Evening star., 1896-10-31

ever saw in that, part Of the world, we
were all chilled to the marrow OF our bones
The water Of the Maine coast is by nature
aea s had Ssen # in tss ss. se
tom Of that boat ten minutes was so
numb below The waist that I should not
have known y II a a1dogfsh had bitten me
Of water part Ct the time was freezing; the
remainder had ceased to suffer; 1t was
At At first our minds r. directed us: we tried
failed; then our minds failed: and at last
there was nothing left but dogged. in
stinctive resistance. l knew nothing ex-
cept that 1 would not let 10 Of the keel Of
to relnquish their grip on Alice Wood
wards arm.
Shirley must have been in a little better
condition. He at least could see and hear
pended operations for me. 1t was Shirley
who discovered that We were drifting into
breakers; 1t was he who walked me with a
last appeal when we were dashed against
something biack that lowered above US,
and frightened more than 1t cheered me.
After that remember fighting my way
up an interminable slope Of rock covered
with seaweed' while the waves pursued us
ana tried to drag the burden that was
between us back into the sea- One last
enort, and ! saw that we were all to-
gether on solid land again, and it flashed
across my mind that We were SAFE Then
al the nerves and muscles in my body
gave way at once, and fell, but have no
recoiiection OF any shock when" struck
the hard surface Of the ledge.
For an interval Twas as destitute of
CONSEQUENCES as In the absence of evi-
dence to the contrary 1 would have held
the rock on which lay to be- And to the
rock. l suppose. the period since it was
created does not differ from q second
mt I,,,c,,
with me-. My first sensation was of cold ;
then l felt the others around me; and
Immediately dash of water struck me
In the fs ce. 1 supposed that some one
had thrown 1t on me to revive me.
Never mind that" sad 1, as cheerfully
as might be; m wet enough as 1t is.'
l sat up and again the water struck me-
This time l saw that it was the spray
of the wave that had broken on the rocks
in front of me.
why don't we go up higher" asked
We can't" replied Shirley. gloomily.
We're on top of the ledge now"
1 struggled to my feet All around me
was darkness SO intense that / could
see nothing but the foam of breaking
waves. To windward was a great path OF
white where the water was churning over
q rough floor Of rock, just awash BY this
the waves were broken before they reached
the edge OF the upper ledge where We had
found respite from the Storm and only
the largest of them flung their spray up
to us. Yet our elevation above the water
was not more than three feet
-, In the name Of heaven. Frank" said
how Is the tide?''
Rising" said Shirley. Bert, it's all
over with us. We're on Gull rock OF one
of the other lodges in that bunch, and
they're all covered at high water
Frank, are you sure?'
I'VE capsized a mile and a half due
east of Spruce Head, with the wind south
west and the tide just beginning to run in, -
sad he You can figure it out for your
self. ,You remember the course We laid
out yesterday from Spruce Head across
the bay between the Gull Rock lodges and
the Round Islands? East northeast, a half
east"
Frank, we're lost"'
Steady" he cried, clutching my arm
and wheeling me around till i faced the
spot where the others crouched upon the
ledge. She knows, and she is not afraid
l won tlet you go TO pieces 1 can't save
your life. and that's short thing, any
way. You've got to die some time and
if you die, you will live again. But If
you're a coward here, eternity won't be
long enough for you to get over it,
Part III.
In my native town, some years before
saw the light, tiic1e was a man who had
a salmon weir almost directly in front of
his house. A WEIR as every one knows.
is a fence made OF long poles bearing
net, that extends far out into the water
and terminates in an inclosure where fish
are ensnared. ~ "7
The man of whom I am speaking went
out one morning to mend his weir; and
he was at work at the far end of it when
a peculiarly frightful thing happened. He
had tied his boat to a pole, and was climb
ing along the side of the salmon trap when
he lost his hold ard fell. HIS feet were
bare and ore of them struck upon broken
pole under the water. The wood was sharp
as a spear. and it was shaped like a barhed
hook. 1t pierced his foot, and the barb
held him fast.
The tide must have been about breast
high upon him as he chung to the weir, i'm
paled I have described. What cries he
sent toward his own home, standing before
his eyes upon the sunny slopo.a imagine If
you gan. No mortal heard them. And the
tide rose steadily, no faster and no slower
than on other days, and drowned him.
That story was the horror of my boy
hood. 1t came to me with the v.vidness
of a picture. on that ledge at night, with
the same death before me he had faced.