The Deep Water Pirates by Wesley Ellis

Author:Wesley Ellis
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2010-03-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 7

Next morning found the Antler Inn padlocked and J. J. Madigan missing. The vagrant gunhands Jessie had noticed before were absent from their posts in front of the saloons, and though the town’s abnormal calm provoked much gossip and speculation, Jessie, Ki, and Laird offered no opinions, much less explanations. They were just silently glad that work on the Snohomish could continue safely and uneventfully.

Chief Engineer Norris’s prediction of a week proved close to the mark. But at the end of six full days, the engine was reassembled, steam was up, and the tired crew chafing to depart. There were no cheers, no crowd of people to see the ship off.

By now word had come through Port Tenino by way of trollers and southbound steamers that salmon were showing off the Southgates, the Deserters group, even up into Johnstone Strait. That meant there was a good chance they were already spawning up the tributaries that fed Glacier Bay. And every day Oceana missed fishing and canning was one day closer to ruination—and nobody could forecast how thick the salmon would run, or for how long before they’d abruptly, mysteriously vanish till next season.

So, even though Madigan’s plot to sink the ship had been foiled, the delay for repairs made the odds look bleak for the Snohomish to arrive in time to make a success of this season. Only unreasoning stubbornness drove Capt’n Errol and crew toward the only goal that was left for them. Helmsmen rubbed tobacco in their eyes to keep awake. The engines remained wide open and would remain that way day and night till the bitter end. Hands reeled with exhaustion as they stoked the fires, depending on their mates to drag them into bunks. They ate when they could and slept the same way. It was a suicide pace.

Still, the Snohomish was eating up the miles and that brought a kind of peace to Jessie and Ki. Ahead lay a tricky, heartless sea that was no respecter of plans, persons, or ships. Ahead lay fuel camps where it took money on the line for wood or coal or other supplies, and practically all the cash on board had gone for repairs. But they were a fighting outfit, ready to battle to the death to reach their goal.

On and on, driving—driving. Spring brought morning fog along the Inland Passage, which sometimes lifted during the day. Sometimes it didn’t. The Snohomish had to cope with that added hazard, running time-and-compass courses in the murk and guided by blasts from the steam whistle echoing back from the nearby shoreline. Again savage storms flayed the coast. The surf rose and fell, and still the bow of the Snohomish breasted the current as the crew fought their hearts out. The strain was telling, though. The hands grew gaunt, snappish, but never once did a man spare himself. Save for fuel stops, the steamer never faltered. Full speed ahead by day and by night.

As the steamer approached Seymour Narrows, the cannery crew came on deck.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.