Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 38: what you’re looking at

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

828 ful manipulation of the wheel, now with touches light as a feather, and again ex- erting the strength of an athlete. She was eased and luffed from wave crest to wave crest, her lee rails buried at times, and the spray constantly flying over the weather rail and streaming across the deck like a mill sluice. Up to windward she must climb! There were prison, disgrace, and perhaps, the rope if captured; and, with his eye constantly on the luff of the mainsail and the top- masts that were bending like coach whips, he kept the Madeline a-going. _ “Something will fetch away I fear,” said Captain Reed, who with blanched face was standing in the after door of the cabin. ‘“T hope not sir,” replied Hunt. “But damn it, you will drown us all, Hunt!” exclaimed the captain as the schooner heeled her lee dead-eye under and the water came rushing aft like a young Niagara. “Better drown than hang,” rejoined Hunt tersely, as he luffed the schooner out with a turn of the wheel. De Castro’s swarthy face was nearly white, as he squatted under the weather bulwarks on the quarter, and scarcely a word could he speak while the Madeline was forging along over and through the mad seas. “ Will they catch us?” was all he could gasp with an appealing look in Hunt’s face. “Not if things stand,” answered Hunt, pointing aloft. ‘“ They won’t catch us on top of water, senor,” and he smiled grim- ly as he whirled the wheel to meet a sharp sea that struck the weather side with a thud and nearly blinded all hands with its sheets of flying spray. At eight bells, satisfied with the weather gage and position the schooner had obtained, Hunt furled the topsails and extinguished all lights on board preparatory to doubling on his course and giving the man-of-war the slip. It was very dark now and he tacked ship. Then he furted the flying- jib, double reefed the mainsail, and hoisted it again. Next he lowered the foresail, put two reefs in it and tied it up with stops in case he should need it quickly. Bomba, with his bodyguard of negroes, rendered ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY, great assistance when it came to hard pulling. ‘“ No use now to keep the negroes in the hold huddled together,” said Hunt, “ as we are under short sail.” De Castro was pleased at this. “ You may set the wind- sails too,” added Hunt; “give the poor devils down there all the air we can.” Going aloft he could just make out in the darkness the man-of-war on the lee beam. But she had tacked—expecting, ap- parently, that the schooner would go about in the night and stand down to leeward on her original course. Hunt slid down a back stay to the deck and calling all hands, immediately doused all sail. “The ship can’t see us now when we are under bare poles,” he thought, but he kept his vigil aloft until the man-of-war was out of sight. Then calling all hands again he hoisted the jib, clapped the reefed foresail and mainsail on her, put the hatches on and let the schooner slide off dead before it. It was blowing a small gale, and as the old craft jumped along down the wind and through the seas, the spray went flying over the bow half-way up on the foresail. Now and then a sea would tumble over on the deck. The hatches, however, had been made in four parts, and with one of these off the windsail could still be kept drawing and not much heavy water get below deck. With two men at the wheel he scudded the Madeline all night, the old craft quivering as she leaped from sea to sea. At daylight there was not a rope yarn adrift nor any vessel in sight. It was blowing hard though, and to ease her helm Hunt furled the main- sail. Under the foresail and jib she made much better weather, running off twelve knots and shipping no water, except, now and then, a lump of the sea that tumbled over in the waist. De Castro had the negroes up for their bath in the morning as usual. Captain Reed did not seem to pick up much strength. He would eat no food that was cooked on board, but drank consider- able port wine and lived on crackers and sardines. De Castro ceased to bother him- self about him, and as far as the vessel was oO COMCLOO© S C@