The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-10-11

knew, without q single exception" Stuart glanced anxiously toward the yacht. It was 3 o'clock. The tide had ebbed half out and there was barely enough water on the flats now for the tender to cross. It was showing hard CT and the wind had begun to inch in toward the north.
 s'No more ducks, today. Cal" Stuart said briskly, returning to his tone of friendly comradeship. We've got to get away from here. It's getting colder every minute. It will be freezing be- fore night
 peevish1y. What do we care? It's just ten minutes run when the tender .comes.''
 To Stuart's joy he saw the men start the tender
 "It's all right; they're coming now.' he exclaimed. wen have another crack or two before they get here.''
 He crouched low in the blind for five minutes without getting a shot, rose and looked for the tender. To his hor- TOT he saw her drifting helpless before the wind, her engine stopped and both men waving fraptically their signals of distress.
 My God!' he exclaimed. t'The ten- der's engine is broken down!''
 Why don't the fools use the oars?''
 'They can't mo9e her against this windt' 5
 ''Will they go to sea" Bivens asked, with some anxiety.
 .'No; they'll bring up somewhere on a mud flat or marsh in the bay on this low water, but God help them if they can't fight their way back before flood tide.'
 "Why?'' Bivens asked incredulously-
 They'd freeze to death in an open boat tonight
 Norwegian sailors? Bosh! Not on your life! They were born on ice bergs.''
 Stuart rose and looked anxiously at the receding tide. He determined to try to reach the yacht at once. He put the guns into their cases, snapped the lids of the ammunition boxes, slowed the ducks he had killed under the stern of the boat and stepped out into the shallow, swiftly moving water. He de- cided to ignore BiyenS and regard him as so much junk. He pulled the boat out of the blind, showed it among the decoys and took them up quickly.
 The snow had ceased to fall, and the cold was increasing every moment. Stuart scanned the horizon anxiously, but could see no sign of the disabled
 He had gone perhaps 200 yards when the boat grounded on the flats. He saw at once that it was impossible to make the yacht until flood tide The safest thing to do was to get out and push, to the island marsh POO or 300 yards away There they could take exercise enough to keep warm until the tide came in again. It would be a wait of two hours in bitter cold and pitch darkness.
 Bivens sat up and growled.
 What's the matter? Can't you hur- ry up? Pm freezing to deathr'
 I've can't make it on this tide We will have to go to the marsh.''
 Cant we walk over the flats and let the boat go?''
 ''I could walk it, but you couldn't.>
 ''Why not2" Bivens asked angrily.
 Because you haven't the strength
 Nothing of the sortr' Biyens pro- tested viciously.
 He stepped out of the boat and start ed wading through the mud. He had made about ten steps when his boot stuck fast and he reeled and fell.
 Stuart picked him up without com ment and led him back to the boat. BivenS was about to climb in when the lawyer spoke quickly:
 You can't sit down now You've got to keep your body in motion or you'll freeze Take hold of the stern of the boat and shove her.
 Muttering incoherent curses, the little man obeyed while his friend walked in front, pulling on the bow line.
 In fifteen minutes they reached the marsh and began the dreary tramp of two hours until the tide should rise high enough to float their boat again.
 ''Why can't we walk along this marsh all the way to where the yacht hes?" Bivens asked fretfully. ''We can fire gun, and the doctor can help us on board.'
 "We can't go without the boat. The marsh is a string of islands cut by three creeks The doctor has no way to get to us. Both tenders are gone"
 Stuart kept Biyens moving just fast enough to maintain the warmth of his body without dangerous exhaustion. The wait was shorter than expected. The tide suddenly ceased to run ebb and began to come in. The reason was an ominous one. The wind had hauled ]! squarely into the north and increased 1 it's velocity to forty miles an hour, and l each moment the cold grew more ter 1 rible. Stuart found the little boat i afoat on the flood tide, jumped in i without delay and began his desperate | battle against wind and tide
 It was absolutely necessary for Biv- | ems to keep his body in motion, so | Stuart gave him an oar and ordered him to get on his knees and help shove 1 her ahead. He knew it was impossible