Part 4 (1/2)

”The frightened sea-birds flew screaming by, flapping their broad white wings, then fading swiftly away. The captain now came on deck, and, by his quick orders and restless movements, we knew that he antic.i.p.ated danger from the storm which we could see rapidly rising, and the rigging was soon in order to meet the heavy gale.

”A fiery moon rose in the pale eastern sky, and out to the south-west hung the bow-shaped cloud, black as ebony, save when veined by the blood-red lightning; but as the majestic ma.s.s towered to the zenith, it changed to green, edged by a roll of fleecy white, which rose and fell as if weaving a shroud for sea and sky.

”We lashed ourselves to the rigging, so we could get the full benefit, as Roger said, of our first storm at sea. We had not long to wait, for soon a wall of waves, like a troop of war-horses, came tossing their snowy manes on the gale, and when the mad surge struck us the old s.h.i.+p quivered in every timber. The clouds wrapped us about, and the blinding spray and rain drenched the deck; the lightning glimmered fitfully through the mist, or hissed in zigzag streams of molten gold along the surging waves. A lull, then again the blinding flash, followed by the bellowing thunder, cras.h.i.+ng down, it seemed, to the caverns beneath, the wind shrieking through the rigging, the tumult of waves, rising in hoa.r.s.e clamor and deafening roar--followed again by blinding stroke and maddening crash.

”I have stood on old Chapultepec's crumbling wall, when mortar and cannon hurled their iron hail; when screaming sh.e.l.ls and belching roar mingled with the shrieks of mangled and dying men, and the sullen boom of exploding mines shocked and dulled the ear; but never had I known an hour like this.

”The poor old vessel, like a hunted doe, bounded away, followed by all the hounds of the gale, climbing the dizzy cliff or leaping the yawning chasm, and throwing the foam from off her sides; then hiding in the gorges below, where the gla.s.sy wall towered far above with combing crest, scattering the spray out over the tossing sea. Again, as the s.h.i.+p climbed the watery hill, she seemed to pause one brief moment on the foamy height, then plunged into the swis.h.i.+ng whirlpool beneath.

”The night wore on, yet still our vessel staggered along in her wild flight; but the winds began to abate their fury somewhat, and the flashes grew more dim and fitful until the storm rolled away to the east. Then the moon peered with white face through the rift of clouds; but as her spectral light only served to make more weird and appalling the waste of heaving billows, she quickly hid behind her fleecy veil, as if to shut the wild scene from view.

”Although the wind had died to a gentle gale, the frightened waves still galloped madly along as though fleeing from a grizzly horror they dared not face, and the s.h.i.+p labored like some jaded cavalry horse, that staggers and reels after the fierce charge.

”The deck had been a scene of great confusion ever since the storm had abated, and, although the waves and spray broke over the vessel, the crew were rus.h.i.+ng about wildly, and to our surprise we saw them launching the boats; so we unlashed ourselves and hurried forward--only to hear the despairing cry: 'The vessel is sinking!'

”I looked out upon the waves, which even now seemed nearer, and with a clammy shudder comprehended what horror they were fleeing. Death rode those cold waters, and every billow was a yawning grave.

”What a dread alternative--to cast ourselves out on that boiling, foaming sea, with only a frail boat between us and eternity, or remain on deck and feel the s.h.i.+p slowly settling under us!

”But the boats were quickly manned, and into them were thrown a few casks of spirits and water, with a small quant.i.ty of food; then we pushed off from the fast-sinking s.h.i.+p, and in a moment were riding the waves.

”We had left a light burning on the vessel, to enable us to steer away from it, and thus avoid being run down or ingulfed by the final whirlpool of the wreck; and after tossing about on the troubled waters for half an hour, trying to keep the boats together, we heard a loud report, caused by the compressed air blowing up the deck of the vessel; then the light on the old s.h.i.+p went out forever, and the sea closed over her shattered form.

”It may have been an hour before dawn, when suddenly we found ourselves among the breakers, and the coast looming dimly through the mist. Before we had time to realize our situation our boat was capsized and we were struggling with the waves.

”I shouted to Roger, but no answer. Then I saw a head appear above the water, and swam toward it, hoping it was he; but the form was carried around the headland by the rapid current, so I struck out for the frowning cliff.

”Diving under the largest waves, I saw, to my great joy, that I was gaining and soon was thrown on the rocks with terrible force; but I lost my hold on the stony ledge that I had clutched, and was being carried back to sea; but a thought struck me which I instantly recognized as being the only chance of escape, and to which I am certain I owe the preservation of my life: I dived to the bottom, and began walking toward the cliff, which was not more than a rod away.

”Oh, the horror and agony of those few moments under the sea! The seconds seemed to lengthen to hours. Brief as the time and short as the distance may have been, I've traveled many a thousand miles through the sandy deserts of the West and suffered less than in that one minute at the bottom of the ocean.”

Chapter V.

COLONEL WARLOW'S STORY--CONTINUED.

”Let me see--where was I?” said the colonel, who had paused to light his pipe at this critical juncture of the narrative.

”Twenty thousand leagues under the sea,” replied Grace Moreland, gaily.

”Well, I certainly could not have suffered more in the same time if I had been,” said he with a grim smile. ”But just when I had given up all hope, and thought my lungs would burst, I straightened up, determined to come to the surface at any risk. Lo! I had been groping along in four feet of water--and only a step from the sh.o.r.e!

”I had only time to plunge forward and clutch a jagged rock, when a mighty wave swept in, nearly tearing me from my place; but this time I held fast, and when the wave had receded I clambered up out of further danger, and there I lay, too utterly exhausted to move until dawn.

”I had hoped that daylight would reveal the presence of my companion; but the sun struggled up over a lone stretch of rocky, barren sh.o.r.e--nothing living was visible. I strained my eyes, gazing out over the long line of breakers. It was a fruitless quest; I was alone.

”Then I climbed up to the table-land. A sandy plain, broken by patches of sage-brush and thickets of chapparal was before me, and out toward the rising sun rose a lofty chain of mountains, as though to shut me out from all the world.

”I walked around the promontory and along the coast for several miles, still hoping I might find my friend; in vain. I shouted repeatedly; no answer. So with a heavy heart I turned and walked inland.