Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1911-08-26

ing to behave - II nothing had hap
pened-"
Coast folded her close. II know. !
kAow." he said softly.
At their feet the dog stirred rest
lessly. Whispering: and alarmed. the
woman deftly disengaSed herself, with
Q terrified glance up the struggling, de-
serted street. But still they were
gratefully II desperately alone and un-
watched.
''Then-the shock Of being told We
were to leave tho island wanted
to think. went west along
the beach. without noticing--some dis
lance beyond tho western point. Then
suddenly l found the boat. drawn lp
close under the bluff invisible from
above. At first thought Il
meant Mr.. Power had come back, and
then 1 saw how unlikely that waa. and
tried to explain 1t. And suddenly It
came to me-the real meaning Of IT.
And hurried to md you :"
Thank God!" said Coast
She looked up. wondering at his
tone.
II mean It's one way out" he said
soberly; "a nightly slim chance-but
yet q chance: mean. the boat. i've
been puzzling all along-if worst came
to worst, there was the catboat-but
how to get you aboard her? You
couldn't swim that far :" She
shook her head. T could: but even
then would It be possible to work her
inshore and take you aboard unob-
served? Tor II they saw us, I'd be
under fire and Blackstock has
my pistol" he ended lamely.
She uttered low cry Of distress;
but he could only shake his head In
melancholy confirmation of the It'd
|lngs, detailing the way Blockstock had
seized the weapon.
But now" he wound up with a sor-
~ show of optimism, Its another
story. With the rowboat. we can get
OF. AS things stand, Appleyard :.
Well, we'd better not risk waiting
for him. The cat lies out Of easy
range, and If they try to swim out to
stop US, I can beat them of with a
boathook or an oar. think We can
make tat least, It's worth trying.
I'll 60 now and have q look at that
boat"
She drew . deep breath, with a nod
endorsing this forlorn hope. Very
WE'LL" she said tersely. go, then. I
must hurry back. for fear he may miss
me. Yes, can brave it out:
don't worry-I shan't let him suspect.
And there's another reason"
she continued stubbornly, when he
tried to object: Il can get you re-
volver If l go back. Yes, my own. l
have it in my trunk; I'm sure he
doesn't know of it, for I never thought
to show 1t him. 1t is loaded. too; and
can get 1t easily. :. Now I will
Co."
Every WE'LL" he consented reluctant
~. They won't miss me. that's sure:
but you Try to slip away
about dusk. Make some excuse. and
Ill be waiting here. ill prepared, And
make sure Of that revolver.
nrst thing you get back. Take care Of
yourself above all things. Oh.
don't worry about me; he doesn't;
with my fangs drawn, I'm no longer q
factor in his calculations. -. Go.
then, and-God keep you. Katherine.
He could imagine the effort that her
brave smile at parting cost her. .
Unsmiling, somberly thoughtful. he
watched her away, then hurried down
to the beach.
Ten minutes Of steady walking
brought him to the place where he
had bathed that morning-ages ago!
A scant hundred feet further on, at
the very foot of the bluff that arched
a slightly concave face above it. lay .
rowboat, bottom up, screened by q
huge boulder. Hope palpitant in his
bosom. leaping and dying like can
die in the wind, he fastened to it.
bent over. hands beneath the thwart.
and stood 1t on its side. A low cry
of disappointment sighed out from his
lips. He let the boat fall back to its
original position.
There were neither oars nor row.
Despair blackened the sky for him.
He swung about mechanically, in a
daze Of frustrated hope, and started
back, plodding heavily AZ with weight
ed feet.
Fifty yards away from the boat, .
resounding crash behind him brought
him to the about face with start.
Whether by accident Of nature OF
human design q portion Of the over
hanging bluff. Just at its verge. had
given way. precipitating upon the boat
In q cloud Of pebbles, earth and dust