The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1888-10-04


out, eve are lost!n She flung herself into
the bottom of the boat and laid her head in
Oakhurst's lap like a frightened child. He
soothed her and denied that there was any
danger; he did not venture to tack again.
however, for fear of being swa1nped, but de-
termined to run northwardly along the coast
beach before the fury of the storm should
come The boat now careened 90
Tar, that her gunwale was under
water; he saw that he must take
4 in the mainsail With some difficulty he
persuaded Irene to hold the tiller while he
let go the halliards The mainsail came down
with run, and the boat kept on with the jib
only, though of course at slower rate.
They were still two or three miles from shore,
and the storm increased momentarly. The
rain now fell in blind torrents, and black
ness as of night brooded over the sea- Oak
hurst was utterly bewildered, but held on to
the tiller with his aching, stiffening hand and
strove to inspire his companion with courage.
The boat was "down by the head" on account
Of the winds drawing the jib, and rolled and
plunged furiously Behind were threatening
pillows, and before were ragged, PERCEPTIONS
rocks, round which the surges boiled and ed
lied. Oakhurst quailed as he neared the aw-
full coast; hi, heart stood still as he thought
Of the peril to helpless woman in Chamber
ing up those cliffs, even il she were not
drowned before reaching them. Every flash
Of lightning seemed to disclose some new hor-
ror. If life is measured by sensations. he
lived years of torture in the few minutes
during which he waited for the shock Of the
bows against the granite wall Irene,
ID FOR fol boI S~1>
her sobbing, painting breath showed the
i extremity of terror that had pursued
her as long as consciousness remained.
Nearer and nearer they come; an oars
length a step; they touch now No, wave
careens the boat, and she lightly grazes by.
Now opens Cleft perhaps wide enough for
her to enter With helm hard down the bow
sweeps round, and they float into a narrow
basin with high, perpendicular walls, open
ing only towards the sea- When within this
! little harbor, the boat lodged on a shelv-
ing rock and keeled over as the wave
retreated. Oakhurst and his companion,
who had now recovered from her swoon,
kept their places as though hanging at the
caves OF house. They were safe from the
fury of the storm, but there was no prospect
of an immediate deliverance. The rock rose
sheer above them thirty or forty feet, and
they were shut up in the bottom of well.
The waves dallied about the narrow en-
trance, shooting by, meeting, or returning
on the sweep of an eddy; but at intervals
they gathered their force, and. tumbling
over each other, rushed in, dashing the
spray to the top of the basin, and complete
ly drenching the luckless voyagers. This,
however, was not SO serious matter as it
would have been if their clothes had not been
wet before in the heavy rain. The tile
slowly rose, and the boat foated higher
and higher against the rock as the
shadows began to settle over the gulf
In spite of the peril they had encountered,
and their present discomfort and perplexity,
Oakhurst now experienced all indescribable
pleasure. Irene was exhausted with fatigue
and terror, and rested her head upon his
i shoulder. Unconsciously he used the cheer
ing, caressing tones which the circumstances
naturally prompted 1t was an occasion to
draw out what was most manly, most ten
der, most chivalric in aim. The pride of the
woman was gone, her articles forgotten. In
that hour she had looked beyond the fic-
titious distinctions of society; she had found
herself face to face with her companion
without disguise, as spirit looks upon spirit,
and she felt herself drawn to him by the
loyalty which superior nature inevitably
inspires
A slight movement of the boat caused Oak
hurst to turn his head just behind him
there was shelf not three feet above the
gunwale beyond was second step, and still
farther a winding fissure. After 1-.easuring
the distance again with his eye, to be sure
that he should raise no Elusive hope, he
pointed out to Irene the way to escape.
Their conversation had naturally taken an
affectionate turn, and Oakhurst's delicate
courtesy and ambiguous words had raised
tumult in her bosom which could no longer be
repressed She flung herself into his arms,
and with tears exclaimed:
"Dear James, you have saved my life! 1t
is yours! Take mel'
The rush of emotion swept away the last
barrier; he yielded to the impulse; he clasped
her fondly in his arms and gave his heart and
soul to her keeping Carefully he assisted
her up by the way he had found, and when
at last they reached the top of the cliff, both
fell ON their knees in gratitude to Heaven for
their preservation. Then new embraces and
protestations. Rain and salt spray, hunger
and fatigues were of little moment in that
hour. A
i Near the cliff stood gentleman's villa, and
to that they now fastened to procure dry
clothing before returning home. They found
the welcome hospitality they expected, and
after rest and refreshment started to walk to
avillage where they could obtain transporta-
ton back. But at the gate they met Palette
and Mrs. Norcross, who alarmed at their long
absence, had driven in a barouche along the
coast in hope of hearing some tidings of the
boat
The wanderers were overwhelmed with
4 congratulations, mingled with deserved re-
proofs for their rashness in venturing forth
without their pilot On the way home, Oak
hurst told the story which the reader already
knows, emitting only some few passages.
II Palette said, with meaning emphasis:
Il II thought SO. thought what would hap
pen. You aren't drowned, to be sure; but
a some people can't be drowned; better for
II them, if they couldl"
Il Oakhurst made no reply to the brusque sar-
casm, but drew Irene closer to his side. He
could not talk after such an adventure, es-
pecially while in contact with the woman for
whom he had risked SO much.
\ Poor little Agnesl