Rocky Ford enterprise., 1911-06-02

II In conuoa eno spoke sessoS
enough.
There is NO chance at all. do you
thinkf"
For the Aurora to como backf No.
not this season. at least; no possible
chance"
"And-how much ammunition have
you. Mr.. Cayleyr
"Thirty-one cartridges. besides the
ones in the revolver"
He would have said something more,
but with little gesture she prevented
him. you've been thinking 1t out"
she said. "You know whatsit means
now. and IL feel that don't. can't
quite realize It yet. You must give
me little time to think, too"
He had to assent to that, though he
knew, in advance, the direction her
thoughts must take. and foresaw the
dreadful conclusion Of them. And the
answer he had to make to that con-
olusionf Well. he had 1t ready.
How long that silence lasted. Meth.
or Of them knew. He sat there beside
her, and yet even his eyes allowed
her perfect solitude. He mended the
fire and attended to his cooking as
quietly a. before, when the girl was
reading.
Finally q little move of hers. pre-
paratory to speech, gave him leave
to look at her. In those silent min
utes, however long they were. her face
had changed. It was grave now. in.
tensely thoughtful. but the color had
come back into II. II was alive again.
when I asked you . while ago II
knA vvHA
II meant . chance for the return OF
the Aurora, and said there was none.
That was what meant then. but its
| not what I mean now. 10 there any
chance at all? haven't been able to
see any myself. and I've been over II
all pretty carefully. Do you SEQ anyf
You-you must tell me the truth.
please"
II haven't been trying to assess the
chances. I spent my hour thinking
about something else. and I can't an
swer your question really with . yes
or . no."
mot with, yes. but can't you an
swer 1t with q no! Aren't you per
fectly sure. In your heart, that there's
| no chance at all?'
mot yet" he answered. There may
be q chance. and II there H.. We
can meet It half way" Then he
stretched out his hand. THAT red
bound book there Ia our Bible now.
| Do you remember what your father
said? We can live like Christians. and
we can always hope He thought.
when he put that bottle. which con.
tained his message. into the sea. that
l NhA~ - - O..
| lion Of its resulting In an eRectual re-
lief. Yet he went on living a. brave
man lives. day at time. And when
he died. he died without fear. Doing
that, he not only helped himself, but
he helps VI In way that he couldn't
possibly have foreseen."
Her eyes filled suddenly with tears.
and a smile. of a divine sad tender.
ness. touched for an instant her
mouth. But that isn't our case. you
know. Ours isn't a. simple a. that"
What makes the differenceI
Your wings" She said It hardly
above q whisper. and as she said II
she turned little paler and her brave
lips trembled. But in an instant her
| will had taken command again. Il
am sure you see. It's quite plain"
she went on steadily. IF you will
spread them. those great winss' of
yours. and take to the air with them.
and ny away. a. you are free to do.
and leave me here alone. a. I really
am alone. the only person marooned
here-if you'll do that. then I'll fol.
low my fathers sospei.-But you won't
go away. You can't-not . man like
l
mustn't even suggest It."
Her voice sank again and grew un-
steady. while I am starving. you
will be starving. too. And while / am
freezing. you will freeze" She
stopped there with q shudder and a
deep. gasping sob: then. Won't you
sof" she cried out You said once
that one Of US might be dreaming. but
that one was not I. Can't you believe
It's SO? Can't you wake up from the
dream that is turning into q night
mare. and fy away?.-No, you can't!
You ean't!-There II only ons way out
Of III"
There was the conclusion he had
foreseen. had foreseen long before he
could formulate 1.-THE inevitable ron.
clusion that had led him to pray for
an hour. And now he thanked God
that the answer was ready.
But before he could speak she
turned to him with . sudden transi.
ton Of mood. which left him sasping.
The face she turned upon him now
was radiant. flushed with life. fear.
less. She held out both hands to him.
Come" she said: that's over. You're
to forget It ever happened. and you're
to do something for me that want
VIII your I want this for q holiday.
Just a. set out to make It when I
saw the yacht was gone. Tho days