El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-06-30
The RauU Edge
A short story.


did forties." and he with his clean
shaver face looked little more than
boy. though his record as lieutenant
R. n. showed that he must have DecA
in the twenties.
darkened now by the volume OF green
water pressing on the screwed UP pOL
hole she forgot her seniority II Wd9
SINK lost sight of altogether IN lAS
far greater elemental difference Of sex.
Whatever her superiority In years SuS
was a woman and this crop neaueu
clean skinned lad was man, and 70
him she turned instinctively Tor nelp
and reinforcement Of courage.
You're quite sure2" she asked In a
voice that. do what she would SOUNDED
pitiably thin. If We both tried to-
gether couldn't We burst the door
He shook his head. ''wedged," he
answered laconically.
What is it2' TIT
head or hatch cover. cast loose by that
last sea, I suppose. It's damned IN
the passage; no human power can lei
Even as he spoke the ship. which
! had been curiosity still, shook as II
shrinking from some Oncomlng zoe
and then a thud which penetrated the
| recesses of life itself resounded ABOVE
[ them. followed by menaclng swish
as the volume Of water poured back
into the sea
They viii miss US perhaps, and
come TO look for us2' the woman suS-
gested.
For answer the boy struck match
uluming the dim grayness Of the
cabin atmosphere, and holding II pc
tween them looked at her steadily Tor
a moment
And in that moment she read all
there was in his glance and under
sOOd the very soul Of him in way lnaL
no weeks OF easy cOmpanlOnshlp on
shipbOard, such as they had already
enjoyed. could have taught her what
she saw filled her with a wave OF
shame and humiliation
Here was she, a woman of position
and consequence in her own circle,
woman looked up to and respected,
considered brave and strong She Aau
lived 40 years Of a life by no means
easy. she had fought her way up Tor
herself, and had gained no small meas
ure of self respect thereby, yet at Iha-
moment her one thought had Deen 10
preserve self control, not TO show inc
dismay with which the thought OF
death imminent and unmlstakaole, nad
filled her. But when she looked at
her companion she knew that ne was
not even thinking of his own end so
hideOusly near
Now as the woman looked at the
man she knew with conviction Jnat
deata, his own death in the immediate
future was not occupying his thoughts
at all. His whole expression was one
Of thoughtful inquiry He had not nad
much to do with women so lar, MS
strenuous life had kept him apart from
Them EXCEPT in intercourse of the most
superficial kind Now that he was
thrown with one of them in a situation
that would have tried the nerves of a
bravo man accustomed 20 hazards Will
I the death penalty in the losing throw,
he was wondering what she would DO,
how she would behave
The query rose iuvOluntarily to her
lips. though II was not in the least
| what she had meant to say, why dlu
YOU come down here2'
The old ship has got a tremendous
] list on her. I thought there might De
sCme of you not able to get out
She was ashamed, shamed to her
soul For it was no use Disgusting the
fact, she was afraid, horribly Lralu'
ROW that there was no escape She
thCCght Of the tons Of green water
| that would presently smash their way
in OF that agOnized gaSping struggle
as they drowned in their trap, ana
then afterl She believed-yes, she be
lieved in a future life, but what Woulc
be- The only certainty was it would
be all so incredibly different Wnen
stripped Of the flesh and the dear Ia
miliar material surroundings against
which one could bump and nurr one
self. Was il only lack of imagination
that made this boy so 1mmeasuraDly
her superior in the face OF the al
mighty unknOwn2 But the comfort OF
him. Even if she died as the result OF
his crusade she was not heroic enough
To WISH he had not sacrificed his
chances; il mada such an lneXpresSip-e
difference to her not to so out into
the void utterly alone
She CROPPED in the darkness that had
settled down upon them and found ms
right hand; the response was lnstan-
( taneOus. and mis- strong thick fingers
closed over hers in a grip conveying a
Z ra~le vii nf 6
and courage as he put his left hand
under her elbow to steady her
Thus they stood. half leaning against
some article OF fixed furniture in the
There's no chance. I suppose she
whispered at length, breathlessly-
when the crashing and smashing over
head had died down for second or
were up against it," he answered
she longed to ask him if he were
afraid. but it seemed too mclO dramatic
in face Of his dignlfied reserve, Yet his
next remark was by way of an answer
to her thought
IT'S not much worse than a sub
7 marine" he continued. You see I'm
used to it, when you're shut up be
[ low there's always the risk of getting
cut in two by something and being
sent to the bottom without cuance-
That was il then-eNperlence- Men
were used to these risks in the course
/ Of their daily lives; they had the habit
of them. and habit blunted the edge
some men at least. perhaps the men
! who were men. She was getting con-
fused
/ Then all at once there was a stag
I gering blow far OutsWlnginE all tnaJ
! had proceeded it It sent them reeliu5
/ across the cabin; the very planlls
| seemed rending beneath their feet, the
/ day of judgment had come A torrent
[ of water growing like tnWarteu
/ reast burst inward. The woodwork and
/ all that was solid in the cabin was
/ smashed up in an ineEtricable welter'
! and their soft bodies were hurled up
} and down amid the wreckaEe- Every
: thing disapDeared in turmoil and
! chaos; sight and hearing vanished, only
] touch remained. Her last thought was
I still to cling to that strong hand that
/ never let hers go though worlds reeled
] and dissolved.