
mined to cheat the sea Of this bit of
prey. And we did; in a blind, frantic
scramble that was living nightmare.
Never had anything shown so welcom-
Ing as our own ships rusted sides.
Good, men!" said the mate. mot so
bad!" We'd Won We'd earned the
critical mates grudging praise; we'd
proved ourselves. In a day he would
forget-but in his face I'd seen the
light Of satisfaction, which meant more
to some of us than the plaudits of
crowded streets. We went alongside
and passed our salvage to safety.