, 1913-04-10
CHAPTER ~.
Joan LAKELAND.

wester Sheldon was In col
lapse from his fever. It had
taken an unfair advantage of
his weak state. and. though 1t was only
ordinary maiarial fever. in forty-eight
hours 1t had run him as low as ten
days Of fever would have done when
he was in condition. But the dysen-
terry had been swept away from Be
rande. A score of convalescents lin
gered in the hospital, but they were
improving hourly. There had e
out one more death-that Of the man
whose brother had walled over him In
stead of brushing the flies away.
On the morning Of the fourth day OF
his fever Sheldon lay on h veranda,
gazing dimly out over the raging
pecan. The wind was falling, but II
mighty sea was still laundering in on
Berande beach. the flying spray reach
ing in as far III the Flagstaff mounds.
the foaming wash dreaming against
the gateposts. He had taken thirty
grains of quinine. and the drug was
buzzing in his ears like a nest of hor-
nets, making his hands and knees
tremble and causing a sickening pal
pitation of the stomach. Once, open
ing his eyes,. he saw hat he took to
be a haIlucination. Not far out and
coming in across the Jessie's anchor
age he saw a whaleboat's nose thrust
skyward on a smoky crest and dis
appear naturally. as an actual whale
boats nose should disappear, as 1t
slid down the back of the sea. He
- 49, .tN .h4r1 hA
out there. and he vas quite certain
no men In the Solomons were mad
enough to be abroad In such a storm.
But the hallucination persisted. A
minute later. CHANGING to open his eyes
he saw the whaleboat. full length. and
saw right into 1t as 1t rose on the face
Of a wave. He saw six sweeps at
work. and In the stern. clearly out
lined against the ~overhangtng wall of
white, a man who stood erect. gigantic.
swaytng with his weight on the steer
ing sweep. This he saw. and an eighth
man who crouched In the bow and
gazed shoreward. But what startled
Sheldon was the sight of q woman In
the sternsheets between the stroke
oar and the steersman. A woman she
was, for a braid of her hair was flying.
and she was just In the act of recap
turing 1t and slowing 1t AWAY beneath
a hat that for all the world vas like
his own "Baden-Powell."
The boat disappeared behind the
wave and rose into view On the face
Of the following m Again he looked
into It. The men were dark skinned
and larger than Solomon islanders. but
the woman. he could plainly see. was
white. Who h was and what b
was doing there were thoughts that
drifted vaguely through his conscious
ness. He vas too sick to be vitality In
terested. and. besides. he had a half
feeling that II was all n dream.
Good boatmen.' was Sheldon's YER
dict. as he saw the boat leap forward
on the face of a huge breaker. the
sweeps flying swiftly to keep her on
that front of the moving mountain of
water that raced iuadly for the shore.
It was well done. Part full of water.
the boat was flung upon the beach. the
men ~springing out and dragging Its
nose to the gate posts. Sheldon had
called vainly to the house boys. who.
at the moment. were dosing the re-
naming patients In the hospital. He
knew he was unable to rise up and
go down the path to meet the new
comers. so he lay back In the teamer
chair and watched for ages while they
cared for the boat. The woman stood
to one side. her hand resting on the
gate. Occasional surges of sea water
washed over her feet. which he could
see were incased In rubber sea boots.
She scrutInized the house sharply. and
for some time she gazed at him stead
lily. At last. speaking TO W OF the