. Salt-water poems and ballads. t buried door;Some cursed, some raved, but one among them turnedStraight to the manhole leaded in the floor, And sitting down astride it, drew his knife,And staidly dug to pick away the at the ports his fellows cried for life: Burst in the door, or we shall all be dead! For like a brook the leak below them felt the vessel settling; they could feelHow the blind bog beneath her gripped and fingers beat their prison walls of steel. And then the gurgling stopped — the ship was stayed ; she sank no deeper — an arrestPoth
. Salt-water poems and ballads. t buried door;Some cursed, some raved, but one among them turnedStraight to the manhole leaded in the floor, And sitting down astride it, drew his knife,And staidly dug to pick away the at the ports his fellows cried for life: Burst in the door, or we shall all be dead! For like a brook the leak below them felt the vessel settling; they could feelHow the blind bog beneath her gripped and fingers beat their prison walls of steel. And then the gurgling stopped — the ship was stayed ; she sank no deeper — an arrestPothered the pouring leak; she ceased to trod the mud, drowned only to the breast. And probing at the well, the captain foundThe leak no longer rising, so he cried: She is not sinking — you will not be drowned;The shifting sand has silted up her side. Now there is time. The tug shall put ashoreAnd fetch explosives to us from the town;Ill burst the house or blow away the door(It will not kill you if you all lie down).. c .3 THE RIVER 153 Be easy in your minds, for youll be free As soon as weve the blast. The seamen heard The tug go townwards, butting at the sea; Some lit their pipes, the youngest of them cheered. But still the digger bent above the lid,Gouging the solder from it as at first,Pecking the lead, intent on what he did;The other seamen mocked at him or cursed. And some among them nudged him as he cursed them, grinning, but resumed his game;His knife-point sometimes struck the lid and solder-pellets shone like silver flame. And still his knife-blade clicked like ticking timeCounting the hour till the tugs still the ship stood steady on the slime,While Fate above her fingered with her urn. Then from the tug beside them came the hail:They have none at the stores, nor at the at the quarry, so I tried the thought they had, but it was out of stock. So then I telephoned to town; they sayTheyve sent an engine with
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Keywords: ., bookauthormasefiel, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookyear1916
