, 1913-04-10
Ya..s

q BLACKS dAzED APPRRHRSsTvRLY AT
THE DARK Il ON THE T
another. his arms around the blacks
neck. one hand c%lutching a prayer
book.
While he read the service the blacks
gazed apprehensively at the dark line
on the water. above which rolled and
tumbled the racing clouds. The first
breath Of the wind. faint and silken,
tonic with life. famed through his
dry baked body as he finished reading.
Then came the second breath Of the
wind. an angry gust. as the shovels
worked rapidly filling in the sand.
So heavy was the gust hat Sheldon,
still on his feet. seized hold of his
man-horse to escape being blown
away. The Jessie was blotted out, and
a strange. ominous sound arose as mul-
titudinous wave.ets struck foaming on
the beach. 1t was like the bubbling
of some colossal caldron. From all
about could be heard the dull thudding
If falling cocoanuts. The tall, delicate
trunked trees twisted and snapped
about like whiplashes. The air seem
ed filed with their flying leaves, any
one of which. stem-on, could brain a
man. Then came the rain. a deluge.
q straight, horizontal sheet that poured
along like n river, defying gr%avitation.
The black, with Sheldon mounted on
him, plunged ahead into the thick of
II, STOPPING far forward and low to the
ground to avoid being toppled over
backward.
"'He's sleeping out and far to-
night" Sheldon quoted as he thought
Of the dead man in the sand and the
rainwater trickiing down upon the cold
clay.
So they fought their way back up
the beach. The other blacks caught
hold of the man-horse and pulled and
tugged. There were among them those
whose fondest desire was to drag the
rider in the sand and spring upon him
and mash him into repulsive nothing
ness. But the automatic pistol in his
belt, with its rattling. quick dealing
death, and the automatic, death defy
ing spirit in the man himself made
them refrain and buckle down to the
task ot hauling him to safety through
the storm.
We through and exhausted. he was
nevertheless surprised at the ease with
which he got into a change Of cloth
ing. Though he was f~earfully weak, he
found himself actually feeling better.
The disease had spent itself. and the
mend had begun.
snow, II I don't get the fever" he
Ia r1,I .nl NJ tho aama nAmpnt
| resolved to go to taking quinine as
soon as he was strong enough to dare.
BE crawled out on the veranda. The
| rain had ceased. but the wind. which
had dwindled to a half gale, was in
| creasing. A big sea had sprung up.
and the mile long breakers, curling
| M to the overfall 200 yards from
the shore. were crashing on the
beach. The Jessie was plunging madly
to two anchors, and every second or
third sea broke clear over her bow
Two flags were stifly undulating from
the halyards like squares Of flexible
sheet iron. One was blue. the other
red. He knew their meaning in the
Berande private code: "What are your
instructionsl Shall | attempt to land
boatY' Tackled on the wall between
the signal locker and the billiard rules
was the code itself. by which he veri
fed the signal before making answer
On the Flagstaff gan a boy hoisted Q
white flag over Il red, which stood for
"Rup to Neal island for shelter"
That Captain Oleson had been ex
pecting this signal was apparent by
the G~elerity with which the shackle'
were kaocked out of both anchor
chains. He slipped his anchors. cav
ing them buoyed to- be picked up II
better weather. The Jessie swung OF
under her full staysail; then the fore
' sail. double reefed, was run up. sh'
was way like u race horse. clearing
B~alesuna shoal with half a cable lengti
to spare. Just before she TN
l point abe was swallowed IN In a Tar