Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1888-08-30

Oakhurst's lap Ike 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 swanped, but de-
termined to run northwardy along the coast
in the hope of getting ashore on some sandy
beach before the fury Of the storm should
come The boat now careened 30
far that her gunwale was under
water; he saw that he must take
IN the mainsail. With some difficulty he
persuaded Irene TO hold the tiller while he
let go the haIliards The mainsai came down
with run, and the boat kept ON with the jib
only, though of course at a slower rate.
They were still two or three miles from shore,
and the storm increased momentarily. The
rain now fell in blind torrents, and a black
ness as of night brooded over the sea- Oak
hurst was utterly bewildered, but held on to
the tiller with his aching, stiilenmg hand, and
strove to inspire his companion with courage.
The boat was "down by the head, on account
Of the winds drawing the iib, and rolled and
plunged furiously. Behind were threatening
pillows, and before We're ragged, preciptous
rocks, round which the surges boiled and ed
died Oakhurst quailed as he neared the aw-
full coast; his heart stood still as he Thought
of the peril to a helpless woman in Chamber
ing up those cliffs, even if she We're 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,
fortunately, had become insensibe, though
her sobbing, painting breath showed the
extremity of terror that had pursued
her as long as consciousness remained
Nearer and nearer they come; an oars
length, a step; they touch nowl 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 tow ards the sea When within this
little harbor, the boat lodged on a shelly
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 a 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 a well.
The waves dallied about tile narrow en-
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 luclIless voyagers. This,
however, was not so serious a matter as it
would have been if their clothes had not been
wet before in the heavy rain. The tide
slowly rose, and the boat fioated higher
and higher against the rock, as tie
shadows began to settle over the gulf.
| In spite of the peril they had encountered,
and their present discomfort and perplexity,
! Oakhurst now experienced an indescribable
pleasure Irene was exhausted with fatigue
and terror, and rested her head upon his
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 him. 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 a shelf not three feet above the
| gunwale; beyond was a second STEP and still
| farther winding fissure. After measuring
| 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 a
depressed. She flung herself into his arms
and with tears exclaimed:
"Dear James, you have saved my life! 1t
is yoursl Take mein
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 fatigue were of little moment in that
hour
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, ami
after rest and refreshment started TO walk to
a village where they could obtain transporla-
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
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
Palette said, with meaning emphasis
q thought SO. thought what would hap
pen You aren't drowned, to be sure; but
some people can't be drowned; better for
them, if they couldw
Oakhurst made no reply to the brusGue 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 Agnes!