Year: 1871

'Man overheard !"


"Silence, men! Silence y shouted the
came rushing wildly aft to the quarterback.
go the life buoy fly the stun -sailtacks,
and clew up the lower stun'-sail Quick
to the braces, men, and stand by to short
en- sail there for'ard! Clear away the life
life boat |" and a perfect volley of orders
came from the lips of Lieutenant Ringbolt
in rapid succession and in stentorian tones,
while the trigate, which but a moment be-
fore had been bowling off twelve knots,
with a cracking breeze on the starboard
quarter, came rapidly and gracefully to
the wind, and lay there quiescent, the huge
foretopsail to the mast, to deaden her
headway.


"Now, my lads" said the lieutenant,
"bear hand, and lower away on those
falls togetherr' and soon the cutter was
| in the water and pulling vigorously in the
direction where the man had fallen.


''My God who was it ?" 'How did he
fallp" "Did you see him P" were the
| questions eagerly passed from lip to lip
among the excited groups crowding the
frigate's spar-deck.


Of all the contingencies incident to a
life on the broad ocean, the one calculated
to produce the most startling effect upon
ships company is the sudden alarm of
"a man overheard"


Even in the best disciplined ship and
with the finest crew, it produces for the
moment the widest excitement, nay, even
panic. Men rush here and there half be-
wildered, their noblest impulses reused
into sudden action, and, forgetful of every
other consideration but that of saving their
unfortunate shipmate, they are ready on
the instant to venture their lives, if need
be, provided only they can extend help
ing hand to their perishing fellowman.
1t is at such times that the highest quail
tiles of the deck officer are brought out
clearly before the eyes of all, for it re-
quires the utmost nerve, energy, skill and
presence of mind, ON the part of him who
controls, to influence and direct this tor
rent of feeling into the right channel, so
as to rescue promptly, it may be. the un-
fortunate suffer. Woe to the man who
may be incapable of the task alas, for
the miserable victim of his incompetency
The M was a magnificent steam
frigate OF forty guns, manned with a
picked crew of Seven hundred men. and
sent abroad at the close of the Crimean
war, to display to the maritime powers of
the world the rising power of the great
republic.


We had visited Europe and were on our
return home by the way of the West In
dies, and at the time my story opens, the
huge ship. under cloud of canvas, was
running down the northeast trades" and
about seven hundred miles from Cape
Verde Islands, then the nearest land.
Poor Bill Seavy "a smarter seaman
and a better man never trod forecastle.
He belonged to a race of sailors even then
fast passing away, and was one of those
men who, emulating st. Paul. seem never
weary of well-doing. No matter at what
hour of the day or night an emergency
arose, be it his watch on deck or below,
Bill was always to be found in his "all-
hands" station, working away in his quiet,
cheerful manner, with the best of them.
He was prodigious favorite with every
one on board, from the captain to the lob
lolly boy, and it was no wonder then that
our anxiety and alarm were great when
we learned that Bill was the missing man.
He had gone into the lee fore-chains to
perform some triiing matter of duty, when
the tapping in of the fore-sheet ON q
weather roll hurled him into the sea-
The alarm was instantly given, and it so
happened that our old doctor, who was aft
on the lee-side of the poop deck at the
time, with great presence of mind seized
grating near at hand, and threw it to
Bill as the ship went rapidly by, which,
old Lancet declared the poor fellow
caught, and with grateful glance re-
warded him for.


AS quick as it was possible for human
power to accomplish it-for Lieutenant
Ringbolt was good seaman-the frigate
hove to, and the lifeboat sent in search of
the man; but the wind was strong and the
sea was rough, while the shades of eve
ming were rapidly settling down over the
wild waste of waters, reducing to mini
mum poor Bills chancesfor safety, unless
the hand of the great Creator guided the
boat to his vicinity.


1t was therefore news not wholly uneX-
pected by us, when, in an hour or so-it
then being almost dark-the cutter re-
turned with the intelligence that the
search had proved vain; not even the life
buoy had been found.


A rare specimen of the old regime was
our captain, and a nobler-hearted man
never graced the annals of any navy. 1t
happened to be my lot to be near him as
he stood aft, cap off, and his long, gray
hair streaming out in the wind, when the
cutter was discovered in the fast thicken-
ling gloom approaching the ship.


Gutter, ahoyn' hailed the lieutenant
in charge of the deck; 'have you found
the MANI"


mo, sirw came back mournfully across
the water.


A tear glistened in the old captains eye,
but he turned quickly to the first lieuten-
ant and said:


"Mr. Cordage, let boat be manned
and provisioned and at once sent in search
of Seavy. If he secured himself to that
grating, as DIR. Lancet asserts, he may yet
be found, if not tonight, tomorrow and,
Mr. Cordage, order the chief engineer to
have the steam raised at once.'


SAY, ay, sir ~ said Cordage, and has
tened away.


Now. Bill had served with our captain
three cruises, and was one of his barge.
men, and it so happened that, having
served with both in former cruise, the
I,>1I Oh oil -