The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1892-10-16

the sea. by it's advance, cut OFF the possibii-
ity of retreat.
My courage had been fa'nting; it now ex-
pired. l gave vent 10 shrieks for help
shrieks so shrill and piercing that they rose
above the noise of the storm. and brought
the aid for which / clamored to my SIDE.
Mr.. Close. hardly less agitated than 1
was myself. stood beside me.
Look at my arm" i yelled; cit hangs
like that; it hurts me fearfully. Why did
you go awayf If you had stayed here 1t
would not have happened. You had no
right to leave me-"
There was no violent compassion. tender
sympathy, nothing to soothe my feelings
about Nh. Close. There was no approval.
nothing like it in his eyes. He wasted
neither words nor time. but feeling my
broken, he bound 1t. both above aud be-
low the fracture, with our several hand
kerchlefs to his walking stick
During this operation L did not scream as
loudly as / could have done, but my means
and groans discounted him.
Poor girl,v he said. 1T hurts badly. /
am clumsy, but there Is no time to waste
we must be quick. We can't walk two
abreast. there is barely foorhoId for o gull.
But if on keep your head you are n good
climber. Yes. yes, | see the fall has upset
you, but summon all your pluck, there Ia
not o moment to spare; we must round the
cliff before the sea gets 70 the point. Come
on"
Qlu uOb COutO vi, one nov uV"A VI
the sesweed. aud. rocking myself to and
This will never do. Come. Mildred"
II won't come. / dsren't move. l am
afraid to stir. Iou must carry me-"
He looked at me in q kind Of breathless
horror.
.To attempt such a thing would be death
to both of US" he cried. Garry you along.
this slippery cliff A sheer impossibility!
You are so plucky. Mildred, come, you are
not afraid.v
This appeal did not touch me.
Il am afraid. 1 am awfully afraid, and
/ shall not come. You have not got o
broken arm."
II can't. carry YOU" he said-he did not
look angry, only rather white-"but, per-
haps | can help you. Stand mp"
l did SO. then he took Oft his necktie.
which he slipped through my leathern belt
support in his hand he drove me on ahead
of him. Though l staggered and tottered,
and though my head reeled, yet the firm
ness of his grasp was reassuring and L
clambered on. All the rude and angry
things / said TO III IN my pain and lear
may have been w III the din of the
storm; at any rate, he never answered me.
Any man would have shown forbearance
with the owner of u broken arm.
1t was n terrible climb In the teeth OF the
wind. | do not suppose that Mr.. Close was
q coward but when we reached the Juttlng
cliff and found that the sea had submerged
the gulley, IN which the breakers seethed
and roared, he turned white as death and
set his teeth, grOaning with as deep q Rroan
as any which my shattered arm had wrung
from me.
began to cry afresh.
Look! look" / said, "the sea is deep upon
the path, the tide has turned before its
time. / know it has. And 1 can't swim;
no one could swim in such q sea. We shall
be drowned, we must be drowned; nothing
osn save u.s."
-
than his face. He said that on his way he
had met two fishermen, who. on hearing
whittier he was bound had warned him OF
the tide and of the danger of tho rocks.
IL told them why / went" he said; "no
doubt they'll keep a look ont for us. and
when we don't come back they will under
stand"
Understanding is no good.n / sobbed.
they can't save us. no boat could take us
of; the storm is fearful. and l can't be
would be agony"
A wave bigger by far than its fellows.
came tearing mp the gulley ut a gallop,
drenehing the rock on which We stood.
place isn't safe now. We m climb as far
up the cliffs as possible; with luck we may be
able to reach hlgh-water mark, and save
ourselves without the help of anyone"
For the second time / sat down on the
sea-weed and refused to move: the PAIN and
terror drove me frantic.
Mr.. Close scolded. beseeched. implored.
threatened me. 1 was immovable. Finally
he resorted to O measure which uDdld us
both; he was pale as ashes, and his rough
voice grew tender a gentieness softeIed
his shrewd eyes. / held my breath, and
stopped my sobs and listened.
| Mildred he said, won are q woman.
You must have beneath these childish
vagaries q w0nan's heart. If you won't
think of your life. think of mine. which is
not wholly mlnc, for l have given 1t away
and Gomez
1 arose slowly to mJneet. and went a
step in the direction be Xiicated.
My own voice was not sweet, 1t croaked.
but it was very low. "Given up lifef
What nonsense! Who tot"
TO some one for whom ] must keep it,
Mildred. She thinks 1t Is worth keeping"
"Who is shef'
thought l knew the answer-my arm
ceased aching as / listened.
You do not know hers"
mo; You have never seen her. She is q
cousin of my own"
The pain came t~6robbing back into my
arm, and daIted further hot and sharp. in
gaze with q conscious smile. which means
but one thing in the world. The blood
came rushing to my head, turning me
dizzy.
yes"
You only wsnth her"
Again that smile which meant go much
and maddened me. / had halted dead; /
felt him pulling at my belt to induce me to
move on.
Leave me alone,nI cried. struggling to
free myself. Let me 60. How dare you
touch me. / don't want you to save me. /
would rather die. Let me go.n
AS he but held me the closer for my strug-
giles, l lost oil attempt at self control; I
wrenched violently at his restraining hand,
wrenched myself free.
he made a grasp at my skirt, which /
leaDed aside to avoid; for the second time
that day my foot slipped; for the second
time L fell. But this time there was no
rock beneath; nothing between me and the
ranging ~sea-nothiDg between the furious
wave and me.
When / struggled painfully back to a
painful existence L found myself in an I'M
known room. Many days passed before l
had strength to feel interest in the past,
present or future. lay passive, luIled IN,
TO quiescence by the narcotics given me
by the doctor, who haunted my bedside at
this period. But the dreamy indifference
was not to last; gradually my faculties
T~eawakeDed nv powers of suffering and
thought returned. / was considered eonal
to hearing what must be told me and SO the
story was told.
My mother broke the sad part of that tale
slowly and CONSIDERABLY TO me. But
whether one is lowered gently into the
arms of sorrow or flung hurriedly thither,
pain wears the same grim aspect face to
face.
1t seemed that at the same moment as l
fell into the sea the fishern,en of Uhom I