Adventure Magazine Cover, April 1916 — page 98: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

96 yellow oilskins floundering and splashing a fathom away and caught sight of his dory-mate’s face. Without a moment’s hesitation he reached for the trailing dory-painter, and twisting it around his arm, swam for the drowning man. Grasping him by the collar, he hauled himself and Anderson back to the dory and hung to it for a minute while he regained his breath. Tom Anderson was unconscious, but, though heavily clothed, was no great weight in the water owing to the lashings around his wrists and the bottoms of his oil-pants keeping in enough air to buoy his weight. Collins knew that, as his own were keeping him up, but he also knew that the air would gradually escape and the dead weight of Winter clothing and top boots would soon send him under. On all dories there is a rope-loop rove through the dory-plug. This loop is out- side on the dory-bottom and is made for the purpose of a hand-hold should the dory be capsized, and many a fisherman owes his life to a dory-plug becket. Collins crawled up on the dory-bottom and grasped the plug-strap with one hand and dragged the inanimate body of An- derson alongside with the other. Thrust- ing his dory-mate’s arm through the loop, he got the dory-painter and tied a bowline under Anderson’s shoulders and made it fast to the plug becket. This served to secure him and kept his head and shoulders out of water. With his dory-mate safe for the moment, Collins caught the two trawl buoys which floated near the upturned boat, and haul- ing himself to the bow by the bight of the dory-painter, pulled himself up on the dory- bottom. By doing so, he steadied the capsized craft and brought the unconscious Anderson farther out of the water at the other end of the dory. The water was bitterly cold and the air colder. Though thirsty and half-famished, chilled with the cold and played out with his strenuous exertions, Westley set to work, and, overhauling the buoy-lines, he lashed the kegs on either side of the dory. “That'll steady her,” he panted. “We may have to hang here for a good many hours. Now for Tom. I'll git him on th’ dory-bottom, an’ lashed.” And dropping into the water again, he worked his way aft and, hoisting his dory- Adventure mate’s prone body on to the dory-bottom, he passed several turns of buoy-line around him and the boat. The sea was smoothing out and ran in long, oily swells. A light breeze was blow- ing from the west, and when the first flush of the dawn illuminated the eastern sky, Westley hailed the prostrate Anderson: “Oh, thar, Tommy, boy! How’re ye makin’ out?” . The other evidently heard him and wave a feeble hand. The immersion in salt water relieved him considerably from the tortures of thirst, and he felt better. Lying on the dory-bottom, Anderson, though in a comatose condition, was able to sense his position and knew how much he owed to Collins. In a dull yet comprehending way he felt that his feelings had changed. In spite of the dreadful experiences he had undergone, Collins had an instinctive feeling that rescue was near. Since he prayed, his heart had lightened consider- ably, and he hung to life with a hopeful persistence which gave renewed strength to his abnormally rugged constitution. “Ef Howard Blackburn c’d stick out nine days adrift in a dory, I cal’late I kin hang out part o’ that time on a dory-bot- tom ef it don’t git colder or breeze——”’ He turned his head, and there burst upon his sea-weary eyes the joyful sight of a vessel heading towards them. It was a fisherman under four lowers, and from his position Collins could see her sails shivering as she rounded up to wind- ward. A voice rolled down the wind. ‘“‘Weather up yer jumbo! Git a star- board dory over! Away ye go!” “We're saved!” hoarsely shrieked West- ley. ‘Tommy, boy, wake up! saved! Vessel ahoy! Dear God, I thank ye! We’re all right now, dory-mate. Plen- ty to eat an drink ’board o’ that packet.” And he talked and shouted until the res- cuers in a dory cut him adrift and hauled him and Anderson aboard. ®; adrift in a dory in that last breeze!” exclaimed the skipper of the Annze L. Westhaver. ‘“‘An’ no food an’ water! Suf- ferin’ Judas! You’re a tough guy, Collins. Your dory-mate ain’t made very good weather of it, though I think he’ll come around. We'll run ye into Shelburne an’ git ye fixed up— A tough guy, by Jupiter!”’ “THREE days an’ three nights COMmMicboooks We’re © (©