Turner County herald. (Hurley, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1912-05-23
CHAPTER v.


swift alienation upon his face, as the
Echo courtesied to the morning
breeze. Coast awakened
For q moment almost thoughtless
he lay drowsily enjoying the rise and
dip OF the boat, as drowslly conscious
OF faint thrill OF excitement; most
ly comparable, perhaps, to the first
waking sensations of fourteen
year-old boy on Fourth of July
morning.
Then without warning the small
chronometer on the transverse above
his head raped out smartly two dou-
ble-chimes-ships' time: four bells:
ten o'clock In the forenoon.
Astonished, he sat up quickly, and
his still sleepy gaze, passing through
the companionway, encountered the
amused regard of the soi-disant Mel
chisedec Appleyard. Promptly Coast
found himself in full possession of his
faculties. That In obedience to first
instincts he nodded with a cordial
smile, was significant
Appleyard returned the salutation
with quick bob Of his small head.
Good morning. hero!" he sang out
cheerfully.
He sat in Che cockpit, huddled into
the folds Of a gray blanket, volumin-
Gus for his slight figure, thin but
wiry forearm barred to WELD the Gig
arctic he was smoking with every in
dication Of enjoyment.
Good-morning," he returned. How
d'you feel after your adventure?"
"Unclothed but in my right mind"
said Appleyard, with twinkle of anx-
iety amending: ito the best of my
knowledge and belief" He indicated
airily the various articles constituting
his painfully simple wardrobe. Wait
ing for 'em to dry"
Appleyard hoped up, fingered his
everyday attire critically. and pro-
nounced 1t bone dry; then, bundling
It up, he returned to the cabin. seat
ing himself on the opposite transom
to dress.
And the sensations of hero, re-
freshed by sound slumbers, are"
Hunger" said Coast He moved
forward and began to experiment
gingerly with new and untried alco-
hol stove. Il can offer you eggs, cof.
fee, biscuit-and nothing else" he
added. producing raw materials from
locker You see, hadn't expected
to entertain"
Rotten inconsiderate of you," Ap
pleyard grumbled. "I'll wire you g
warning next time 1t occurs to me tt
drop in unexpectedly"
Divided between amusement ant
perplexity, in the course Of the mea
Coast reviewed q personality singu
larly enriched by variety of sug
/ gestions consistently negative. Th'
mans age was indeterminable-som
where between thirty and forty-tive
Loosely summarized. he might hav,
been anybody or nobody on lark O
his uppers.
shy, humorous smile.
We'll, what d'you make of me?"
Its hard enough to guess wha
you've made Of yourself"
'F1attery note,' observed Apple
yard obscurely. yet you win my sym
pathy; sometimes am moved to wor
der-really." He tapped an eg
thoughtfully. a crinkle forming bt
tween his colorless eyebrows 1T
really not what man makes of hin
self; it's what his temperament doe
to him.
Temperament"
eyes; you really ought to keep one
too; they're all the rage just now
and such excellent excuses for the IL
dulgence Of your pet idiosyncrasies.
| "Oh! And you blame you,
for whatl"
/ ''For making me al presume po
/ Nefity. In the final analysis, will a
fudge me q Romantic"
j 'Literature?" asked Coast. aghas
"Good Heavens. no! Nothing lib
= that: Life" He sighed profoundl
:. kshall I rehearse to you the story
n ny Nfef No. shall not rehearse ],
9; you the story Of my life. But at q
!. kpotS obAu talk about myself for