The Yankee Champion — page 38: what you’re looking at

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

THE YANKEE CHAMPION. 81 up in the stern, “‘you must be preparing. I have selected the five men who are to help me manage our craft, and the remainder of you must lie down — snugly in the bottom of the scow and cover your. selves over with the mats and gunny-bags. Be sure and lay so that you can leap to your feet in an in- stant, and as soon as you feel the scow grate against the side of the brig, gather yourselves up for the spring; but don’t move to your feet until I give the word.”’ Slowly the old scow poked along through the water, and at length the head of the island was rounded. Here the wind was lighter upon the low sail, and though they now crept along only at a snail’s pace, yet they were in time. “Run forward, Cummings, and see if you can make out her hull, for I can’t tell whether she’s got her light at the fore or main.”’ The second mate was gone about five minutes. ““VYes,’’ he replied, as he came aft; “I can make her out plainly. There, you can see her now from here. That light is at her main truck, and she is laying to on the larboard tack with her courses hauled up, and her main-topsail aback, heading, as near as I can judge, about nor’-nor’-east.’’ “Stand by, now, to grasp hold of her chains,”’ said Nixon, in a low tone. “I am going to run down upon her larboard bow and then keep my luff and fall along upon her weather side. Stand by the sheets, one of you.’’ | ‘Boat ahoy!”? at this moment came in a sharp, quick tone from the brig. “Let go your pistols,’’ uttered Nixon, and in another moment three pistols, one after the other, were fired to the southward. oor (El) p ~*~ comicbooks m