The Huttig news., 1911-05-13

each diseonrdant blast the strength of the gale seemed to wax, it's high hysteric clamor at times drowning even the incessant deep below of the ocean surf. Once Amber. paused in bis fatrol, having heard. or fancying he had heard the staccato plut plut-plul of a marine motor. On impu SC. witL swelling heart he swung h gGn skywards and pulled both triggers. The double report rang in his ears loud as a thunderciap
 In the moments that followed. while he stood listening. with every fiber of his being keyed to attent on, the sense of his utter isolation chied his heart as with cold steel.
 A little franticaliy he load and fired again; but what at first might have been thought the faint far echo of hail he in the end et down relue- tantly to trick of the hag siddsn wind
 An hour passed. punctuatcd at ire quent intervals by gunshots. Thotgh they evoked no answer of any sort, hope for Quain died hard in Amber's heart. Resoiuiely he turned to con slderation Of his own pligst and problematic way Of escape
 His understanding Of his situation was painfully accurate; he was ma rooned upon what food tide made desert isiand but which at the ebb was peninsula-a iong and narrow strip of sand, bounded on the w st by the broad shallow channel to the ocean. on the east connected with the mainland by sandbav which hall the day lay submerged.
 He had, then, these alternatives; h. might either compose himself to hug the leewaTd side of dune till day break tor till relief should come) or else undertake fye.mile tramp on the desperate hope of finding at the end of it the tide out and the sandbar a safe footway from shore to shore. Between the two he vacillated not at all; anything were preferable to a night in the dunes, beaten by the i'm placable storm. haunted by the thought of Quain. and even though he were to find the eastern causeway un- der water, at least the exercise wou d have served to keep him from free 2 ing
 Ten minutes after his last cartridge had been fruitlessiy dischargs d. ne set out for the ocean beach. paus,ng at the first dune he came upon to scrape a shallow trench in the sand and cache therein both guns and his game-bag. Marking the spot with bit Of driftwood stuck upright. ae pressed on. eventually pausing on the oyerhanging lip Of a 201oot buff To it's foot the beach below was aswirl knee-deep with wash of breakers.
 Awed and disappointe d. Amber drew back. The beach was impass. able, here was no wide and easy road to the east, such as he had thought to | ind; to gain the sandbar he had now to thread tortuous and unee1 tain way through the bewildering dunes. I A demon of anxiety prodded him on he must learn Quain's fate, or gc mad. Once on the mainland 1t were matter of facility to find his way to the village of Shampton, teler hone l Tanglewood and charter team" to convey him thither He shut his teeth on his determination and set his face to the east
 Beset and roughly buffeted by the gale; the snow settling Tn ripping drifts in the folds of his clothing and upon his shoulders ciinging like cloth; his face cut by clouds of sand flung horizontally with well-nigh the force of birdshot from gun: he bowed to the blast and plodded stead fly on..
 Imperceptibly fatigue benumbed his senses, blunted the keen edge of his emotions; even the care for Quain be- came mere dull ache in the back of his perceptions; of physical suffering he was unconscious. He fell a prey to freakish fanoies For long time he moved on in stupid, wondering con temptation of a shining crescent of sand backed by a green, steaming wall of jungle. Many visions foimed and dissolved in dream-like phantss
 
 and most recurrent was that of the girl in the black riding habit. walking by his side down the aisle of trees. So that presently the tired and over wrought man believed himself talking with her, reasoning. arguing pleading desperately for his hearts desire;
 and wakened with a start, to hear the echo of her voice as though she had spoken bu the instant gone. Q find his own lips framing the syl- fables of her name-"S Sophia,
 Abruptly he regained consciousness of his plight, and with an effort shook his senses back into his head IL vas not precisely time when he could afford to let his wits go wool gathering lnfiexible of purpose in he face of all his weariness and dis eouragement, he was on the point of resuming his march when he was struck by the circumstance that the whitened shoulder of dune. quite near at hand, should seem as if frosted with l.ght-codly luminous.
 Staring, speculative. he hung in the wind-inquisitiye as a cat but loath to