Let's find the
log-book, and see what happened to her." Boston rummaged what seemed
to be the first-mate's room. "Plenty of duds here," he said; "but
they're ready to fall to pieces. Here's the log."
He returned with the book, and, seated at the dusty table, they turned
the yellow leaves. "First departure, Highland Light, March 10, 1844,"
read Boston. "We'll look in the remarks column."
Nothing but the ordinary incidents of a voyage were found until they
reached the date June 1st, where entry was made of the ship being
"caught aback" and dismasted off the Cape of Good Hope in a sudden
gale. Then followed daily "remarks" of the southeasterly drift of the
ship, the extreme cold (which, with the continuance of the bad weather,
prevented saving the wreck for jury-masts), and the fact that no sails
were sighted.
June 6th told of her being locked in soft, slushy ice, and still being
pressed southward by the never-ending gale; June 10th said that the ice
was hard, and at June 15th was the terrible entry: "Fire in the hold!"
On June 16th was entered this: "Kept hatches battened down and stopped
all air-holes, but the deck is too hot to stand on, and getting hotter.
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