Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-10-31

US? What do you think this is. anyway
| an excursion steamer? You stay where
you are and IL say-take care OF this
till come back. like good fellow"
| He thrust the butt Of his shotgun into
Ambers face. and the latter. Selling 1t.
was rewarded by a vigorous lush that
sent him back half a dozen feet. AT the
same time the painter slipped from his
grasp and Quain. lodging an end OF the
| eei-pot stake on the hard sand bottom.
| put his weight upon 1t. Before Amber
could recover the boat had slid off and
was melting swiftly into the shadows.
After a bit Quain's voice came back.
| Don't fret, Davy. I'm all right
Amber cupped hands to mouth and sent
a cheerful hail ringing in response. ST.
multaneously, the last. least. indefinite blur
| that stood for the boat in the darkness.
vanished in a swirl OF snow. and he was
alone with the storm and its misgivings.
Upon these he put check-wouid not
dwell upon them; but their influence none
| the less proved strong enough to breed
| in him a resistless restlessness and keep
| him tramping up and down a nve-yard
stretch OF comparatively solid earth-to
| and fro. stamping his feet to keep his
blood circulating Juggling both guns. one
| beneath either arm, launching his shout
ders up about his ears in thankless at
tempt to prevent wet flakes from Sitting
in between his neck and collar-thus, in
| terminably it seemed, to and fro. to and
fro.
In the course of time this occupation
defeated its purpose; the very monotony
of 1t sent his thoughts winging back to
Quain; he worried more than ever for his
| friend. reprOaching himself numerically
| for that he had suffered him to go alone
| or at all. Quain had wife and chill
dren: that thought proved insupportable.
Had he missed the catboat alto
gether? Or had he gained it only to find
the motor disabled or the propeller fouled
| with the wiry eel grass that choked the
| shoals? In either instance he would be
| at the mercy of the wind. for even with
the sail close reefed he would have no
choice other than to fly before the fury.
| Or had the boat possibly gone aground
SO hard and fast that Quain had found
himself unable to push her off and
doomed to lie in her, helpless. against the
fulling of the tide? Or Qast and most
grudged guess Of alb had the skinny"
proved as unseaworthy as it's dilapidated
appearance had proclaimed it?
Twenty minutes wore YEARLY away
Failing ever more densely, the snow drew
an impenetrable wan curtain between
Amber and the world of life and light
and warmth; while with each discordant
blast the strength of the gale seemed to
wax. its high hysteric cla1nor. at times
drowning even the incessant deep below
of the ocean surf. Once Amber paused
In his patrol. having heard, or fancying
he had heard. the staccato plut-plut-plut
of marine motor. On impulse, with
swelling heart, he swung his gun sky
wards and pulled both triggers. The dou-
BILE report rang in his ears loud as
thunderclap.
In the moments that followed, while he
stood listening. with every fiber of his
being keyed to attention, the sense Of his
utter isolation chilled his heart as with
cold steel.
A little frantically he loaded and fired
again. but what at first might have been
thought the faint far echo of a hail he
In the end set down reluctantly to a trick
of the hag-ridden wind; to whose savage
voice he burst not listen long; In such
storm. on such night a man had but
to hearken with a credulous ear to hear
strange and terrible voices whispering.
shrieking, gibbering. bowling untold hor-
rorS. . .
An hour passed. punctuated at frequent
intervals by gunshots. Though they
evoked no answer of any sort. hope for
Quain died hard in Amber's heart With
all his might he labored to convince him
self that his friend must have overtaken
the drifting boat. and. forced to REIN
quish his efforts to regain the oeach'
have scudded across the bay TO the mann
land and safety; but this seemed a sur
mise at best SO far-fetched, and one as
we'll not overlong TO be dweit upon lest
bv that very insistence its Tenutty be en-
phasized. that Amber resolutely turned
from II to a consideration or MS own
nIioht and problematic way OF escape
His understanding OF his situation was
nainfrIly accurate: he was marooned
mon what q flood tide made desert
Island. but which at the ebb was a pen
insula-a long and narrow strip OF sand.