The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-10-22
CHATTER XIX. rhe RIinfi Shin.

The heavy boat missed Dowsett's left shoulder by a bare six inches, and the wave drenched him from head to foot. Then the door was flung open, and Mrs. Dowsett appeared against the background of light.
 .sWhat be upgs What be upg" she screamed, her thin. sharp voice ris- ing above the tumuIt of the storm. -Come down. you fule; the house is fallin'."
 And. indeed, the worthy woman might well have supposed that the heavens themselves were crashing down on her cottage. for the dinghy had shaken the wacden building with such violence that the plates had danced oH she Kitchen shelves.
 The man slowly descended the lad der and hiss wife seized him by the arm.
 .s'Tis only tn cid boat" he growied. "'Tain't knocked the house down. has her? The waters begun to top the bank. and wave loDped over and rolled her down."
 Lantern in hand, he inspected the tinbers of the house. Two of them were split from end to end, but that was the sole extent Of the damage. Mrs. Dowsett was treasured, but she cast an anxious glance at the tall bank of earth and stone.
 q q Twill hold Come you in. Sam. and change clothes. afore you get chill ed.s
 'srn take the boat round t'other side of tue house he replied. .There'll be . deal of water down this bank afore tide turns. and mebbe she'll bump a hole in us and herself as we'll Lend a hand, will 'ee?"
 He caught hold of the boat with his fv,l nl drou all the path to the bank of the cottage. Mrs. Dowsett lent the assistance of her thin, muscular arms. Scarcely had they reached the shelter of the bufld- ing when great wave curled over the top of the bank and surged round the house in 8 flood of water six inches deep.
 yThe door's open,Y screamed Mrs. Dowsett, and. entering by the back door, she spIashed and padded along the passage till she reached the kitch- ens The water was an inch deep on the floor. but Pat slept calmly before the fire. too exhausted to move rem his unenviable. position.
 Mrs, Dowsett closed the door and bolted it, and her husband brought in an old piece of sailcloth and laid it against the bottom vE the woodwork. This, weighted with a few pieces of scrap iron, formed some kind of ob- sfruction to the water which might force its way in through the crack.
 wed best get upstairs" he said grimly If us don't want to get our feet wet"
 There was a loud crash against the wall of the house, and. as the door rattled, thin streams of water squirted under the canvas A look of fear came into Mrs. Dowsett's face.
 Iris nowt," the man said, with a cheery laugh. Twill all drain off in- Co tn big ditch behind. and there's pight hundred acre of land for it to ppread itself in. I'm thfnkin' we pet"
 But the wall. sam,'' she muttered. "if she goes--I ain't afeard. I'm Bhinkin' of that poor lass upstairs God !, Bend she sleep sound through all this.p
 lis a good wall" he replied stur- Pily; father helped to build her, and Dc said twas a good wall. and he Dughter know You get upstairs that's D good woman, and I'll fetch Ripper hfore he gets drowned. You take Pat along of you, and put him in the lass's room. We can't have a dog fight on bop of all this row"
 Mrs. Dowsett went upstairs and halg dragged, half coaxed the miserable Pat into Laura's bedroom. He lay down in 3 corner. and feebly licked his paws Laura, stiIl under the influence of the drug which Dr. Hardy had given her slept soandly and neither the din of the storm, nor the roar of the waves against the sea-wall, nor the continual splash and chatter of the water against She side of the house itself reused heI From her sleep.
 God send the sleepin' stun hold, 7 Mrs. Dowsett murmured. much as q mariner might speak of his cable.
 Then Dowsett appeared with the col lie, and before the dog could growl oI cry out at Pats presence, he was kick ed through the door on to a hear of curtains.