The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1905-02-02

| - moran was ALREADY on her
| ~ feet. "We'll have to beach
her." she cried, land we're
six miles out! Up y'r jib, mater The
two set the jib, flying jib and stay
sails.
The fore and main sails were already
drawing, and under all the spread of
her canvas the Bertha raced back to-
ward the shore.
But by the time she was within the
head of the bay her stern had settled
to such an extent that the forefoot was
clear of the water, the bowsprit point
ing high into the heavens. Moran was
at the wheel, her scowl thicker than
ever, her eyes measuring the strength
of water that lay between the schooner
and the shore.
'She'll never make it in the world"
she muttered as she listened to the
wash of the water in the cabin un-
der her feet In the hold empty bar
rels We're af1oat, knocking hollowly
against each other. "We're in a bad
way, mate"
IF it comes to that" returned Will
bur, surprised to see her thus easily
downcast who was usually so indomi-
table-"if it comes to that, we can
swim for it.a couple of planks''-
"Swim?" she echoed. I'm not think
ing of that. Of course we could
SWIM
"What then?"
''The sharks!'
Wilbur's teeth clicked sharply togeth-
er. He could think of nothing to say.
AS the water gained between decks
the schooner's speed dwindled, and at
the same time as she approached the
shore the wind, shut off by the land,
fell away. By this time the ocean was
not four inches below the stern rail.
Two miles away was the nearest sand
spit. Wilbur broke out distress sig
nal on the foremost in the hope that
Charlie and the deserters might send
off the dory to their assistance, but the
deserters were nowhere in sight,
"What became Of the junk?" he de-
manded suddenly of Moran. She mo-
toned to the westward with her head.
"Still lying outside
Twenty minutes passed. Once only
Moran spoke.
when she begins to co." she said,
shell go with a rush. Jump pretty
wide, or you'll get caught in the sue
ton"
The two had given up ali hope. Mo-
ran held grimly to the wheel as mere
matter of form. Wilbur stood at her
side, his clinched fists thrust into his
pockets. The eyes of both We're fixed
on the yellow line of the distant beach.
BY and by Moran turned to him with
an odd smile.
Were a strange pair to die togeth-
err" she said. Wilbur met her eyes an
instant, but, finding no reply, put his
chin in the air as though he would
have told her she might we'll say that.
"A strange pair to die together" Mo-
ran repeated, 'but we can do that bet
ter than we could have"-she looked
away from him-"could have lived to-
gether," she finished and smiled again
"And yet" said Wilbur, ''these last
few weeks here on board the schooner
we have been through a good deal-to-
gether. I don't know" he went on
clumsily-"I don't know when I've
been-when I've had-I've been hap
pier than these last weeks. 1t is queer,
isn't it? know, of course, what you'll
say. I've said it to myself often of
late. I belong to the city and to my
life there, and you-you belong to the
ocean. I never knew girl like you
never knew a girl could be like you.
You don't know how extraordinary it
all seems to me. You swear like
man, and you dress like man, and
don't suppose you've ever been asso-
ciated with other women, and you're
strong-I know you are as strong as