River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1913-05-15

B1rdS know winch way the wind Is
going to blow before it comes, and If a
gale is on the way they always work
INTO the teeth of it.
IT was useless to tell this to Bivens.
He didn't have sense enough to under
end it. But Stuart quietly made up
!.is mind to take up the decoys and
.ow in as soon as the tide ebbed down
% two feet of water.
In the meantime he would make the
best Of the situation. The ducks be-
gan to come in and decoy like chick
ems. He killed half a dozen and in the
excitement began to forget the fool
hardness of the trip.
Bivens shot a dozen times, missed,
got Disguised and began to fret and
complain. He said:
Jim, would you mind telling me the
mental process by which you rejected
my offer? You're the only man I've
/ struck on this earth that didn't have
his price"
! perhaps we have different ways of
fixing values. You are not yet fifty
years old and a wreck. What's the
use? What can you do with your
money nowY
1T brings luxury, ease, indulgence,
power, admiration, wonder and the
envy of the world"
| whats the good of luxury if you
/ can't enjoy it, ease if you never take
/ it, indulgence when you have lost the
) To Yn1o
busy getting more to stop and WELD
itY'
Jim, you're the biggest fool l ever
! knew, without a single exception"
/ Stuart glanced anxiously toward the
! yacht. 1t was 3 o'clock. The tide had
ebbed half out and there was barely
enough water on the fats now for the
tender to cross. 1t was showing hard
er and the wind had begun to inch in
! toward the north.
"No more ducks today, CAL" Stuart
said briskly, returning to his tone of
friendly comradeship. We've got to
get away from here. It's getting colder
every minute. 1t will be freezing be-
fore night"
"Well, let it freeze" Bivens cried
peevishly. "What 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 nowv'
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 Godr' he exclaimed 'The ten
| der's engine is broken DOWN.
/ "Why don't the fools use the oars?'
"They can't move her against this
windp'
"Will they go to sea-" Bivens asked,
with some anxiety.
mo; they'll bring up somewhere on
| mud fat 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 were born on ice
| bergs."
Stuart rose and looked anxiously at
| the receding tide. Tie 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 flats. He
saw at once that it was impossible to
make the yacht until flood 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.
''What's the matter? Can't you hur-
ry 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?'
Il could walk it, but you couldn't"
"Why not?" Bivens asked angrily.
Because you haven't the strength"
Nothing of the sOrtr' Bivens pro-
| tested viciously.
| 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
nlent and led him back to the boat.
Bivenso was about to climb in when
| the lawyer spoke quickly:
" ou can't rsitsdown now. You've got
| to keep your body in motion or you'll
freeze. Take hold of the stern of the
! boat ana shove her"
! Muttering incoherent curses, the little
man obeyed while his friend walked in
front pulling on the bow line
i Tn 6ftonn rninnfae. fboxy ,ooabaJ &ho