The interior journal. [volume] (Stanford, Ky.) 1905-1910, 1910-07-29
CHAPTER VII.
Cast Up by the Sea.

watch which she mad taken tne pre-
caution to wind Just before she re-
tired disclosed the fact that 1t was
four o'clock in the morning. She had
slept unbrokenly since IL o'clock the
morning before. Her sleep had been a
stupor OF utter and complete exhaus-
ton. Added to the tremendous physi-
cal strain of keeping awake and at
tending to the duty to which she had
enforced herself had been the further
strain of the terrible events on the
night In which she left the yacht. and
the apprehension Of pursuit which had
been continually with her. Her first
motion, indeed, was to rise to her feet
and scan the horizon. With relief in
describable her scrutiny discovered
nothing. She was still alone. Neither
the yacht nor any other vessel nor
any smallest speck Of land was sill
houetted against the circling sky line
She sat in the boat musing 9 long
;s.ps and then woke 60 the fact that
she Was huns,y' Again she satisfied
..sf appetite sparingly from her scanty
and rapidly dipinishing store II fo2e
and drink, and then putting the past
resolutely behind her. hoping and per-
haps faneying by some exercise OF her
will power finally she cou.l put it be-
hand her forever, she gave serious
thought to her condition.
She realized at last that she in
the hands-another would have said
Of God! she said of chance The fact
that she was SO helpless: that all her
learning and all her training. and
all her skill and all her power we're
Qf no avail, made the situation the
more CALLING, Was there nothing
that she could do! She reflected
deeply and as she did so the
breeze sprang UP. She judged that
the period during which she had slept
had been calm and still. Any violent
rocking Of the boat would have awak-
ensd her. Indeed, she felt bitterly
crampsd and stiff from having lain so
long on the hard floor, which only the
boat cloak, thick and heavy. made a
tolerabls bed.
The coming of the breeze stimu-
lated her imagination II was a gen.
tie breeze. She noticed that It blew
from the direction whence she had
come by her compass course. II she
only had a sail Of some kind the boat
would be driven along. She must
move somewhere. She had heard Of
ocean currents and drift but she
doubted whether the boat was moving.
at least sufficiently fast or in any
definite direction to make any differ
snce. Unless she got somewhere, she
would slowly starve and die Just
whore she was. She stepped forward in
the boat and examined the oars. There
was q sort Of a deck forward over
she might make shift with the remains
Of the painter. Of which she had a
good length. to fasten one OF the oars
In an upright position against IT,
There we're bolts and rings of various
sorts on this little deck. She could
step the handle OF the oar between
eiests or ribs at the bottom. At least
she would try.
Her training had not been manual.
but shs vas bright enough to supple
msut hsr lack Of skill and after some
hours Of hard work she actually got
enc oar In an upright position and Sc
oursly dashed. Out Of the heavy cloak
more . huge circular than anything
slss-she improvised . sail with the
9TH ear ~ q boom thrust across the
boat between the mast and the little
forward deck. The coat had been
heavily braided. She ripped the silk
braid from the edge. cut on the hood
of the cloak and managed a triangular
sail laced By the silk braid to mast
and boom.
Tue boom was immobile and the
only way she could sail was straight
before the wind. II the wind shifted.
she would shift with IT, She had some
sliSht control over the vessel with the
helm. but that was ALL IL was noon
vhsn she finished her iabors, but she
vas more than satisfied with what she
had accomplished. for the CLOAK was
bsg enough to give an appreciable |
way 10 the boat. She guessed II might |
be three or four knots an hour. That |
would be nearly 100 miles . day.
she could exc out her provisions and
wstsr for ave or six days longer and |
she could 20 without for two or three
days AftsF the last drop and morsel
had vanished. Perhaps she might run
aovn 3 habitabis islsad In that time.
although this possibility was
more faint thsa the other. she might
be seen By some vessel and picked up.
Az any rate. all she could do was done.
She felt better. too. because she had
made . human eentribution to the de-
OF her fate. She was NO
longer absolutely at the play OF |
chance. For ave days she sailed
on. the bresss remaining even
lad holding uavaxyinsly true for that
period. She learned the trick OF lash
Ing the wheel st zisht aaa 90 vas
able 70 take ~ assA rest - her tired.