The Tupelo journal., 1912-10-04
CHAPTER XIV.

lOuuA dA0 oEVd4AIANoSs
CHAPTER XIV.
Coast awakened with q gasp, jump
ing to his feet as If to the peremptory
summons of a subconscious alarm
clock. Such, in fact, was more or
less the case; he who sleeps upon the
thought of danger is apt to waken
with that thought predominant.
A moment gone everything had been
densely dark. with that narcotic black
ness which characterizes the slumbers
of the overworked and overweight.
Now In a twinkling he found himself
intensely conscious. in the middle OF
the floor. pistol in hand, every nerve
on the qui vive, every muscle tense
Gradually he realized that his nerves
must have tricked him, that the hair
trigger Of his suspended faculties
must have been pulled by sone com
mon but unexpected noise. The room
was bright with Earish daylight: at
the doors the chairs were in place, as
he had left them; there vas not a
sound to be heard In the house.
Very stealthily he opened the hall
door and looked out. From the silence
within doors, there was no n else
astir. He went out and back to the
kitchen, finding it empty. After some
momentary hesitation he returned to
his room, found a towel and took 1t
with him out into the open.
He went quickly down through the
Cold LARS to the beach. The Echo
was gone, but this did not surprise
him; it had been Appleyard's purpose
to heave anchor and get away as soon
as the gale showed signs OF slacken-
ing. Inside the sheltering SPIT a
sturdy little catboat was dancing
crafty at its mooring, but it was evil
IDENTIFY deserted, and Coast rightly
guessed that the vessel belonged to
.Blackstock, that it's tender was the
boat which Power had been accused OF
stealing-principally, no doubt, to al
lay the suspicious of Katherine; some
means of accounting for the mans dis
appearance had necessarily to be IN.
vented. The boat was, Of course, no
where to be seen; doubtless Black
stock had caused 1t to be carried up
and secreted in one of the abandoned
dwellings,, or in some recess beneath
the bluffs to the west and south.
It was In the shelter Of the westerly
bluff that Coast stripped and took to
the water. Here, as all round the
island, the beach shelved boldly, the
surf breaking close inshore.
Scrubbing his flesh aglow, he
dressed quickly, tingling with the ex-
hilaration of his recent contest, every
trace of fatigue and drowsiness
washed clean away. A sense of life
and w~ell-being ran like quicksilver
through his veins; he could have sung
aloud or whistled but for the SOLDERING
thought, never far beneath the sur
face Of his consciousness, of his re-
sponsibility. With Katherine to
guard and care for, with Blackstock to
watch and guard against and circum-
vent, there could be little room for
cheerfulness in his humor.
Instead of returning the way he had
come, an impulse moved him to scale
the bluff, which at this point pre-
scented not too steep an ACTIVITY.
AS he continued along the sole, ap-
preaching the heel of what has been
..likened to a crude sketch Of a child's
shoe, Coast remarked the crumbling
stone walls Of what had apparently
once been a rude summer house and
observatory set atop the highest hill
lock to seaward. But he had drawn
quite neal to 1t before he deserted
. hem Of skirt whipping round a cor.
ner of q halffallen wall. He quick
ened his steps and took her sue tanly
unawares as she stood, half-she-trred
from the breeze and wholly Invisible
from the body of the island. her Jack
to the weather-beaten and lichened
stones, her gaze leveled to seaward
In somber reverie.
It was as II she had been expecting
him; she seemed not at all surprised.
But there was no light Of welcome in
her look, nor any trace Of welcome IN
her greeting as he stopped before her.
hat in hand and heart In his throat,
with something in his bearing that
called to mind q child convicted OF
transgreesion and pleading for suspen-
sion of judgment.
II came out here to think" she said
tat least to try to think. But !