The Aberdeen Democrat. (Aberdeen, South Dakota) 1???-1909, 1906-03-16

enough for w~akefulness.. With each
lurch of the boat it seemed more in
creulple that it could endure. 1t was
such a mite Of a thing to meet so furi-
GUS an attack. Through the night
Tue fragile little craft fought it's lone
" way, bravely ignoring it's W weak
LESS and the infinite strength Of it's en-
eniy. 10 the captain, dashed to the
olluse, there were hours of grave anx-
lety-hours when he feared each wave
as II approached and wondered what
ne" damage it had done as 1t receded,
AS the wind increased toward morning
ne felt a sickening certainty that the
oia'e little boat was beaten. Somehow
sue seemed to lose courage, to waver
d olt n almost give up the fight. BE
"atched her miserably as the dismal
oa"n came up out of the sea. Yet it
was not until 7 o'clock that the crash
came which shook the passengers out
OF their berths and filled them with
snlverlng terror. The whirling Of the
broken shaft seemed to onsume the
sup. In every cabin it spoke with
horrible vividness of disaster. The
clamor OF voices and the rush of manv
rect which followed meant but one
MN Almost instantly the machinery
was stopped-an Ominous silence in the
midst of the dull roar Of the water and
the cry Of the wind.
1t was a terrified crowd that Quickly
gathered in the main cabin, but It was
a brave one. There were no cries and
rev tears. They expected anything
n were ready for the worst, but thew
would not show the white feather. It
was Mrs. Dan who broke the tension.
i made sure Of my pearls" she said.
i thought they would be appreciated
at the bottom Of the sea-"
Brewster came in upon their laugh
Ter. Il like your nerve, peoplew he ex-
claimed. You are all right. It won't
De so bad now. The wind has drop-
ped"
Long afterward when they talked
the matter over DeMille claimed that
the only thing that bothered him that
night was the effort to decide whether
the club Of which he and Monty were
members would put in the main hall
way two black bordered cards, each
bearing a name, or only one with both
names. Mr.. Valentine regretted that
ne had gone on for years paying life
insurance premiums when now bis only
relatives were on the boat and would
die with him.
h captain, looking pretty rocky
after his twenty hour vigil, summoned
his chief. Were in a bad hole, Mr..
Brewster" he said when they were
alone, "and no mistake. A broken
shaft and this weather make a pretty
poor combination"
"Is there no chance of making a
port for repairs?"
~ don't see it, sir. 1t looks like a
long pull"
1--WE are way off u course, l sup
pose." And Monty's GOODNESS won Cap
tain Perry's admiration.
Il can't tell just how much until |
get the sun, but this wind is bad. 1
suspect we've drifted pretty far"
WHY la SCt oOLQc COlcc, Cupldlu,
While the storm lasts the only thing
to do is to cheer up the women and
trust to luck"
You are the nerviest mate I ever
shipped with, Mr.. Brewster" And the
captains hand gripped Monty's in a
way that meant things. 1t was a
tribute he appreciated.
During the day Monty devoted him
self to his guests, and at the first sign
Of ~pensiveness he was ready with a
jest or a story. But he did it all with
q tact that inspired the crowd as a
whole with hope, and no one suspected
that he himself was not cheerful. For
Peggy Gray there was a special ten
d%erness, and he made up his mind that
If things should go wrong he would
tell her that he loved her.
1T could do no HARM he thought to
himself, land l want her to know"
Toward night the worst was over.
The sea had gone down and the
matches were opened for awhile to ad-
NIT air, though it was still too rough
to venture out. The next morning was
bright and clear. When the company
gathered IN deck the havoc created by
the storm was apparent. Two of the
boats had been completely carried
away, and the launch was rendered
useless by a large hole in the stern.
"You don't mean to say that we will
drift about until the repairs can be
made|' asked Mrs. Dan in alarm.
1--WE are 300 miles off the course al
ready" explained Monty, land it will
be pretty slow travelling under SAIL"
It was decided to make for the
Canary islands, where repairs could be
made and the voyage resumed. But
where the wind had ragged a few days
before it had now disappeared alto
gether, and for a week the Filter toss
ed about absolutely unable to make
Roadway. The list Of August had ar
rived and Monty himself was begin
ming to be nervous. With the fatal
day not quite two months away things
began to look serious. Over 100000
would remain after he had settled the
expenses Of the cruise, and he was
helplessly drifting in midocean. Even
If the necessary repairs could be made
promptly, it would take the Filter