Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-08-24

those floating cakes Of ice, tossed by
the waves through which we sought
passage.
At SIX o'clock We took careful stock
Of our supply Of provisions, and served
out q small ration al around. after
ward arranging the several watches
for the night and distributing. as equal
u as possible. the blankets and extra
clothing. The wind felt colder, the
sea coming up q Bit and Dade and
Kelly fixed up q piece Of spare can
vas at the stern to protect the steers
man from the dash of icy spray. De
Nova took the uller, and seeing no
signs Of a bad night lay down amid.
ships, though not until / had com
PEELED Lady Darlington. to seek rest
also. Whether she found It or not
can not say, but ] was asleep instant.
~, and knew nothing until Johnson
called me at midnight.
There was no great change in con-
ditions as stumbled sleepily aft to
take the tiller. The boat was sailing
free, but with reef in the mainsail,
owing to marked stiffening Of the
wind. The intense loneliness of the
scene cast an even stronger spell over
me nows-those awful wastes Of soil
tude above and below; the far.on
steely glitter Of stars: the nearby
white crested waves; the little. insig-
| nificant dot Of boat in which we
tossed. thought upon those leagues
upon leagues Of barrenness stretching
away to the north, east, west, south,
the vast fields of ice, the extent of
storm-lashed seas, the seeming hope
lessness Of our efforts at escape, and
choked in my throat, my lips pressed
tight, my eyes staring blindly out in
to the smother
| Suddenly the blanket at my feet
stirred, apd Lady Darlington sat up,
her back against the gunwale and face
upturned to mine. The cold CLEAN
Of the moon revealed her features,
clear cut a. . cameo, framed by the
darkness of her hood. I could dis
tinkuish tho delicate tracery of her
lashes, and, beneath that light, the
gray Of her eyes appeared black.
! Il have been studying your face, Mr..
Stephens" she said quietly, land have
read there the helplessness of our sit
uation."
1 rallied instantly, endeavoring to
speak lightly.
You translate wrongly. That was
only the depression Of the scene yon-
der; the awful loneliness of sea and
sky affected my spirits. You should
not draw hasty conclusions"
| Nor have I. Even such a sea and
sky never gave you that look of de-
SPAR. know you too we'll to believe
that. You consider our situation des-
perate."
! looked at her closely. but it was
not fear / saw in the uplifted face.
ut il certainly serious enough" |
admitted. believing it useless to at
tempt any deceit. "but not hopeless
We have stanch boat under us, sui.
ficient food for al our probable needs
and favorable wind. While there is
life there is hope"
She made 6 little eloquent gesture
Of the hands.
please do not say that. Those
words are always the last effort to
bolster up courage. Keep them for
the men, but trust me with the exact
TRUTH
ASK and viii answer"
"What chance have we Of rescue ?"
turned nay eyes away before ven
turing to reply, yet l dared not utter
an untruth.
1.-TWO: the being picked up by some
passing vessel, or the attaining Of in.
habitabls land
"Are there any vessels In this sec
at this season?"
1T il hardly probable there are, un.
loss It should b some whaler blown
from her course around the Horn"
Then our only practical hope lies
in reaching land by our own efforts %
She leaned forward, her hand touching
mine as 1t grasped the tiller. her earn.
est eyes compelling me to look at her
eyes"
! "How-how far away IL this land ?
i I hesitatsd. actually afraid mysel
to speak the answer, but her hand
clasp merely frightened.
please tell me. III wish 70 know
the very worst Such knowledge viii
be easier to bear than this awful
doubt"
But hardly know myself" I con
fessed desperately. II have had n,
observation for several days, and cal
only guess the rate Of progress of tn
) Sea Queen. or our drift during tn,
storm. will be perfectly honest witt
you, though, and give you my hes
Judgment. I believe we must be be
4 tween four and Ave hundred miles Il
the east and north Of Doughsrty is
land, and not yet beyond the limit Q
drift Ice. There would be no use II
our attempting to turn back for tina
point Of land. 40 II 10 nothing but
rock, and We could never find 1t by tn
mere guidance Of compass. Our onl,
chance is to bear away to the north
east toward land and the track 0
ships"
4 How far7 WHAT land7"
i 1.-THE western coast Of South Amer
lea; at least 1890 miles"
| / felt her shudder. and scarcely n
alizing that I did 20. or the signif
canoe OF the action. impelled by ~
impulse beyond all control. drew he
hand within both my own as thougl
In pledge Of protection.
1T can be DONE" I insisted. "Sucl
boat voyages have been accom-