Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1913-04-02
CHAPTER VII.
On the Breast of the Sea.

On the Breast of the Sea.
Can you keep afioat in this rough
ness?"
Il think so, now that / have the
| life preserver. But the rope scared
me for minute. 1t got wound about
my feet"
| I thought so. But we are drifting
away from the boats, and should swim
back as fast as we can. Can you
swim?"
yes; better when l get rid of this
cloak. Which way is the yacht? I've
lost my bearings"
Behind us over there. Put your
hand on my shoulder and I'll take
you along until you get your breath
SCI"
The girl obeyed implicitly. "as if
she were a good, bfddable child,
thought Jim. There was none of the
| terrified clutching at a rescuer which
sometimes causes disaster to two in
stead of one. Miss Redmond was
badly shocked, it may be; but she
was far from being in panic
Now for the boat. Can you swim
little. faster? They'll surely come
back to pick us up" said jim. with
an assumption of confidence that he
did not feel. They could hear voices
| from the yacht, and could follow, par
TALLY, what was going on. Miss Red
mond cast loose her cloak, put hand
on Jfm's shoulder, and together they
swan nearer "Ahoyi" shouted Jim
!
StGive US a hand." But the boat with
the large woman in it had put about
to the other side of the yacht
-'Ahoy! This way!" shouted Jim
Throw us rope!" he cried; but If
any of the seamen Of the Jeanne
Dare heard they paid no heed.
Come this way" said Jim to his
! companion. We'll catch them on the
other side of the yacht"
81 can't swim much in all these
clothes" said Agatha.
Never mind, then. Hold on to the
life preserver and to me, and we'll
make it all right" On the crests
of the swelling waves they swan
round the dark hulk of the vessel and
heard plainly the clamor of the men
|
Two of them seemed to be fastened
together, raftlike, on the starboard
side Of the yacht and were quickly
| filed with men. Prayers and curses
were audible, with the loose, wild in
! f1exion of the man who is in the
clutch of an overmastering fear. AS
| long as there had been work for them
to do on the ship, they had done it,
! though sullenly; they had even con-
trolled themselves until the attempt
was made to place the two women
in safety. But after that their self
restraint vanished. The orders of the
officers were unheeded; the men
leaped and scrambled and slid into
| the boats, and in a minute more they
had cut loose from the Jeanne Dare.
James dimly perceived that the
boats were moving away from them
/ into the darkness. Then he called
and called again, redoubling his speed
! in swimming; but only the beat of
/ the oars came back over the water
The heart in him stood still with an
unacknowledged fear. Was it possible
they were absolutely leaving them be-
hind? Surely there were other boats.
He raised his voice and called again
and again At last one voice, careless
and brutal, called back something in
reply. Jim turned questioning eyes
| to the girl beside him, whose pale
| face was discernible on the dark wa
| ter.
! He says the boats are all full"
Then we must hurry and make for
| the yacht Where is she?"
| The Jeanne D'Arc had slippe>. away
| from them into the darkness.
"She was this way, l thought Yes,
| am sure" said Agatha, pointing into
| the night. But though they swan that
way. they did not come upon her
They turned little. and then turned
| again, and presently they lost every
sense of direction
| In all his life Jim was never again
destined to go through SO black an
hour as that which followed the aban-
| donment of the Jeanne DArc His
| courage left him, and his spirit sank
10 that leaden, choking abyss where
lights did not exist Since the i'm
mediate object of saving the ship, for
| which he had worked as hard as any
other. had been given up. the next IN
| importance was to save the woman
who for some mysterious reason, had
/ been aboard 1t was beyond his pow
err of Imagination to suppose that any
other motive of action could possibly
prevail. even among her enemies
That they should leave her to drown.
while they themselves fed to com
parative safety in boat. was more
than he could believe.