The Mena weekly star., 1910-06-16
CHAPTER VIII.
Cast Up by the Sea.


 Day was just breaking again when Ina woman awoke. Reference to her r.tch which she had taken the pre- caution to wind just before she re- fred disclosed the fact that it was ,our o'clock in the morning. She had sleot unbrokenly since II o'clock the morning before. Her sleep had been a .tupor of utter and complete exhaus- liop. Added to the tremendous physi- ,al 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 he apprehension of pursuit which had been continually with her. Her first notion. indeed, was to rise to her feet md scan the horizon. With relief in- sescribable her scrutiny discovered nothing. She was still alone. Neither he yacht nor any other vessel nor any smallest speck of land was sil- houetted against the circling sky line. She sat in the boat musing a long lime and then woke to the fact that ,he was hungry. Again she satisfied her appetite sparingly from her scanty md rapidly diminishing store of food and drink, and then putting the past rsolutely behind her, hoping and per taps fancying by some exercise of her Eill power finally she could put 1t be- hand her forever. she gave serious hought 10 her condition.
 She realized at last that she in he hands-another would have said H God she said of chance. The fact hat she was so helpless: that all her earning and all her training. and Ill her skill and all her power were a no avail, made the situation the more galling Was there nothing hat she could do? She reflected ;eeply and as she did so the Dreese sprang up. She judged that he period during which she had slept had been calm and still. Any violent 'ocking of the boat would have awak med her. Indeed, she felt bitterly 'ramped and stiff from having lain SC ong on the hard floor. which only the 'oat cloak. thick and heavy. made e Ioerable bed.
 The coming of the breeze stimu a'ed her imagination. It was a gen ue breeze She noticed that it blew uom the direction whence she hat 'ome by her compass course. If sht 'aly had sail of some kind the boa would be driven along. She mus move somewhere. She had heard O ecean currents and drift but she 'ouDted whether the boat was moving least sufficiently fast or in an, 'enhite direction to make any differ nce. Unless she got somewhere, sh, souio slowly starve and die jus suere she was. She stepped forward il As boat and examined the oars. Ther, sas sort of a deck forward ove " gasoline tanks. She thought tha 'ae night make shift with the remain me painter, of which she had s''u length. to fasten one of the oar an upright position against fl mere were bolts and rings of variou '@w on this little deck. She coul IVY she handle of the oar betwee .eau or ribs at the bottom. At leas Inc would try.
 ae, training had not been manua
 " sae was bright enough to suppl, sa' ner lack of skill and after som svu's or hard work she actually gc
 .' as oar in an upright position and s, v 'asned. Out of the heavy cloa
 s. e huge circular than anythin
 MI hne improvised sail with tn
 ho.s .' oar as boom thrust across tn
 ,nr,s. oetWeen the mast and the littI
 Aa. Assru deck. The coat had bee
 Ars,a braided. She ripped the sil
 ab. S rom the edge. cut off the hoo
 MI, oioak and managed trianguls
 Ind .aeeu by the silk braid to ma
 mi. e boom was immobile and II
 be,o,' way she could sail was straigl
 sAe ~a..,. sae wind. If the wind shifte
 slirh, 'u oas snift with it. She had son
 heIm s0ntroi over the vessel with il
 When ss uu' that was all. It was nos
 sas moa sne Finished her labors. but sl
 Aad o'e than satisfied with what sl
 big sno''a snsoso'aapllshed, for the cloak ",
 onough to oi.o