The Richmond climax. (Richmond, Ky.) 1897-1914, 1911-11-22

any event, were worse than problem
atical. The end was almost certain
But she was happy. The first real
ray of happiness which had entered
her soul since the beginning Of the
great awakening. which had culmin-
ated in the frightful scene OF the
night, illumined her being As she sat
in the stern sheets, her hand on the
steering wheel listening to the steady
drumming OF the motor, seeing the
black water broken into foam By the
boats bows fash 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; II
was something of salve 10 her soul
for the wretchsd 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 was 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
dfd not rooTfDo fhak fho-o ur.-o e. -
other consequences which not even all
the water Of the seas over which she
flOated could wash out There was a
strange citation in her soul She felt
as II 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 it,
All night long she stayed awake.
keeping the launch in her course.
When morning broke she was ALSO
lutely alone upon the ocean. Standing
erect upon Z 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 it to its own devices. She
must hold on her chosen course as
long as the motive power remained.
She could not lose a moment while
that motor thrObbed and beat She
must be alive with It. There would
be time to sleep when It 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 a night, a long
day, a longer night and a still longer
morning, struck her with the same
strange sense of shock She calculated
that the motor had been running for
3S hours and that she had gone $50
miles at least on her course. She had
seen nothing whatever Of the yacht.
The chances that It would pick her
up, even If It came about and cruised
for her. a lonely speck in the ocean,
we're 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 preeautiOn 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 a pillow
and her straw hat tied over her face
/ to shield il from the sun, she instantly
dropped to sleep.