A NARROW ESCAPE.
By the time the sun went down we were well out of sight of land. Here
the breeze was even stronger; and at last several of the sailors
prevailed upon the man at the wheel to send down word to the captain
that sail must be shortened.
Lowell came on deck with the captain, and both had been drinking
heavily.
"Shorten sail!" roared the captain. "Not a bit of it. If the mast goes,
let her go."
Nevertheless, the wind soon freshened so much that several of the sails
were reefed. I watched the performance from the bow.
"Here you, why don't you get to work?" cried Lowell savagely, as he came
forward.
"I don't know what to do," I replied quietly.
"Don't know what to do? You're too lazy to do anything. Get aloft
there!"
"Where?"
"There."
He pointed up to one of the masts. I looked in the direction indicated.
As I did so he caught me by the waist.
"I'll teach you to hit me!" he hissed.
"Here, hold up!" I cried, in alarm.
"Shut up!"
He placed one of his brawny hands over my mouth, thus endeavoring to
silence me, but with an effort I cast the hand aside.
"Let me go!"
"I'll let you go when I'm done with you!" he whispered.
He was evidently in a very ugly mood, and I saw that he did not intend
to treat me with any show of gentleness. Nevertheless, I was hardly
prepared for what followed.
Once again he placed his hand over my mouth, and this time, in spite of
my struggles, he managed to keep it there. Then he gradually forced me
close to the rail.
In vain I tried to break away from him. He exerted all of his strength,
and being but a boy, I was no match for him. In another moment he had me
hard against the rail.
I endeavored to turn my head to see if our struggle was not noticed by
some of the others. But Lowell kept my eyes turned seaward, and now he
caught me about the arms and the waist.
"I'll fix you!" he went on, with a hiccough. "I'll teach you to hit me!"
"Let--let me go!" I managed to gasp.
"Oh, I'll let you go!" he went on, sarcastically. "I'll let you go
quicker than you expect, you imp! How do you like that, eh?"
And the next instant he had hurled me bodily over the side. I went
spinning through the air, and then fell with a splash into the waters of
Long Island Sound!
[Illustration: I WENT SPINNING THROUGH THE AIR, AND THEN FELL WITH A
SPLASH INTO THE WATER.]
Lowell's attack had been so unexpected that I hardly had time to realize
what was taking place, and did nothing to stop the catastrophe.
But once in the water I regained my presence of mind. I reached the
surface as soon as possible, and then shouted lustily for help.
By this time the Spitfire had gone on a considerable distance ahead, and
as the wind was blowing little short of a gale, I was doubtful if my
voice could be heard. Nevertheless I continued to call for assistance,
and at the same time did all in my power to keep afloat.
This would have been an easy matter had I not been weighed down by any
clothes. But the shirt and trousers I wore were heavy, and once soaked
with water they felt like lead. I tried to get them off and also to
unloosen my shoes; but, as is usual in such cases, succeeded in doing
neither.
At the same time I watched the Spitfire and was not a little alarmed to
see that the vessel was still forging ahead. Was it possible that those
on board were going to leave me behind?
It certainly seemed so, and for a few moments I was thoroughly alarmed.
I was out of sight of land, and the darkness of night was fast
approaching.
As I moved about in an endeavor to rid myself of some of my clothing, my
arm came in contact with something which proved to be a short spar. I
grasped it at once, and its buoyancy helped greatly to keep me afloat.
By this time the Spitfire was far ahead, and I had about concluded that
I had seen the last of her. I noticed that some of the sails were
lowered, and finally that the schooner swung around and began to tack
back.
It took some time for the old craft to come within hailing distance, and
once or twice she stopped, as if those on board were about to give up
the search.
But finally she tacked to my right, and I raised my voice to the top of
its power.
"Help! Help!"
For a moment no answer was returned, and I repeated the cry.
"Ahoy! I see you!" was the answer.
Five minutes more and the schooner was alongside. A rope was thrown
over, and, thoroughly exhausted, I crawled on board.
"You rascal!" roared Captain Hannock. "Thought you could escape that
way, did you? I had half a mind to let you go to Davy Jones's locker!"
And he shook his fist at me savagely.
At these words I was almost too dumfounded to speak. Did he really
imagine I had jumped overboard?
"What do you mean?" I gasped. "I didn't go over on purpose. Lowell
pitched me over."
"What's that?" thundered the boatswain. "That's the biggest whopper I
ever heard in my life."
"It's the truth."
"Stuff and nonsense," cried the captain. "Lowell seems to worry you
altogether too much. Go forward, and don't you try any more such monkey
tricks again, or I'll take the rope's end over you myself!"
And Captain Hannock advanced upon me so savagely that I was glad enough
to retreat.
I went down into the forecastle, and here Tony Dibble, a hand, managed
to hunt me up some dry clothing. While I was putting it on the old
sailor stood by, and presently said:
"I'm afraid you're going to have a hard time of it, my lad. I was
thinking Lowell pushed you over, though he stood by it that you had
fallen. I saw you just as you reached the water and I flung a stick
after you, thinking it might keep you afloat."
"And it did," I replied. "If it hadn't been for that I might have been
at the bottom by this time."
"The old man didn't want to turn back at first when he heard you were
overboard," went on the old sailor. "He said it was bad luck."
"You don't mean to say he would have let me go to the bottom!" I cried.
"That's it; and me and Goller and Sampson wouldn't have it, and told him
so, and then he turned back."
"I shall never forget what you have done for me," said I. And I never
have to this day.
With dry clothes on I went on deck with the old sailor. Lowell did not
come near me, and I saw nothing of him until the next day.