The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1901-08-30

leave us exposed to the tempest with
only the thick stone walls about us; ant
the latch OF the outer door ratified as Il
some one was striving to enter.
The westerly gale, rising every few
hours into a squall, gave me no chance
of leaving Sark the next day, nor fol
some days afterwards; but was not al
all put out by my captivity. All my in.
terests-my whole being in fact-was alb.
sorbed In the care Of this girl, stranger
as she was. | thought AMI moved. lived
and breathed, only to fight sep by steE
against dellrium and death.
There seemed to me to be no possibility
Of aid, The stormy waters which beat
against that little rock in the sea came
swelling and rolling in from the vast
plain OF the Atlantic and broke in tenn
pestuous surf against the island Tar.
DIFF himself was kept a prisoner in the
house, except when he went to look after
his live stock. No doubt it would have
been practicable for me to get as far as
the hotel, but to what good? 1t would
be quite deserted, for there were no Wis
itors to Sark at this season. was en-
tirey engrossed in my patient, and |
learned for the first time what their task
is who hour after hour watch the pro-
gress of disease In the person Of one dear
to them.
On the Tuesday afternoon, in tenn
porary lull of the hail and wind, start
ed off on walk across the island. The
wind was still blowing from the south
west, and filing all the narrow sea be-
tween us and Guernsey with boiling
surge. Very angry looked the masses Of
foam whlrling about the sunken reefs,
and very omlnous the iow-lying, hard
blocks Of clouds all along the horizon. |
strolled as far as the Coupee, that giddy
pathway between Great and Little Sark,
where one can see the seething of the
waves at the feet of the cliffs on both
sides three hundred feet below one. Some
thing like a panic seized me. My nerves
were too far unstrung for me to enture
across the long, narrow isthmus. | turn
ed abruptly again, and hurried as fast
as my legs would carry me back to Tar
dif's cottage.
| had been away less than an hour, but
an advantage had been taken of my abb
sence. | fould Tardif seated at the table,
with tangle of silky, shining hair lying
before him. A tear or two had fallen
upon 1t from his eyes. | understood at
a glance what it meant. Mother Renouf,
whom he had secured as a nurse, had cut
off my patients pretty curls as soon as
was out Of the house. Tardifs great
hand caressed them tenderly, and drew
out one long glossy tress and wound Ii
about my fingers. with heavy heart.
1T Is like the pretty feathers Of q
bird that has been wounded" said Tar
diff sorrowfulIy.
Just then there came knock at the
door and a sharp click of the latch, loud
enough to penetrate dame Tardif's deaf
ears, or to arouse our patient, if she had
been sleeping, Before either of us could
move the door was thrust open and two
young ladies appeared upon the door sill.
They were-it flashed across me in an
instant-old school fellows and friends
of Julia's. | declare to you honestly
had scarcely had one thought of Julia till
now. My mother | had wished for, 10
take her place by this poor girls side, but
Julia had hardly crossed my mind. Why,
in heavens name, should the appearance
Of these friends of hers be so distasteful
to me just now? | had known them all
my life, and liked them as well as any
girls knew; but at this moment the
very sight Of them was annoying.
They stood in the doorway, as much as
tonished and thunderstricken as | was,
glsrlng at me, so it seemed to me, with
that soft, bright brown lock of hair curl
ing and clinging round my finger. Never
had | felt so foolish or guilty.
Ito be continued)