San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1883-10-11

strength. Reaching the Ioch iron
which | intended to start, l sat down
TO wait. -,
[ didn't know the time, and could
only guess it by calculating from the
sunset. How long should | have to
wait2 Heaven knows, but 1t seemed
nm age. Thicker and thicker grew
the gathering darkness. The water
and the heavens blended in obscunty,
and there, at the end oil tue rocks,
sat patiently, poor iittie hgure shiv'
ering in the gloom, listening to the
! Ian Of the waves as they beat upon
the rocks, and peeriAg out to sea with
my heart in my eyes. | waited SO long
must have fallen asleep and missed
| the signal, and at that thought l was
burying my face in my hands to give
way to despair when something
stopped lne-a fash far out upon the
dark sea. There it was The mo-
ment for action had arrived.
/ Inaneed for moment to picture to
mvstH ,ha oeiuu. : OF the buoy. L
ilnsS exactly how il lay from the point,
! for had SWAN around 1T often enough
--lut not in the dark; not with the
water vast black pain. But | never
hesitated. Into the cold Hood L
plunged and struck out boldly in the
direction | had determined on, strug-
q n nard to keep my wits about ne,
/ in spite of the horrors that would
rush over me. 1t WAS physical work,
too, Ior the tide was coming in; there
were breakers in the shadows, and IN
the channel the stream was fast and
strong. 1t vas impossible to see more
than a few yards ahead, level as l was
with the water. With the tide run
ming so hard against me, it was diff
cult to tell how far out | had succeed
ed in getting. l got out of the chan
mel into the breakers, and the buffet
ing aud beating bewildered me so that
I fell into q sort of panic. threw
myself Oh my back, and in the very
act. thanks to my practiced eyesight,
that could more or less see in the
dark, I caught sight of the buoy.
There it was, bobbing up and down,
looking to me like thing of Life. l.
swan to it and kept close by. 1t was
like a friend in all this desolation OF
heaving seas. But now came the
worst watch of the whole. The lug.
ger must inevitably pass within hail
of me; but tden, my strength was
ebbing fast. l had been without food
since noon, and swimming is an ex.
acting, exerting exercise, and L had
still to exert myself resolately, with
the tide running fast, to maintain my
present position. My limbs moved
mechanically, my head was dull and
heavy, and there was sort OF ting
ling in my ears. knew that l was
going fast.
A little gleam of parting waters,
a black mass looming blacker than
the darkness, and l summoned all my
energies for a shout:
Little Lady, ahoy!'
4 voice came from the darkness:
"Little Lady it is. Who are you?"
clay to, md throw rope over
your starboard quarter" The lugger
was not thirty yards distant. l made
nv last effort and swan to her. A
rope was thrown, they hauled me on
board, and 1 had just time to give my
warning before l fell fsinting on the
deck. When | came to, the last key
of our cargo was being lowered into
the sea. We were some little distance
ND the coast, and floats were attached
to the kegs so that We might be able
to find them again. So expedltlously
was all this done, that 1t was only two
hours afterward when we beat eau
tiously up the channel and cast an
Choir opposite the mouth of the gully.
We pulled ashore in our boat. AS
she grounded and we leaped out,
dark figures started up around us and
we were surrounded by soldiers.
SIN the Kings name," said the
young officer, advancing with his
sword drawn and his cloak thrown
back to show his scarlet uniform.
My grandfather said nothing and
the Young lieutenant ordered the SER
geant TO board the lugger. My grand
father, with a quiet twinkle in his
keen, grave eye, stood looking up at
the sky, while the lieutenant kept his
ewes fixed on the ground and toyed
with his sword belt.
The sergeant was back again pretty
soon, his red face purple with wrath.
"We've been made fools of, sir,
L. ..oln;,,nl cnln ting the liantenant.