|
Main
- books.jibble.org
My Books
- IRC Hacks
Misc. Articles
- Meaning of Jibble
- M4 Su Doku
- Computer Scrapbooking
- Setting up Java
- Bootable Java
- Cookies in Java
- Dynamic Graphs
- Social Shakespeare
External Links
- Paul Mutton
- Jibble Photo Gallery
- Jibble Forums
- Google Landmarks
- Jibble Shop
- Free Books
- Intershot Ltd
|
books.jibble.org
Previous Page
| Next Page
Page 69
"Look at the young Consul; how pale he is!" said one of the spectators
to his neighbour.
"Where? Where is he? I don't see him."
"He was standing close by the corner window. He looked as pale as death.
I wonder if he was insured?"
But the young Consul lay stretched upon the floor, and had pulled down
the heavy damask curtains with him in his fall.
Miss Cordsen came into the room. When she saw the Consul, she pressed
her hand to her heart, but not a sound escaped her lips. For a moment
she stood collecting her thoughts, then she knelt down, freed the
curtain from his grasp, and lifted him in her long bony arms.
He was not heavy, and she managed to raise herself with her burden. At
this moment her glance fell on the mirror opposite. A shudder passed
through her, and it was with difficulty she kept herself from falling. A
whirlwind of recollections swept through her brain as he lay on her
shoulder; and she bore him along, an aged and withered man. But she
pressed her lips together, and drawing herself up, she carried him along
like a child; and, as all the doors were open, she was able to get as
far as the staircase. There she called to one of the maids, who came to
her assistance.
CHAPTER XVIII.
After Uncle Richard had been driven from the roof of the storehouse, and
could see that all hope was over, he went off to take his turn at the
engines. He worked at the pumps with all his-might and main, as if to
deaden his sorrow; but now and again he looked towards the house and
thought, "Poor Christian Frederick!"
Jacob Worse was directing the operations, and had had the planking,
which surrounded the building-yard on the side where the warehouses lay,
pulled down in order to get room for the engines. He managed to get some
order among the men who were handing the water, and drove the idle
spectators up into the yard near the house. As he happened to pass Uncle
Richard, the latter asked him, "Do you think there is any hope, Worse?"
"No!" answered Worse, in a low tone; "I am working in sheer
desperation."
"So am I," said the _attach�_, with a nod; "but think of poor Christian
Frederick."
Just then a murmur went through the crowd, who could read the name of
the vessel--_Marten W. Garman._
"Why, that's the old Consul's name," said several voices.
Uncle Richard had already heard the name from his brother, and, looking
up, he saw the name of their father standing out in its gold letters
amidst the flames, which were curling up the vessel's side. Jacob Worse
seized the nozzle of the hose, and with one sweep forced the water to
such a height that the fire was quenched for the moment.
But now it was plain to all that the ship's fate was sealed, and even if
there were some among the spectators who might owe Garman and Worse a
grudge, still they could not but feel that it was a pity for the proud
ship to be thus doomed to destruction.
Morten had returned after his interview with his father, and was
standing close by Uncle Richard. Every eye was fixed on the ship. The
fire increased every second, and with a loud roar the flames burst out
above the roof of the storehouse, and at each blast of wind the
conflagration waxed higher and higher, until the heat by the engines
became almost intolerable. The more furiously the fire raged, the more
silent grew the crowd. No orders were heard, and the shouts of
encouragement from the seamen died away; while the strokes of the pump
no longer fell with the same determined regularity. Even Jacob Worse
lost heart.
But now a shout is heard from a small boy belonging to the West End, who
had climbed up into the rigging of a coaster which lay off one of the
warehouses. "She's giving way! She's off! Hurrah! She's off!"
Previous Page
| Next Page
|
|