Part 55 (1/2)
Be glad if ye know the accursed thing And know it accurst, for the Gift is yours Of Sight where the prophets of blindness sing By the brink of death And the Gift endures; Ye shall see the last of the sharpened lies That rivet privilege's gripe
Be still, then, ye with the opened eyes, Colad that ye loathe the accursed thing, It is given to you to foreknow the end
But they who the unwise challenge fling Shall startle foe at the risk of friend As yet unready to endure-- And can ye fend Goliath's swipe?
The slowly grinding mills are sure, Let terror alone till the tilad when the shout for the spoils, and the glee, The hoofs and the wheels of the prophets of wrong, Out thunder the warning of what shall be; Be still, for the tuer that wrote, from a polished wall As surely the closed account shall wipe; The accursed thing ye feared shall fall To a boy with a sling when the time is ripe
If the dhow had been seaworthy; if the crew had understood the rigging and the long unwieldy spar; if we had had any chart, or had known anything whatever of the coast; if nobody had been afraid; and, above all, if that incessant din of surf pounding on rocks not far away to starboard had not threatened disaster even greater than the Gerht have been si me who held the tiller (and the lives of all the party) in uised fear under an acid temper and some villainously bad advice
”Steer toward the in my ear ”Steer toward them!
Ram them! Sink them!”
Coutlass, on my other hand, made feverish haste with his love-affair, fearful lest discovery by the Gerry heart's desire
”Steer toward shore!” he urged me ”Who cares if we run on rocks?
Can't iive them a run for it!”
He seized the tiller to reinforce the argument, and wrenched at it until I hit him, and Fred threatened him with the only rifle
”Get up forward!” Fred ordered; but Georges Coutlass would not go
”Gassharaht the whole damned crew before I let her out of the hollow of ain and I'll kill you!” Fred warned hiet out and swim!” Coutlass retorted
Will was up forith Brown, looking out for breakers through the spray that swept over us continually I watched the glow that rode above the launch's funnel, , when I found time for it, at the mystery of why the cotton sail should hold The firm, somewhere in Connecticut, who made that export calico, should be praised by name, only that the dye they used was much less perfect than the stuff and workmanshi+p; their tradeed under the bellying sail, throwing up both hands, and he and Brown screamed at ht!”
The Germans had passed us, but not bytheir propeller out of the water half the ti slightly from us toward them, and I could have sworn they heard Will's voice Yet there was nothing for it but to put the helreat wave swept us At that the Greek, the Goanese, and all the natives in the hold set up a yell together that ought to have announced our presence to the Seven Sleepers
I held the helh Now I could see the fangs of rockaround them See? I could have spat on thely toward the rocks, for a backwash of some sort helped the helm and on clear, about a third full of water, with the crew too panicky to bail
”Hold her so!” yelled Fred in et too close and they see us, I've the rifle! They haven't seen us yet!”
”Rocks ahead again!” yelled Will ”To the left again!”
We were in the gaping jaws of a sort of pocket, and it was too late to steer clear
”Throw the anchor over!” I roared, ”and let go everything”