The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1903-11-25
THE GRIP
n OF HONOR
BY
cyrus ootOnSend Brady,
Author of "The S~outheners."
in The Wasp's Nest" Etc.
Copyright. 1900. BY CHARLES SCRiBMR's SONS
Copyright. 1900. BY CHARLES sCRBNR's SONS

from the thwart and crouched down
In the boat at his feet. O'Neill held
the tiller with II hand, the other
lightly stroked her golden head. She
was perfectly content. Everything was
out of her heart but he and the pres
ent. She was very still. He could see
the soft curve Of her cheek resting
upon her sweet white hand in the
moonlight. After one Of the little in
tervals OF silence he looked down upon
her again. She made no motion, and
| did not reply to q word he said softly,
and he discovered that she was asleep.
He did not wonder. The experiences
of the past few days would have killed
any ordinary IN How heroic she
had been! With what abandon she had
put aside everything for the purpose
Of saving himl She had hesitated Mt
nothing. His love for her was meas
ured by his honor; hers for him was
boundless. Twas ever so, and he had
~reproached her, spoken harshly to her,
upbraided her, turned away from her!
How could he have been so cruel! She
was SO young, his heart yearned over
her. He vowed that if God did permit
them to escape from the perils which
environed them he would make up to
her for every unkind word spoken, ev-
cry %reproach, every cutting glance, by
an eternity Of devotion.
The night, the ocean, the loneliness,
impressed him. What had he ever
done to be so blessed in the love of this
noble woman? His life, as he had said,
had been an idle m In the courts he
had played at hearts as he had played
at war OH the ships-for the fun Of the
| game. With her q serious purpose had
entered his life and was before him.
The silence of the night was broken
| only by the soft splash Of the wave
as the little boat rocked gently through
them. The gentle wind grew fainter
and fainter. Presently the flap of tho
| idle sail against the mast appraised him
that it had gone.
The white Scraps and her consort
were far, far ahead, going fast and
leaving n long white wake across the
sea. They seemed to have kept the
breeze which had failed the small boat.
Coming up from the southwark he
could see the black shapes Of the Rich
ard and her attendant ships. What
would he have given to be upon the
Geek by the side of hat dauntless cap
tain! But even could he approach the
two ships that privilege would be de-
MED him, for honor demanded that he
present himself upon the deck Of the
Scraps without delay. 1t might be
that it would be too late even then to
save Coventry, but he would go and do
his best. When the boat lost way he
sat n moment in indecision. He was SO
loath to waken the tired girl, but it
was necessary. Gently he raised her
head.
"Why, my dearest" she said, twas I
asleep? What has happened? OBJ
1t came back to her-"you are going
back to the %Serapis." Then she look
ed eagerly forward. The ships were
far off now, several miles away, and
as the breeze still held with them the
distance was increasing with every
passing moment.
1--WE do not ~advancep' she cried, q
note OF joy in her voice as her ear de-
tected the tapping of the sail. "The
wind has died out. She laughed tri-
umphantly. "We shall never reach
| them"
"And poor Coventry?" said O'Neill.
al cannot help it," she answered SIM
ply. IT think only Of you. Now, If 1
could go back alone and take his place
and let you go free I would cheerfully
do that"
"Come alongside, them" said the Of
fcer, turning inboard and giving a
sharp command. The way of the ship
was checked; she was thrown up into
the wind, and rs her broadside slowly
swung opposite O'NciH he saw that
her mainmast was gone and that she
was frightfully cut up and bore evil
dence of having participated In n ire
mendous action. Away off to the north
east n little. cluster of ships was seen
on the horizon, too far off to distln-
guish them. There was no sign OF the
Richard hat he could see. In a few
seconds the boat was brought along
side the gangway. Elizabeth clam
bered up the ladder with his assist
ance, and they stepped upon the decks.
A %frightful scene presented itself.
Upon II side, amidships, dead men,
half naked, covered with coagulatcd
blood, were literally piled up i'll Il great
heap. The deck itself was covered
with CRIME and blood, and Il handful
of men, most of them wounded i'm some
way, were distributed about the ship
endcnvorlng to effect some restoration
to order. Guns here and there were
d~ismounted; ropes cut in every dircc-
ton were lying cntanglcd in wild con-
fusion about the fife rails and masts.
The broken mainmast thrust its jagged
end a few feet into the air above the
deck. The rest of 1t was gone.
Spars everywhere were shattered, and
great riffs appeared In the tapping
canvas. The rail and bulwarks were
broken and smashed OIL every side.
There was not n single bont left swing
Ing at the dayits. Splintered wood
work showed where numberlcss shots
had taken effect, and charred pieces
of timber On every hand added heart
breaking evidence of coniagration's
devastating touch. From the depths
beneath the deck came low groans and
murlnurs of pain, accumulated by the
sharp shrek of some deeper sufferer
or the delirious raying of some fevered
patient. Elizabeth shrans back ap-
palled.
"How hosaiblep' she murmured.
"Take me AWAY. 1 cannot stand iti'
He caught her I'm his arms. A little
more and she would have tainted.