Adrift in the Wilds | Page 5

steamer was doomed beyond
all possibility of salvation, and must soon become unmanageable, when
everything would be turned into a pandemonium. One of the large
settees was wrenched loose and lifted over the stern of the steamer.
"Now," said Tim, "the minute it goes over yez must follow. The owld
staamer is going like a straak of lightning, and if aither of yez wait, he'll
be lift behind."
"All right, no danger, go ahead!"
They now clambered up, and sat poised on the stern. In this fearful
position Tim O'Rooney held the settee balanced for a few minutes.
"Be yez riddy?"
"Yes."
"Do yez jump a little to the right, Elwood, and yez a little to the left,
Howard, so as not to hit the owld thing. All riddy; here we go!"
The next moment the three were spinning down through the air, and
struck the water. They went below the surface, the boys sinking quite a
distance; but almost instantly they arose and struck bravely out.
"Tim, where are you?" called out Elwood, not seeing his friend.

"Here, to the left," responded the Irishman, as he rose on a huge swell.
"Can ye swim to me?"
"I hope so, but my clothes bother me like creation."
Strange! that not one of the three had once thought of removing their
superfluous clothing before jumping into the ocean. But Elwood was a
fine swimmer, and he struggled bravely, although at a great
disadvantage, until his outstretched hand was seized by the Irishman,
and he then caught hold of the settee and rested himself.
"Where is Howard?" he asked, panting from his exertions.
"Here he is," responded Howard himself. "I struck the water so close
that when I came up my hand hit the settee."
"I tell you what it is," said Elwood. "We ought to have brought
something else with us beside this. We have got to keep all of our
bodies underwater for this to bear us."
"And what of it?"
"Suppose some poor fellow claims a part. Gracious! here comes a man
this minute!"
"We can't turn him off," said Tim, "but this owld horse has all the grist
he can carry."
A dark body could be seen struggling and rapidly approaching them.
"Whoever he is, he is a good swimmer," remarked Howard, watching
the stranger.
"Of course he is, for it comes natural; don't you see it isn't a man, but
old Terror."
"Thank heaven for that! we never thought about him. I am glad he is
with us."

The next moment the Newfoundland placed his paw on the settee and
gave a low bark to announce his joy at being among his friends. The
sagacious brute seemed to understand how frail the tenure was that held
them all suspended over eternity; for he did nothing more than rest the
top of his paw on the precious raft.
CHAPTER IV.
A PASSENGER.
By this time our friends were a quarter of a mile in the rear of the
burning steamer. The furious pulsations of the engines had stopped, and
from stern to stern the great ship was one mass of soothing flame. The
light threw a glare upon the clouds above, and made it so bright where
our friends were floating in the water that they could have read the
pages of a printed book. The illumination must have been seen for
many and many a mile in every direction upon the Pacific.
"Yes, the steamer has stopped," said Howard; "the fire has reached the
engines, and now they must do as we have done."
"But they have boats and may escape."
"Not half enough of them; and then what they have got will be seized
by the crew, as they always do at such times."
"Look! you can see them jumping over. The poor wretches hang fast
till they are so scorched that they have to let go."
"It's mighty lucky yees are here," said Tim, "for every mother's son that
can swim will be hugged by a half-dozen that can't, which would be
bad for me."
"Why so; can't you swim?"
"Not a bit of it."
"And nothing but this bench to keep us from sinking."

"And be the same towken isn't that good enough, if it only kaaps us
afloat? Can't ye be satisfied?"
"Look! how grand!"
It was indeed a fearful sight, the steamer being one pyramid of roaring,
blazing fire, sweeping upward in great fan-like rifts, then blowing
outward, horizontally across the deep, as if greedy for the poor beings
who had sprung in agony from its embrace. Millions of sparks were
floating and drifting overhead and falling all around. The shrieks of the
despairing passengers, as with their clothes all aflame they sprung
blindly into the ocean, could be heard by our friends, and must