The Celina Democrat. (Celina, O. [Ohio]) 1895-1921, 1913-01-03

moment the thought that you are neai
land. that you are almost there. We
are safe, you can 80 on-only a few
moments more!"
Poor Agatha stroye as Jim bade
her, gallantly, hearing his voice az
through a thiokening wall; but she
had already done her best, and more
She struggled for a few halfconscious
moments; then suddenly her arms
grew limp, her eyes closed and her
weight came upon Jim as that of a
dead person. Then he set his teeth
and nerved himself TO make the effort
of his life.
1t Is no easy thing TO strain for
ward, swimming the high seas, bear
ing above the surface load which
on land would make a strong man
stagger One must watch ones bur
den. TO guard against mishap; one
must save breath and muscle, and
keep an eye for direction, all In a
struggle against hostile element
The goal still seemed incredibly
far farther than his strength could
go. Yet he swan on, fighting against
the heart-breaking thought that his
companion had perhaps gone down
to the dim sea.line" in very truth.
She had been so brave, so strong
She had buoyed up his courage when
It had been fainting; she had fought
splendidly against the last terrible
inertia OF exhaustion.
"Courage!" he told himself. I'VE
must make the land!" But 1t took
stupendous effort. His strokes be-
came unequal, some Of them feeble
and Ineffective; his muscles ached
with the strain; now and then
strange whirring and dizziness in his
head caused him to wonder dimly
whether he were above or below wa
ter He could no longer swim with
closed lips, but constantly threw his
head back with the gasp that marks
the spent runner.
Holding Agatha Redmond in front
Of him, with her head well above the
water and her body partly supported
by the life preseryer he swan some
times with one hand. sometimes only
with his legs. He dared not stop
now, lest he bo too late in reaching
land or wholly unable to regather his
force. The dizziness increased, and
a sharp pain in his eyeballs REQUIRED
again and again. He could no longer
see the land: it seemed to him that
It was blood, not brine, that spurted
from nose and mouth; but still he
swan on. holding the woman safe
He made u gigantic effort to shout,
though he could scarcely hear his own
voice. Then he fixed his mind solely
on his swimming, counting one stroke
after another, like man who is coax
ing sleep.
How long he swan thus, he did not
know; but after many strokes he was
conscious Of a sense Of happiness
that, after all, it wasn't necessary TO
reach land or to struggle any more.
Rest and respite from eXcruciating
effort we're to be had for the taking
why had he withstood them so long?
The sea rocked him, the surge filled |
his ears, his limbs relaxed their ten |
sion. Then it was that a strong |
hand grasped him, and a second later /
the same hand dealt him violent |
blow on the face
He had to begin the intolerable eX-
ertion Of swimming again, but he no |
longer had a burden to hold safe; |
there was no burden in sight. Half
he felt the earth once
more beneath his feet, but he could .
not stand. He fell face forward into
the water again at his first attempt,
and agaia the strong hand pulled
him up and half-carried him over some
shiny rocks. 1t was an endless jour
ney before the strong hand would let
him sit or lie down: but at last he
was allowed to drcp
He vaguely felt the warmth Of the
sun drying his skin while the sea
lummed in his ears; he felt dis
.inctly the sharp pain between his
eyes, and parching thirst. He
groped around in a delirious search
or water, which he did not find; he
pressed his head and limbs against
he earth in an exquisite relief from
pain; and at last his bruised feet,
lis aching bones and head constrain-
I'd him to a lethargy that ended in
leep.