Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1911-11-09

taken an unfair advantage O1
his weak state. and. though it was on!
ordinary malarial fever. in forty-eigh
hours it had run him as low as ter
DAYS Of fever would have done wher
he was in condition. But the dyscn
terry had been swept away from Be
rande. A score Of convalescents lin
sered in the hospital. but they were
improving hourly. There had been
1ut one more death-that Of the man
whose brother had walled over him In.
stead of brushing the flies away.
On the morning Of the fourth day OF
his fever Sheldon lay on the veranda,
gazing dimly out over the raging
ocean. The wind was falling. but a
mighty sea was still laundering in on
Berande beach. the flying spray reach
ing in as far as the flagstaff mounds.
the foaming wash dreaming against
the gateposts. He had taken thirty
grains of quinine, and the drug was
buzzing in his ears like nest of hor-
nets, making his hands and knees
tremble and causing sickening pal.
pitation Of the stomach. Once, open.
ing his eyes. he saw what he took to
be a hallucination. Not far out and
coming in across the Jessie's anchor
age he saw a whaleboat's nose thrust
skyward on q smoky crest and dis.
appear naturally, as an actual whale.
boats nose should disappear, as 1t
slid down the back of the sea. He
knew that no whaleboat should be
out there, and he was quite certain
no men in the Solomons were mad
enough to be abroad in such storm.
But the hallucination persisted. A
minute later. chancing to open his eyes.
he saw the whaleboat. full length, and
saw right into it as it rose on the face
of a wave He saw six sweeps at
work, and in the stern. clearly out
lined against the overhanging wall of
white, a man who stood erect, gigantic.
swaying with his weight on the steer
ing sweep. This he saw. and an eighth
man who crouched in the bow and
gazed shoreward. But what startled
Sheldon was the sight of woman in
the sternsheets between the stroke
oar and the steersman. A woman she
was, for braid Of her hair was flying.
and she was just in the act of recap
turing it and slowing it away beneath
q hat that for all the world was like
his own "Baden-Powell."
The boat disappeared behind the
wave and rose into view on the face
Of the following one. Again he looked
into it. The men were dark skinned
and larger than Solomon islanders, but
the woman. he could plainly see, was
white Who she was and what she
was doing there were thoughts that
drifted vaguely through his conscious
ness. He was too sick to be vitality in
terested. and. besides. he had half
feeling that it was all dream.
"Good boatmen." was Sheldon's YER
dict, as he saw the boat leap forward
on the face Of a huge breaker. the
sweeps flying swiftly to keep her on
that front of the moving mountain of
water that raced lnadly for the shore.
1t was we'll done. Part full of water,
the boat was flung upon the beach, the
men springing out and dragging its
nose to the gate posts. Sheldon had
called vainly to the house boys, who.
at the moment, were dosing the re-
naming patients in the hospital. He
knew he was unable to rise up and
60 down the path to meet the new
Corners. so he lay back in the steamer
chair and watched for ages while they
cared for the boat. The woman stood
to one side. her hand resting on the
gate. Occasional surges of sea water
washed over her feet. which he could
see were incased in rubber sea boots
She scrutinized the house sharply. and
for some time she gazed at him stead.
fly. At last. speaking to two Of the
men, who turned and followed her
she started up the path.
Sheldon attempted to rise. got halt
up out Of his chair and fell back help
lessly. He was surprised at the size
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