Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1910-01-05

drumming of the motor, seeing the
black water broken into foam by the
boats bows flash by her, keeping the
launch steady on her course by the
aid of the compass needle. her eyes
turned ever and anon to the fast d.
minishing point of light which marked
the rapidly disappearing yacht, and
she realized that she.was free. She
had hurled out of her path-and how
she exulted in her own prowess; it
was something ofsa salve to her soul
for the wretched humiliations which
had been .heaped upon it-she had
hurled out of her path and stricken
down as any other animal might have
done him who had brought her to this
awful pass. She YVES away from him,
free from him. She was once more,
SO far as wind and wave allowed, the
master of her fate, the mistress of her
destiny.
She was. glad In her heart, too, that
there were to be no physical conse.
! quences from her brief alliance. She
did not realize that there were to be
| other consequences which not even all
the water of the seas over which she
floated could wash out. There was
/ strange citation in her soul. She felt
as If In some way she had indicated
her right to be. There was something
| yet in her philosophy and did oppor-
tunity serve, could she get free from
!! the dangers that encompassed her, she
vowed that she would prove 1t.
All night long she stayed awake.
keeping the launch in her course.
When morning broke she was abso-
| lutely alone upon the ocean. Standing
/ erect upon seat. from her low van
tage point she could see nothing but
! smoothly undulating sea. She break
tasted sparingly from her scanty store
| and resumed her post at the wheel.
She was tired and sleepy, but while
| the little engine was alive she could
| not leave 1t to its own devices. She
must hold on her chosen course as
long as the motive power remained.
/, She could not lose moment while
! that motor throbbed and beat. She
must be alive With It, There would
be time to sleep when 1t was ex-
hausted She must put as many
leagues between her and pursuit by
holding the direct course as long as
was possible.
And so she sat there grimly, hands
clutching the wheel through the long
day and through the longer night and
well into the following morning. 1t
must have been half past ten on the
morning Of the second day before the
motor stopped. The silence, after the
ceaseless drumming of night, long
day, longer night and still longer
morning.. struck her with the same
strange sense Of shock. She calculated
that the motor had been running for
| IS hours and that she had gone $50
miles at least on her course. She had
seen nothing whatever Of the yacht.
.fhe chances that it would pick her
up, even II 1t came about and cruised
for her. lonely speck in the ocean,
were millions to nothing. At any rate,
she had done all she could. Her phil
osophy for once stood her in good
stead. There was nothing more to be
done. She was dead for want OF
sleep. The sky had been slightly over
cast since she had left the yacht, but
there had been no storm and weather
conditions looked Just as they had and
seemed to be permanent.
Taking the precaution to examine
the gasoline tanks and finding that in
deed they had been drained Of the last
drop, she carefully closed and locked
them, thereby assuring her salvation
| and spreading the boat cloak in the
stern sheets with her bag for o pillow
and her straw hat tied over her face
to shield 1t from the sun. she Instantly
dropped to sleep.
(To BE. CoNTINUED.)