The evening world., 1913-03-04
CHAPTER N.
The SuvptrOyS.

w ships. the floor Of the saloon
| " heaved up in the center with a
mighty crash Of rending woodwork and
| iron. Men and women, too stupefied to
sob out prayer. were pitched head
long into chaos. Iris, torn from the
terrified grasp Of her maid. fell
| through corridor. and would have
gone down with the ship had not a
sailor. clinsing to q companion ladder.
caught her as she whirled along the
! steep slope OF the deck.
He did not know what had happened.
with the instinct OF self-prescrvation
he seized the nearest support when the
vessel struck. 1t was the mere i'm
pulse of ready helpfulne~s that caused
him to stretch out his left arm and
clasp the girls waist as she fluttered
past. ny idle chance they were on the
port side. and the ship. after pausing
for one awful second. fell over to star
board.
The man was not prepared for this
second gyration. Even as the stairway
can,ed he lost his balance; they were
both thrown violently through the
open hatchway, and swept off into the
boiling surf. Under such conditions
thought itself was impossible.
series OF Impressions. a number Of fan
tastic pictures. were received by the
benumbed faculties. and afterwards
painfully sorted out by the memory.
Fear. anguish. amazement-none OF
these could exist. All he knew was
that the lifeless form OF a woman
for Iris had happily fainted--must be
held until death itself wrenched her
from him.
Then there came the headlong
plunge into the ewirling sea. followed
by an indefinite period Of grasping OBJ
livion. Something that felt like
moving rock rose up beneath his feet.
He was driven clear out Of the water
and seemed TO recognize a familiar OBJ
Ject rising rigid and bright close at
hand II was the pinnacle pillar.
screwed to a portion OF the deck which
came away from the charthouse and
was rent from tho upper framework
by contact with the reef
lie seized this unlooked-for support
| with his disengaged hand. For ono
! fleeing instant he had confused vision
, Of the destruction Of tho ship. Both
! the fore and aft portions were burst
! asunder by the force Of compressed air.
wreckage and human forms were toss
ing about foolishly. The sea pounded
upon the opposing rocks with the noise
of ten thousand mighty steam ham,
mers.
A uniformed ngure-he thought IL
/ was the captain--stretched out an I'M
availlng arm to clasp the queer raft
which supported the sailor and tho
girl. But n jealou' wave rose under
| the platform with devilish energy and
turned It completely over, hurting the
man with his inanimate burden into
the depths. He rose. lighting madly
| for his life. Now surely ne was
doomed! But again. as II human exist
ence depended on naught more serious
| than the spinning Of coin. his knees
rested on the same few staunch tim
bers. now the ceiling Of the music
room. and he was given brief respite.
His greatest difficulty was to get his
breath. so dense was the spray through
which he was driven. Even in that
terrible moment lie kept his senses.
The girl, utterly unconscious. showed
by the convulsive heaving OF her
breast that she was choking. with a
| wild effort he swung her head round
| to shield her from the flying scud with
his own form.
The tiny air-space thus provided
gave her some relief. and In that In
slant the sailor seemed to recognize
her He was not remotely capable of
a definite idea. Just as he vaguely
| realized the identity OF the woman In
his arms the unsteady support on
which he rested toppled over Again
he renewed the unequal contest. A
| strong resolute man and a typhoon sea
wrestled for supremacy.
This time his feet plunged against
something gratefully solid He was
dashed forward, etill battling with the
raging turmoil Of water. ana a Sec
ond time he felt the same firm yet
smooth surface His dormant facul-
ties awoke. II was sand. With fren-
zied desperation. buoyed now by the
inspiring hope OF safety, he fought his
way EDWARDS like . maniac.
often he fell. three times did the
backwash try to drag him to the swirl
ing death behind, but he staggered
blindly on, on, until even the tearing
gale ceased to be laden with the suf-
locating foam. and his faltering fee,
sank in deep. soft. white sand.