The Washington times., 1913-03-06

Of getting wet
He thought again: And. of course
I might've known-she won't start till
moonrise, on account Of the light"
And again analyzing the soft, warm
rush of air, Wen have rain before
morning"
He found himself at the end OF the
dock, tingling with impatience. but find
ing some little consolation in the rest
less sweep Of the wind against his face
and body. He stood peering I'D along
the curve OF the shore toward the other
landing stage. He could see little-a
mere tmpressionistic suggestion OF the
shore-line picked out with the dim,
semi i-phosphorescent glow of breaking
ripples The air was musical with the
ciash OF rushing waters, crisp and live
iy above the long. droning sough Of the
wind In the trees Eastward the bar
rier beach was looming stark and black
against a growing sreenish palIor in the
skies. A mile to the westward, down
the shore, the land-locked lighthouse
reared vaguely to the heavens, its tower
50 obscure in the gloom that the lamp
had an effect Of hanging without sup
port, like a dim, yellow japanese IAN
tern floating In midair.
Some minutes elapsed The pallor of
the east grew more marked. Whitaker
fancied he could detect a moving figure
on the Fiske dock
Then. startled, ne was conscious Of
the thick drone of a heavily powered
motorboat near inshore. Turning quick
" ne oscovered II almost at once; a
black, vague shape not twenty wards
from where he stood, showing neither
bow nor sidelight: a stealthy and mys-
terious apparition creeping down upon
the dock with something Of the erect
OF an animal about to spring
hn
voice from the boat, abrupt with anger:
Shut up"' another voice replied.
There's somebody on the dock''-
At the same time the bows of the boat
swung away, and there was audible q
deeper note in the noise of the motor.
The shadow slipped away to westward
toward the Fiske place.
A wondering apprehension OF some
nameless and desperate enterprise,
somehow involving or affecting the
woman who obsessed his thoughts,
crawled In Whitaker's mind. The boat.
running without cruising lights, was
seeking the next landing stage Those
in charge OF IL had reason to wish to
escape observation.
Automatically Whitaker turned back
- land, let himself down from the dock
TO the beach, and began hastily TO pick
his' way. half running despits his stiff
ankle, following course at once more
direct and more difficult tnan the path
through the woods. BY that way he
would have had a sure footing. but he
would have lost much time seeking and
sticking TO its meanderings in the un-
certain light.
AS IL was. ne had on one hand a low,
concaYe wall OF earth, on the other the
wash Of crisp!ng wavelets: and between
the :wo a yard-wide track. with a
surface or wave-smoothd
pebbles large jncumbered with heavy.
rolls Of seaweed, springy and
slippery, washed up by the recent gale
But in the dark and fOrmIess alarm
that possessed him he did not stop to
choose between The ways He had no
time AS il was, IL there were anything
afoot. no earthly power
could help him across the distance in
time 10 be of any aid. Indeed. he had
not gone half the way before he pulled
up with a humping heart. startled be-
vond expression by a cry flung to him
by the wind he faced-a cry of wild ap-
peal and protest thrown out violently
into the turbulent night and abruptly
had closed the mouth uttering IT,
And then. ringing ciear down the
wind a voice whose timbre was unmis-
takably that OF woman: Ana Sc
cour, Aux secour'
Twice IL rang out. and hen was
hushed S srimly az the first ,ucoheI-
eut scream. No need nov 10 Guess a
what was toward; Whitske,. 'ou'd see
II all as clearly as thoTgh he were al
ready there: the pOwerboat At :he dc ok.
the women attacked on the pDin; OF
entering the rowboat, the cry OF the
suddenly cut shot by her as