"Lord of heavens!" he ejaculates, "that was a close call. Them
wood-choppers! They was no earthly use."
Two hands are yet on the gunwale.
"Suppose we can git him in?"
"Yessah!" stammers the boy.
The unknown man is evidently wounded, but is more active than when he
was first picked up.
Every wood-chopper is gone. There are no sounds in Georgian Bay other
than the noises of the boat, the wind and the great waves. There were
117 souls on the Africa. Now 114 are drowned. They perished like rats
in a trap.
What moment will the boat overturn again?
"Bail, my son!"
"Yessah!" stammers the boy.
The boat is riding southward and backward at a fast rate. Three hours
have passed--three hours of increasing effort and nerve-straining
suspense.
The wounded survivor lies in the stern of the boat. The boy bails
incessantly. The water is thrown in at the stern in passing over the
boat from the prow.
"It's bad on that rooster!" says Corkey, as he hears the water dashing
on the prostrate form. "Wonder if his head is out of the drink?"
"Yessah!" stammers the boy, feeling slowly in the stern.
The work and the fear settle into a sodden, unbroken period of three
hours more. Growing familiarity with the seas aids Corkey in holding
the craft to the wind. But how long can he last? How long can he defy
the wind?
"Bail, my son!" he begs.
"Yessah," stammers the boy.
The gray light begins to touch the east. Corkey has lived an age since
he saw that light. He is afraid of it now.
A cloud moves by and the morning bursts on the group.
Busy as he is, Corkey is eager to see the man in the stern.
"Holy smoke!" says the oarsman.
"Yessah!" stammers the obedient lad.
The face on the stern seat startles Corkey. The nose is broken, the
lips are cut, some of the front teeth are gone and the face has been
bloody. It is like a wound poulticed white. It has been wet and cold
all night.
"Lockwin, isn't it you?" asks Corkey, greatly moved at a sight so
affecting.
"It is," signals Lockwin. The voice is inaudible to Corkey.
The head rises and Corkey strains his ear.
"I'm dying, Corkey. God bless you. I wanted to thank you."
"God bless you, Lockwin. We're all in the same boat. I'm glad we
caught you!"
The mascot moves toward the sinking man.
The head falls again on the stern seat. The body is in ten inches of
water.
The boat is moving rapidly.
"Want to send any word home, Lockwin?"
There is a pause. There is an effort to speak of money. There is
another effort.
"He s-a-ays put a st-st-stone at Davy's-s-s-s-s grave," interprets the
stammerer.
"Who's Davy?" asks the oarsman. "What else did he say?"
"H-h-h-he's dead!" says the lad.
"Bail! bail!" answers the man. "Let's g-g-get 'im out!" suggests the
boy in a half-hour. Corkey has been sobbing.
"I thought a heap of Lockwin," he answers.
"I d-d-don't like a d-d-dead man in the boat!"
"Bail, you moke! I'll throw you in!"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account