Paddling under Palmettos — page 142: what you’re looking at

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

Paddling Under Palmettos. 135 tiently biding their time. Surely, they are the tigers of the sea—man-eaters. ‘‘Eagerly did we scan the horizon as soon as the day had come, and far away we sighted a little col- umn of black smoke upon the sky. “That meant a steamer. ‘Whether it had passed us in the night, or was coming the other way, was a question on which our lives depended, for if we lost this chance we might as well give up the struggle. “TI cannot tell you how eagerly we watched and waited. Finally we were overjoyed to see that the steamer was north-bound, and must pass within a few miles of us. “We began to signal. Never in all my life have I passed such an hour. The thought that the steamer might go past and leave us to our fate was the most terrible anguish I ever experienced. “Just when it all happened I do not know, but some time during this fearful experience my hair turned from black to white, just as you see it now. “The steamer saw our signals and answered them. Coming slowly up, she lowered a boat, and at last we were safe. Gomicbooks (E(0)