The Argosy, Christmas 1912 — page 34: what you’re looking at

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

20 brand of remark are you going to let loose about that? ”’ | I waved my hand toward the south- west offing. He raked his glass from the case and clapped it to his eyes. “A sail!” he yelled. “A fishing schooner! Old man, that storm did a lot of good after all. But can we get them? ”’ CHAPTER X. * HOPE GONE. THAT same question had occurred to me the moment I had sighted the schooner and killed whatever enthusi- asm I might have felt over the dis- covery. The vessel was several miles away, and was not headed in our di- rection. “* /.4] we can do,” I said, “ is to wave something.”’ There was a suppressed excitement about both of us, as we watched the schooner through the glasses. She had all sails set, and had evidently outrid- den the storm in safety. “Here,” I said. ‘‘ You fire the rifle a few times. I’ll go get a signal.” I hurried back to the grotto and made a flag by fastening one end of a blanket to a pike-pole. With this I returned to Ordway, and we began to wave from the highest point. As we continued our wearisome em- ployment disappointment settled down on me. ‘There was no sign from the schooner that she saw our signal, or, if seeing, that she had any notion of giving us aid. We waved the blanket till our arms seemed ready to fall from the shoulder. “It’s no use,” I said. “ They don’t see.” “They must see it,” insisted Ord- way. “The fellows along the coast don’t go to sleep after a storm like that._ T’ll bet there’s a bewhiskered pirate looking at us now.” Almost as he spoke the schooner changed her course, and we were look- THE ARGOSY. ing at her stern as she sailed slowly out of sight. “Well d— I mean good-by, gentle- men,” said Ordway, in deep disgust. “That’s the old time Viking for you. Noble representative of the sea-kings of the north. I’d like to get a wallop at him with a hammer.” ‘Perhaps he didn’t see us,” I sug- gested. “Didn't see? I'll bet he saw. Im- agine the skipper of a schooner, the only vessel in sight, not looking toward a berg as big as this one! And if he saw the berg, he saw us.” I felt as disgusted and discouraged as Ordway. We had watched so many hours, and had seen no sail. And now that we did see one, to be so completely ignored was maddening. It might be our only chance. “Well, there’s no use waiting here any longer,’ I said. “‘ We won’t see another sail to-day.” ' We slowly returned to the grotto, neither being in a mood to do much talking. After this we settled down to a long, miserable, monotonous existence. ‘The wind remained in one quarter, and the berg kept slowly drifting. still, as our food supply held out, we had no fear of the consequence just then. There was fuel in the Northbird’s tank, which we emptied. When. that was gone we ground up fish and squeezed a crude oil from them, the blubber of the dolphin serving for a time. Then our coffee gave out. Without that hot cup of coffee to relieve a sud- den chill, our condition became a de- gree less comfortable. Our canned goods went next. Every day we went several times to the head with our blanket-signal, but, though we did, on several occasions, see sails at a distance, none paid any attention to us. Our feet and hands and ears were frostbitten. Our tempers became mo- rose, and we scarcely held any conver- CoOMmicbook CO