Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1913-01-09
Copyright. 1911. by Thomas Dixon

6CC way 1AOIu ucie. us SeIIlLS COluer
every minute. 1t will be freezing be-
fore night"
"Well, let it freeze" Bivens cried
peevishly. "NNhat do we care? It's
just ten minutes run when the tender
comes"
To Stuart's joy he saw the men start
the tender.
cts all right; they're coming now!"
he exclaimed. well have another
crack or two before they get here"
He crouched low in the blind for five
minutes without getting a shot. rose
and looked for the tender. To his hor-
ror he saw her drifting helpless before
the wind, her engine stopped and both
men waving frantically their signals Of
distress.
"My God"' he exclaimed. 1.-THE ten
der's engine is broken down.
"Why don't the fools use the oars?"
"They can't move her against this
wind!"
"Will they go to sea" Bivens asked,
with some anxiety.
mo; they'll bring up somewhere on
a mud fiat or marsh in the bay on this
low water, but God help them if they
can't fight their way back before food
tide"
"Why?" Bivens asked incredulously.
"They'd freeze to death in an open
boat tonight"
Norwegian sailors? Bosh! Not on
your life! They We're born OH ice
bergs.'
Stuart rose and looked anxiously at
the receding tide. He determined to
try to reach the yacht at once. He put
the guns into their cases, snapped the
lids of the ammunition boxes, slowed
the ducks he had killed under the stern
Of the boat and stepped out into the
shallow, swiftly moving water. He de-
cided to ignore Bivens and regard him
as so much junk. He pulled the boat
out Of the blind, showed it among the
decoys and took them up quickly.
The snow had ceased to fall, and the
cold was increasing every moment.
Stuart scanned the horizon %anxiously,
but could see no sign of the disabled
tender.
He had gone perhaps 200 yards when
the boat grounded on the fats. He
saw at once that it was impossible to
make the yacht until food tide. The
safest thing to do was to get out and
push to the island marsh, 200 or 300
yards away. There they could take
exercise enough to keep warm until the
tide came in again. 1t would be a
wait of two hours in bitter cold and
pitch darkness.
Bivens sat up and growled.
whats the matter? Can't you hur-
~ up? I'm freezing to death!'
"We can't make it on this tide. We
will have to go to the marsh"
"Can't we walk over the flats and let
the boat go%
II could walk it, but you couldn't"
"Why not?" Bivens asked angrily.
Because you haven't the strength"
Nothing of the sort" Bivens pro-
tested v%iciousIy.
He stepped out Of the boat and start
ed wading through the mud. He had
made about ten steps when his boot
stuck fast and he reeled and fell.
Stuart picked him up without COM
ment and led him back to the boat.
Bivens was about to climb in when
the lawyer spoke quickly:
"You can't sit down now. You've got
to keep your body in motion or you'll
freeze. Take hold of the stern of the
boat and shove her"
Muttering incoherent curses, the little
man obeyed while his friend walked in
front, pulling on the bow line.
In fifteen minutes they reached the
marsh and began the dreary tramp Of
two hours until the tide should rise
high enough to float their boat again.
"Why can't we walk along this marsh
all the way to where the yacht lies?"
Bivens asked fretfully. "We can fire
a gun, and the doctor can help us on
board"
1--WE can't go without the boat. Tie
marsh is q string Of islands cut by
three creeks. The doctor has no way
to get to us. Both tenders are gone"
Stuart kept BlVenS moving just IaSC
enough to maintain the warmth Of his
body without dangerous exhaustion.
The wait was shorter than expected.
The tide suddenly ceased to run ebb
and began to ONE in. The reason was
an ominous one. The wind had hauled
squarely into the north and increased
its velocity to forty miles an hour, and
each moment the cold grew more ter
rible. Stuart found the little boat
afloat on the flood tide. jumped In
WI, ;lv ana
bal,,. = T., nSt wine u.l,.
1t WIS absolutely nercSsaI. 81,
II to keep his body In motion. ,
Stuart .ghve him nm oar and oitl"r
hin, IL get III his knees ana lNln $500,