The Winslow mail., 1913-07-19

I
his face SO close he could see her
| eyes.
I'VE shall have to try 1t, Miss Nc
Donald; you must permit me to carry
you"
"Yes."
"And whatever happens do not
| scream-just cling tight to me-"
"Yes," little catching in her throat
Tell me first, please, just what it is
you fear"
"Quicksand principally; it is in all
these western rivers, and the two of
US together on one pair of feet will
make it harder to pull out of the suck
If l tell you to get down, do SO
quickly"
YES"
Then there may be holes out there
in the bottom. l don't mind those so
much, although these cavalry boots
are no help in swimming"
II can swim"
Hardly in your clothes; but am
glad to know it, nevertheless. You
could keep afloat at least, and the
holes are never very large. Are you
ready now?"
She gave him her hands and stood
up. The Sergeant drew in long
breath and transferred the haversack
| to her shoulder.
We'll try and keep that from get
| ting soaked, If we can," he explained,
90 al in, n
hills. Now hold on tight"
He swung her easily to his broad
shoulder, clasping her slender figure
| closely with one arm.
That's it! Now get firm grip. I'll
carry you all right"
To the girl, that passage was never
| more than dim memory. Still par
TALLY daZed from the severe blow on
her head, she closed her eyes as Ham
lin stepped cautiously down into the
stream and clung to him desperately
expecting each moment to be flung
forward into the water. But the Ser
geant's mind was upon his work, and
every detail of the struggle left its
impress on his memory. He saw the
dark sweep of the water, barely Wis
ible in the CLEAN of those few stars
unobscured by cloud, and felt the slug
gish flow against his legs as he moved.
The bottom was soft, yet his feet did
not sink deeply, although it was rath-
er difficult wading. However, the clay
gave him more confidence than sand
underfoot, and there was less depth of
water even than he had anticipated
He was wet only to the thighs when
he toiled up on to the low spit of sand,
and put the girl down moment to
catch fresh breath and examine the
broader stretch of water ahead They
could see both shores now, that which
they had just left, black, Jumping,
dim outline. Except for the tapping
of the water at their feet, all was
deathly still. Even the Indian fire had
died out, and it was hard to conceive
that savages we're hidden behind that
black veil, and that they two we're
girl 1t was like some dreadful delirium
of sleep, but the man felt the full
struggle. There was a star we'll down
in the south he chose to guide by, but
beyond that he must trust to good for
tune. Without a word he lifted her
again to his shoulder, and pushed on.
The water ran deeper, shelving off
rapidly, until it rose well above his
waist, and with sufficient current so
that he was compelled to lean against
it to maintain balance, scarcely ven
turing forward foot at time. Once
he stumbled over some obstruction,
barely averting a fall; he felt the
swift clutch of her fingers at his
throat, the quick adjustment of her
body, but her lips gave no utterance
of alarm. His cropping feet touched
the edge of a hole, and he turned, fac
ing the current, tracing his way care
fully until he found passage on solid
bottom. A bit of 'driftwood swirled
down out of the night; water-soaked
limb, striking against him before it
was even seen, bruised one arm, and
then lodged past like wild thing,
leaving a glitter of foam behind. The
sand-dunes grew darker, more dis
tinct, the water began to grow shall
low, the bottom changing from mud to
sand. He slipped and staggered in
the uncertain footing, his breath com
ing in quicker gasps, yet with no cess
alton of effort Once he felt the dread
ed suck about his ankles, and broke
into reckless run, splashing straight
forward, falling at the waters edge.
yet not before the girl was resting
safely on the soft sand
Strong as Hamlin was, his muscles
trained by strenuous outdoor life. he
lay there for a moment utterly help
less, more exhausted from the nervous
strain indeed, than the physical exer
ton. He had realized fully the des-
perate nature of that passage. exnect-
ing every step to be engulfed, and the
reaction, the knowledge that they had
actually attained the shore safely. left
him weak as a child, hardly able to
comprehend the fact The girl was
upon her feet first, alarmed and So
licitous, bending down to touch him