The state herald., 1913-05-09
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weight came upon Jim ~ that Of .
dead person. Then he set his teeth
and nerved himself to make the effort
Of his life.
It 10 no easy thing to strain for
ward. swimming the high seas. bear
Ing above the surface . load which
on land would make . strong man
stagger. One must watch ones bur
den. to guard against mishap; one
must save breath and muscle. and
keep an eye for direction. all In
struggle against hostile element.
The goal still seemed incredibly
far. farther than his strength could
go. Yet he swan on. fighting against
the heart-breaking thought that his
companion had perhaps gone down
to the dim sea-line" in very truth.
She had been so brave. so strong
She had buoyed up his courage when
1t had been fainting; she had fought
splendidly against the last terrible
inertia Of exhaustion.
-Courage!" he told himself. I'VE
must make the land!" But It took
q stupendous effort. His strokes be-
came unequal, some Of them feeble
and Ineffective; his muscles ached
with the strain: now and then
strange whirring and dizziness In his
head caused him TO wonder dimly
whether he were above or below wa
ter. He could no longer swim with
closed lips, but constantly threw MS
head back with the gasp that marks
the spent runner.
Holding Agatha Redmond In front
Of him. with her head well above the
water and her body partly supported
by the life preserver. he swan some
times with one hand. sometimes only
with his legs. He dared not stop
DOW, lest he be too late in reaching
land or wholly unable to regather his
force. The dizziness increased. and
a sharp pain In his eyeballs recurred
axain and again. He could no longer
see the land: It seemed to him that
It was blood. not brine, that spurted
from nose and mouth; but still he
swan on. holding the woman. safe
He made q gigantic effort to shout,
though he could scarcely hear his own
voice. Then he fixed his mind solely
on his swimming. counting one stroke
after another. like a man who Is coax
Ing Gleep.
How long he swan thus. he did not
know: but after many strokes he was
conscious OF sense OF happiness
that, after all. II wasn't necessary to
reach land or to struggle any more.
Rest and respite from excruciating
effort were to be had for the taking
why had he withstood them 30 long :
The sea rocked him. the surge niled
his ears. his limbs relaxed their ten
sion. Then II was that strong
hand grasped him. and second later
the same hand dealt him violent
blow on the face.
He had to begin the intoierable ex-
ortion OF swimming again. but he no
longer had burden TO hold safe:
there was no burden In sight Half
consciously he felt the earth once
more beneath his feet. but he could
not stand. He fell face forward into
the water ngain at his first attempt.
and agaia the strong hand pulled
him up and half-carried him over some
Shiny rocks II was nm endless jour
ney before tho strong hand would let
him sit or lie down. but Mt last he
was allowed to drop.
He vaguely felt the warmth OF the
sun drying his skin while the sen
hummcd IN his ears; he felt dis.
tinctiy the sharp pain between his
eyes. and parching thirst. He
groped around In dcllrious search
for water. which he did not md: he
pressed his head and limbs against
tho earth In an exquisite relief from
pain; md at last his bruised feet
his aching bones and head constrain'
ed hin. To 4 iethargy tina, ended In
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