Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1914-02-16

tue mercy or wind and tide. was ~.
likely to bring us together IN, u
strength of the wind alona -. we
great that It was constantly blo,,.
us off our course.
The object boat kept sinking an,
sight in the hollow between two We.
and in one Of these depressions ses,'s
to have gone under.
"Can he swim?' ! asked.
I received no reply to nv an~...
till the boat appeared on the ers,, !,
a wave, when the girl gasped thai !.
could swim, but not very well.
"Can you swimT' 1 asked loo,.-
about the boat for something ON 49,
to float. for was beginning to -.
we should be capsized.
Like a duck" was the comforts.
reply.
'If we go over try to catch ops :.
the oars"
Again the boat, which was now "a.
more than 100 feet from us. went 1.
tween two waves, and when a..
again there was only her mast sb,,.
the surface. and that was slowly a..
Ting. But Bob's head appeared. ma
he was swimming for his life. Ih,s
been in hopes that IL his boat vsr,
down before we reached him he vorn
find something to cling to, but evident
~ he had not.
Keep her straight toward himr
shouted to my pilot.
She did not faint, and he did M.
1t
on him-that is, when he was ridIn,
highland exerted all her strength !.
the tiller ropes, now shouting 70 m.
to "pull strong on starboardp now
Strong on port" then, after losing
sight of our object for quite awhile
back waterr'
She had scarcely spoken the I,r
words when 1 saw the struggling man
not a dozen yards astern. 1 obeye
the order, but gained nothing. Shin.
ping the oars, 1 turned and took IN "A
coil of rope 1 had noticed behind ma
and had kept in mind for an eme,.
gency.
Holding fast to one end, threw
the coil toward the swimmer. but did
girl, I took up the oars again and
backed water with all my strength.
But 1 had lost distance, and It WIS
some minutes before 1 could get near
enough to warrant her making another
throw.
Twice she threw the rope, and twics
it fell short On the third throw 1t lay
within a few feet of him. By des.
perate effort he grasped it, and, back.
ing, the girl pulling on the rope We
got Bob beside US, when. dropping the
oars, 1 pulled him in, though was
obliged. for fear of upsetting the boat
to wait till the side he was on was
tilted upward.
AS soon as I got him in he lost con
seriousness; but, leaving him to the at.
tentiOn of the girl. who took Of her
shawl and put it over him, / bent NY
efforts TO getting ashore. But we had
drifted near the rocky coast and would
have been lost had we not been seen
from the shore and a boat put out for
us. So intent was / on the rescue that
did not see it till 1 had looked about
me. Our friends reached us when We
had drifted TO within a quarter Of z
mile Of the rocks and / had not SUI. n
ficient strength left to pull away from
them against the wind. They took Us
in tow, and in due time we were taken ii
On the dock.
Fortunately they had brought 4
which was given to the per
son we had saved. and he recovered BE-
fore we left the boat. When all was
,ver the girl collapsed. but only for
'ew moments. Then for the first tine
'he seemed to realize her indebtedness 4
o me, and with a world Of grattnde
IN her features. but not spoken
words, she put out her hand TO me
My other hand was grasped by tns
nan we had rescued, he. too, express
ng by look rather than word his grap n
ude He was about the same age
he girl, though I could not tell wnelE
Ter he was older or younger. Boln
eemed to be about twenty. l pro
osed that we go where he couid u
warmed after his cold BATH anu ~
be way at a brisk pace up the dvA
nd over the beach TO the dunes, tnsn
ack OF them TO the village, where En-
ering a house, he was put to bed waa
OF water bottles without ana W.
unch within. Before leaving l ssA
D the girl:
He must be very dear to you or ~
Tould not have risked your NE ~
inn
"And yours" she replied \
"IIe is
my brother"
And so this story by this one VIZ
prevented from being, despite
xciting incidents, no story at Al. "a,
ad ]. under an impulse, risked my ~
} save girls lover ! should Ia
cen deprived of experiencing thar
arness toward her which might
wise be expected under the clISuyy
,ances. Indeed. said TO m!ss-
Any girl who will do all that iol
other surely would stand by aio.s
nd then and there became s
Dus TO be her lover. -
The time came when | was reNa'
II the service / had rendered -
ay / desired. BY saving man
wife.
Fat If ~ America