Part 44 (1/2)

Murray uttered his thanks to Heaven ”Bring a light here, and look round the deck,” he exclaimed ”He may have been struck down”

The search was in vain The man who had been at the helm seemed to have been seriously injured, as he was found senseless close to the taffrail

It beca lord had been carried overboard

He must have been struck on the head; for no cry had been heard, and, owing to the pitchy darkness, no one had seen hiathered forward, they were now mustered to ascertain if any one else had been carried overboard, but all answered to their names

Murray and Jack blaht to have been on the look-out; but even had they reht not have been avoided, so suddenly had the stranger appeared running down before the wind Adair could scarcely restrain his grief for the loss of his nephew Murray immediately put the schooner about, and then kept away, so as to pass over the spot where the accident had occurred Desht possibly have recovered his senses, and kept hi ahead and on both sides, in the possibility of discovering hi was seen floating on the water

Hands were stationed at the falls to lower the boat, should it become necessary The schooner was frequently tacked, so that every inch of water was explored; but the search was in vain

Murray considered that it would be useless to atteer, to ascertain who she was, and to deth the search was abandoned as hopeless; and the yacht once more hauled her wind She was destined, to all appearance, to have a long beat up Channel

Jack undertook to convey the sad intelligence to his wife and Mrs Murray, who had re what had occurred

It was a sad event in the trip, which had otherwise been so agreeable

The wind continued to increase, and Murray felt too anxious to go below

The schooner had been put about and was now standing to the northward

He had made up his mind to run into Falmouth to wait for a fair wind, should the weather not improve Ben snatchblock ca more water than she should

We'll e than I had supposed The chief injury seems to be amidshi+ps, and I should not be surprised if the water wasn't coh one of the side berths”

Jack and Adair went below to examine into the state of affairs One of the berths on the port side had been occupied by Desht fro in every time the schooner heeled over The ladies naturally cried out with alarht have been far worse,” said Jack ”We can soon stop this We must shorten sail and keep as much as possible on an even keel”

The carpenter came beloith some tools and planks, and set to work to try and stop the leak The pu, and Ben reported that the water was decreasing Still, the injury ht be more serious than was at first apprehended, and no little anxiety was felt by all on board It ht be e having been partially repaired, the yacht was put about The leak in the side was anxiously watched, to ascertain if the water still cah the seams, but Murray hoped that it would not prove of ht easily keep the vessel clear Still he are that at any ht be forced in It seemed a wonder indeed that the yacht had not been sunk at once by the blow she had received

”The wind's co a point or two more to the south'ard, sir,” observed Ben snatchblock, who had been looking at the binnacle ”Half a point or so hts, sir I thought we should see thehts of the Lizard were seen on the port bow Gradually the wind allowed the vessel's head to be turned more to the eastward, when they appeared broad on the bow The schooner, by keeping close to the wind, was able to steer a course direct for Falh the seas at a great rate Just before dawn it again grew unusually dark and thick, so that even the bright lights of the Lizard could be seen but dimly They served, however, to show that she was at a sufficient distance from the shore, but that shore was a lee one, and should any accident happen, she would be placed in great peril

”Luff all you can,” said Murray to the helmsman, for he naturally dreaded, should the wind increase, to find hih he had confidence in his craft

Day dawned, and the Cornish land appeared stretching along from north to south, and much nearer than had been supposed Breakers were seen dashi+ng over the dangerous rocks of the Manacles, close under their lee

Just then a heavy squall struck the yacht; over she heeled, and the water rushed half up her deck, pouring in through crevices which had hitherto not been discovered To keep her aas i into the wind To shorten sail would have been equally hazardous She h the water, plunging into the seas like a being struggling for life Falmouth Harbour appeared directly ahead, with Saint Anthony's light-house on the east side of the entrance In a short time the vessel would be safe She shot by close to the buoy of the Manacles Murray knew that it was placed some distance outside the rocks He drew his breath when he saw it astern; still no one looking at hihed on his heart

By keeping the puain sufficiently to cause much alarm, but the _Stella_ had already more in her hold than was pleasant, and her stores, at all events, were likely to suffer Murray was infinitely relieved when he was able to let go the anchor, and the yacht rode safely in the beautiful harbour of Fal and size The vessel once at rest, the water was soon pumped out, and, breakfast over, Murray and Adair went on shore to obtain a carpenter capable of thoroughly repairing the daes the vessel had received, as also to ascertain whether she had received any injury beloater Meanti the o on shore They were, fortunately, not fully aware of the danger in which the yacht had been placed, and had as much confidence in her as ever The carpenter and his assistants set to ithout delay, and, wonderful to relate, undertook to have all da day A doctor was also sent for to attend to poor dick Stokes, who had remained senseless since he was taken below After some treative an account of what he recollected fro stem on towards the _Stella's_ bea, like a big ice ht it was all over with us,” he said ”I'd just ti to scrape clear of her, when I heard a crash and saw her bowsprit co away the luff of the ht I saw so on to her bobstay, and the nextelse struckoverboard It seemed as if I heard a cry, but whether it was my own shout or some one else's is more than I can tell

You see, sir, it was so dark I could not ht sight of or not I cannot tell To my mind, where the schooner was struck, she bounded off from the shi+p, or we should have been sent to the botto shi+p and not a steamer I a up above us”