Mexico Missouri message. (Mexico, Audrain County, Mo.) 1899-1918, 1910-07-14

the sweat stood out on his forehead
from the violence Of his efforts, they
were of no avail. She had not dared
to interfere or to say a word, but
when she saw his efforts slacken, she
pointed to the sands to indicate to him
that he was to sit down, and then she
went away conscious that while the
rope held she was free. She was con-
scious of another thing, too, and that
was that he was learning a sad and
bitter lesson Of physical restraint to
which he had never before been sub.
ject.
She had rejolced in his companion.
ship, of course 1t had given her some
thing to do, her mind something TO
work upon, and would do more in the
future, but she never enjoyed a mo-
ments freedom more. She ran to the
little amphitheater formed by the
cliffs where the cave was and throw
ing aside her blouse and skirt, she lux
uriated in a bath in the fresh, cool,
delightful waters OF the pool at the
base of the fall There was a certain
amount of apprehension, for, of course,
he might break his tether at any time,
but she was sufficiently confident not
to let this take away the pleasure she
felt in the bath Of fresh water after
the long experience with the salt seas.
II she had had a cake of soap she
would have been completely happy.
She had much to do and she could
not linger. For one thing, she had TO
face the problems of clothes. She had
absolutely nothing when she landed
except what she wore. Besides the
usual underwear these consisted Of
her blue serge blouse and skirt-a
short skirt at that-and a silk petit
coat She left the blouse and skirt
outside on the rocks where they would
soon dry in the sun. They had been
wetted so often that there was no pos
sibility of their shrinking further.
Then she took stock of the rest. With
needles and thread, Of which she
possessed some store in the housewife
which had been saved from her bag,
she thought she could make shift to
manufacture three or four garments,
open at the neck, without sleeves and
with skirts that came to the knee,
garments Just sufficient for modesty.
There was no other need for clothes,
so far as that went, in that balmy
island.
Naturally she shrank from this but
unless she restorted to this expedient
her clothes would wear out all at
once. Indeed, they were in none too
good a condition as 1t was, and when
they were worn out she would have
nothing. She would not have hest
tated a moment had 1t not been for
the man, but man or not, the decision
in her mind was one to which she
must come.
Unlike most overeducated women,
she was still expert with her needle,
and as her garments were to be of
the simplest she had not much diff.
Guilty in making over her silk skirt in
the way she fancied. Belted in at the
waist, it would do. She would use the
rope that bound the man for that pur.
pose, keeping it always about her. She
had of course, but one pair OF stock
ings and one pair of light canvas boat.
ing shoes, which were almost cut to
pieces. She would have to go bare
foot.
Putting her blue serge dress and the
rest of her clothing carefully away,
including her shoes and stockings, she
stepped out on the sands, bare armed,
bare footed, a cleaning figure like to
an Olympian goddess. She was a
woman naturally dark in complexion,
and while the sun would probably burn
her cruelty and burn her young flesh,
never exposed to its intensity, darker,
she would not grow red or blister. She
was thankful for that with unconscious
femininity. At any rate, she must get
used to going out in the sun without
hat, too. People, natives who were
born and lived in this latitude, did
become accustomed to such things,
she knew. so undoubtedly could she.
With these thoughts, she stepped
around the headland and walked
across the beach toward the palm tree
where she could see in the fading light
of the afternoon her prisoner was still
tied.
Modesty is a negative term. That
which is indecent exposure in a ball
room is the height Of convention on q
sea shore. Certainly this man had nc
concept Of such a quality. He had
not noticed before when she had come
out barefoot to swim to the barrier
reef, and yet somehow she fancied as
he stared at her approaching that this
time he marked the difference. And a
slow, fiery blush famed over her from
her bare feet to her bare head, eX
tended along her bare arms. She
stopped under the persuasion Of i'm
pulse to turn and go back to the cave
and resume her clothing, at least 81
long as 1t might last. But she was q
woman of strong will. She reasoned
that all the emotions to which she wal
subject were in her own bosom; tina
the man bst0re her neither knew MOI
cared as 70 the things which YexeC