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The captain stood on the f,rozen sands,<br />
a smaH, bent man, shoving his ihands<br />
deeper into tihe pO'ckets of /his ragged<br />
coat. He stared through the swirling<br />
snow to the relmains of what had been<br />
his love, ,his ship, ,and then slowly, very<br />
slowly, he shuffled towiaJrds its hulk, oorelessly<br />
thrown up on the beaclh, mercifuHy<br />
away fl'om the stinking lagoon that<br />
reeked of odl and decay.<br />
Then, he found himself standing beside<br />
the hutl, admiring its :sweet lines,<br />
caressing its oaken planks with ·lhisancient<br />
fingertips, SIOmelhow obliviouS! of the<br />
cold. He gazed up tat :tJhe stem-head to<br />
the figwrehead and remembered so many<br />
yea,rs ago he had thougi'ht that countenance<br />
to 'be so remote!! "Are you co,ld<br />
tonight?" sihe seemed to ask ...<br />
Down-easting through tihe I n d i a n<br />
Ocean, vhe sun in the sails, the curve of<br />
high canvas gaunt ag;ainst the sky! The<br />
singing of the spray against the glaring<br />
white hull rolling through the blue-green<br />
seas, in tune wiiJh the waves themselves!<br />
And 'he, tJhe skipper of that mighty ship,<br />
his feet braced on the qururter-deck, the<br />
JUNIOR PROSE<br />
Junior First<br />
Elegy<br />
40<br />
swu v,inds f.ull on his f'ace, the happiest<br />
man inaU the world ...<br />
Or beating into Rio in the mellow<br />
darkness of the tropicall night, Ughts from<br />
tlhe ihwrbour slanting acroS/S the Sihiining<br />
Wiw:ers. To listen once more to iJhe quiet<br />
strumming of many giu:itars and soft<br />
voi,ces W1hisper-caIling hi,s name in the<br />
scentedak ...<br />
Or even grappling with the winddemons<br />
'round the Horn, the horurygales<br />
s h r i e k:i n g through the rigging, the<br />
swarthy crewmen of the half-deck, ou~sing<br />
like war,riors Jas iJhey hurry up the<br />
r,at-1ines. The feeling of exhilar.ation on<br />
conquering tlhe tempest ...<br />
All these thdngs were the es'sence of<br />
his long life, and all were personified in<br />
this ship.<br />
He st€lpped haek and looked ,at her<br />
whole lengitih. Tears in his eyes for the<br />
first time in many years, :he hesitated<br />
for a long moment, then turned, and<br />
walked quietly and slowly away ...<br />
Second Prize Prose -<br />
Jon G. Blair, lOP<br />
Junior<br />
The White Cloud of Sail<br />
The great white schooner upright in<br />
her launching enadle moved slowly down<br />
the launching traek towMds the water.<br />
ContrcMed by a heavy cable she entered<br />
her eJ€rment wiitJh scarcely a splash. Tohe<br />
long overhanging stern skimmed the<br />
water lightly then settled as perfectly as<br />
was desired on tihe planning bOUird.<br />
The two great masts were firm dn all<br />
tiheir rigging. Slowly the clean white of<br />
new sails appeared on the mas1ts. The<br />
ship started to gilide OIUt of tJhe quiet bay<br />
as more saitl yardage appeared in the<br />
maze of riggings. After a short while the<br />
ship was fully rigged and was skimming<br />
lihrough tl'ne waves.<br />
Highly polished fittings shone like the<br />
sun itself. Winclhes thwt aided in hoisting<br />
s
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