Argosy, Vol. 1 (1882) — page 123: what you’re looking at

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

114 This especially would be so if the for- mer procedure brought about a hope of eventually coming to a land of ctviliza- tion, hard food, and good liquor—we had put them on an allowance of both— and away from horrifying fears of un- known and uncouth dragons. For Mr. Parsons had not been idle in his conversational moments, and the details of our adventure in the canon had been painted by him with an un- sparing wealth of imaginative incident. Waller. picked his men, reporting to me that any one of the ship’s company would have jumped at the chance to go. This matter being settled, it remained to arrange the practicalities of the launch. Not only had we to drop our boat. handsomely down a hundred feet of sheer cliff, but we had first to transport her bodily up the steep slopes of the basin before us. Looking at the job made it seem no more likeable; but the next morning we rose betimes and flung ourselves upon the business. First of all we cut down the yacht’s topmasts and sawed them into rollers. We did this with a light heart, well knowing that we could never want to test our ship’s sailing qualities again. Then with levers we inserted them un- der the cutter’s keel. This done, we began to roll her proudly across the smooth rock floor— a transit we performed with consum- mate ease—and pointed her bows up the steep slope cliffwards. Over the unavailing wretchedness of the next two days I must draw a veil. Shortly, we gave the business a very ample trial, and were thoroughly beaten at the start. Tug as we would, the task was en- tirely beyond us—vanquished us hip and thigh. The angle, which at first was moderate enough, increased to about forty five degrees. The weight was about ten tons. By the evening of the second day we _ had progressed about two hundred and - - fifty yards, and the worst was still to THE ARGOSY. . come. We had expended enough per- | spiration to float the boat, and had just — paused to shove in the wedges behind the rollers while we rested. We did this carelessly. They slith- ered on the smooth stone, the rollers re- volved smartly, and before we could ar- rest her progress with levers, the wretched cutter was half way back to the bottom again, bumping and strain- ing her timbers viciously. Gerry sat down and. voiced the senti- ments of the whole company at this point. He explained that to him it was obvious that no less period of time than a century would suffice to see our labor approach completion. As the span of human life was now ordered, we were unlikely, any of us, to attain to this age. Why then waste time that might just as profitably be spent in twiddling our thumbs. He added comprehensive an- athemas on any who should attempt to combat this opinion, and then relapsed into surly silence, while the panting crew waited apathetically for further developments. Then Waller suggested that our pres- ent attempt being a failure, the plan for reducing the launch to sections should be tried. This we had resolved to leave as a last resource, from haunting fears that once dismembered, we might well fail to put her together again, the book of explanations supplied by her makers having been lost. I lifted my head wearily to meet this proposal, when my words were checked in the very utterance. A dull boom, sullen and muffled at first; but swelling with grating inten- sity to a thunderous crash, rolled and reechoed down and around the gray rock basin that surrounded us. The cutter swayed and danced, hammering and splintering the rollers under her. We ourselves fell in unstudied help- iessness on the hard stone slabs. The earth quivered in our sight as the heat haze quivers in the June sun- light. A current of hot air swept over us, seeming to swamp us in murkiness. COME OOS SS) eo