Evening star., 1915-03-07

slow thev were! What chance was there of
making the Eagle in time? He took to Won
dering how long it takes to freeze a marooned
reporter to the marrow of his bones. He
almost missed the hooting of the mob. At
least that kept him warm with angry shame
RU'r hark! What hubbub was that borne
- across the water from the deck of the
newly launched and now ignored propeller
A dense knot of gesticulating people crowded
in the bow, staring wildly over the side. BY
the confused murmurs and occasional hoarse
shouting Southwick made no doubt of some
catastrophe. But what? All his eyes could
find was a singular commotion in the red,
white, and blue bunting festooning the pro-
peller's black hull. A few feet below the
deck the gay bunting punched out and hung
heavy, like hammock with sleeper in it:
only the sleeper must have been afflicted
with nightmare; for nightly did he squirrn.
In moment the truth came home. Flung
off his feet when the ship took her first
mighty roll, some luckless wight had pitched
through the f1imsy temporary rail into the
decorations below, and now hung suspended
over the water. out of reach of his friends;
He must have been stunned for time, and
now had come to life If the fool would but
lie still till rope could be got!
That instant the bunting hammock
dropped one end, and out pitched headfore-
most the struggling figure of a boy. For an
instant he glared at the Susquehanna, ex-
pecting to see someone dive. But no, there
was frantic shouting and rushing about, and
now they were throwing rope, and throw
ing it clumsily, SO that it fell short. Small
help was likely to come from that quarter.
Unsteadily on his ice-island the CONCEALED
reporter got to his feet, his heart humping.
"It's up to mel he said. One thought for
the precious star assignment and then the
of his wet shoes. Jerking them off and
stripping away coat and cinging vest, he
raised both arms above his head to signal
the shore boat, and sent toward it a mighty
below for help. Then he dived.
The bitter shock of the water took his
breath. He struck out in fury of haste a
horror upon him lest before he could reach
his goal he should stiffen into a mere figure
of ice. He threw his whole desperate soul
into each straining stroke.
Soon sense came to him. He saw he
could do nothing in such hysterical fashion.
His blood warmed with the work, his brain
cleared, he fell into long, even, over-arm
stroke that did not waste his strength.
And it was soon clear he would need the
last ounce of his strength. He was vigor-
Gus swimmer having had plenty of practice
in the little home river the Canisteo, though
not in ice water nor yet with such burden
of clothing, and he had but bare three hun
dred feet to 60. But, alas his late exploit,
the shock of his fall, had taken it out of him:
Dismay seized him as the distance to the
Susquehanna appeared scarcely to lessen.
And now, the sun coming out, he swan
in a sea of broken sparkles teasing to the
eye That little black head bobbing on the
surface it still there? 1t wavered mad
deningly before his sight One moment he
thought it gone, the next that the boy was
ahoat and swimming feebly. Then vision
went out in a rain of dancing glints of light.
As he held his head well back--for he was
loath to swallow more than he must of the
foul water of the Blackwell-he could hear
the commotion, the puzzled shouts that fol-
lowed his dive, the roar that went up when
once the stragglers ashore made out his er-
rand. There succeeded a curious tense hush,
broken only by confused voices from the
Susquehanna hoarse voices with the note
of terror in them. And once he heard
woman's hysterical laugh, more unnerving
than any shrek. Meanwhile the rattle of
rowlocks, the hurried dip of oars, and an
occasional excited hail told him that the
clumsy, hat-bottomed boat was ahoat and
coming with what speed she might to his aid.
Still the Susquehanna seemed to hold him
off. Surely it was taking an eternity to make
three hundred feet Whv men had covered