River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1913-02-20
CHAPTER XII.
The Home Port.

The darkness of the night slowly lift
ed, revealing only gray, leaden sky.
There was no dawn such as had glad
dened their hearts the morning be-
fore, no fresh awakening of the day.
Instead the GOODNESS and gloom of the
night seemed but to creep q little far
Their away, leaving its shadow over the
world A drizzling rain began to fall,
and the wanderers on the beach were
destined to a new draft of misery.
Only Agatha watched, however; James
knowing, whether the sun shone or hid
it's face.
He had slept fitfully since their hour
OF wakefulness together in the night,
and 0veral times he had shown signs
of extreme restlessness. At these
periods he would talk incoherently,
Agatha being able TO catch only a
word now and then. Once he endeav-
ored to get up, bent, apparently, upon
performing some fancied duty far
away. Agatha soothed him, talked to
him as a mother talks to sick child,
cajoled and commanded him; and
though he was restless and voluble,
yet he obeyed her readily enough.
AS the rain began to descend, Aga
tina bethought herself earnestly as to
what could be done. She first per
suaded James to drink little more Of
the milk, and afterward took what was
left herself-less than half a cupful.
Then she set the bucket out to catch
the rain. She felt keenly the need Of
food and water; and now that there
was no one to heed her movements,
she found it difficult to keep up the
show of courage. She still trusted IN
Hand; but even at best he might yet
be several hours in returning: and
cold and hunger can reduce even the
stoutest heart. IL Hand did not return
but there was no answer to that IL.
She believed he would come.
The soft rain cast a pail over the
ocean, so that only small patch of
sea was visible; and it fiattened the
waves until the blue-fashing, white
capped sea of yesterday was now a
smooth, gray surface, touched here
and there by bit ct frothy scum.
Agatha looked out through the deep
curtain of mist, remembering the
night, the Jeanne Dare, and her re-
cent peril. Most wildly of all she
heard in her memory voice shouting,
Keep up! I'm coming, I'm coming
All. what a welcome coming that had
been! Was he to die, now, here on
her hands, after the worst Of their
struggle was over? She turned quickly
back to James, vowing in her heart it
should not be; she would save him If
it lay in human power to save.
Her hardest task was to move their
camp up into the edge of the brush
wood, where they might have the
shelter of the trees. There was
place. near the handle of the sickle,
where the rock-wall partly disap-
reared. and the underground from the
cliff reached almost to the beach. 1t
was from here that Hand had begun
his ascent; and here Agatha chose
place under a clump of bayberry,
where she could make another bed for
James. The ground there was still
comparatively dry.
She coaxed James to his feet and
helped him, with some difficulty, up to
the more sheltered spot. He was
stronger, physically, now in his dellrl-
UNI than he had been during his period
of sanity in the night. She made him
sit down while she ran back to gather
an armful of the fir boughs to spread
out for his bed; but she had scarcely
started back for the old camp before
James got to his feet and staggered
after her. She met him just as she
was returning, and had to drop her
load. take her patient by the arm, and
guide him back to the new shelter.
He went peacefully enough, but
leaned on her more and more heavily,
until at last his knees weakened under
him and he fell. Agatha's heart smote
her
tTO BE CONTINUED