Beadle's Dime Novels No. 94: The Mad Skipper — page 54: what you’re looking at

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

56 THE MAD SKIPPER. shrieks, he tossed his arms upward from the crest of a tower- ing sea. The creaking yards of the ship, as her great yellow hull rolled to and fro, seemed to mock the cries of the unfor- tunate man. : “Spring! spring!” shouted the second mate, who com- manded the boat. “ Spring quick; strong as never spring be: fore, and we get dat man safe and sound.” As he spoke, the boat was tossed high up on the summit of a huge billow, and the dusky officer, bending forward, peered eagerly ahead and listened. He could now see nothing of Collins, but an ominous gurgling shriek, faintly audible above the roar and clash of the careering waves, broke upon his ear. With loud cries, and frantic gesticulations, he en- couraged the men at the oars, until the boat was many fathoms from the ship, when he ordered them to stop pulling. “Peaking” their oars, the men then rose to their feet and glanced round them in all directions; but no sign of their shipmate could be seen, nor were his cries any longer’ to be heard. “He is a@ gone case,” said Ben Williams, “ Poof Tom! he had some good qualities; in fact, he’d have been a good shipmate in every respect, hadp’t it been for his smashin’-up fits, which, however, warn’t his fault. Well, well, he’s now where he'll never break any more belayin’-pins.” “Dat so,” answered the second mate, “and mé tink it now timé to get back.” | Since they stopped pulling, the men had not oneé looked toward their ship; and in doing so now, they were surprised to see the vessel rolling along upon her course, receding further and further from them every moment. At first, they could scarcely believe their own senses, and each looked at the other as if hoping to read some evidence of his being’ de- ceived. Every face, however, expressed consternation and unbounded astonishment; every lip was dumb. There was no mistake as to the course of the ship; she was steering due east, and must soon vanish from the sight of the boat’s crew. Frank was the first to break the silence. | “This is very strange !” he exclaimed, “ but we must not lose time. "We must take to our oars, and keep the craft in Bight as long as we can. Perhaps she will be’ hove-to for ua ow * connmiclooks.conn