Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1915-04-21
III III IN
M I'M I'M

The belly of the boat was to be
seen bobbing on the waves far beyond
the mouth of the passage.
! They watched it for a long time in
silence and dread. A shudder swept
over them and they clasped hands,
looking again into each others dis
mayed eyes.
God knows where that boat will go
before it finds a resting place" he muir
INJURED. I'm glad / made the try for
shore" He grinned. Wed be we'll
on our way to Europe-or maybe Afri-
ca, Joan. before night. Or Davy Jones
locker. as old Jabez Carr would say.
81 prefer Eddy's Islands," she said
simply. She stood beside him. straight
slim. her drenched garments cling
lng to her body as if glued, her soft
brown hair plastered dow and matted
with the salt of the sea. her hat hang
ing limp and desolate over her shout
der. do YOU suppose they will send
boats out to search for us. IIric?"
of course they will" he cried cheer
Iuily. But there was no sail to be seen.
strain their eyes as they would i'm the
direction of the mainland.
w might as Well explore the ISL
and he vent ON. hiding the anxious
note in his voice. lit can't be later
than 3 o'clock. They'll be here before
dark. sure. Wait! Let me think a min
! ute"
He stood there looking quizzically up
at the sky. The June sun had resumed
it's boiling heat. The breeze. though
brisk. was warm and soft. with the
smell of the land II vegetation.
Our clothes will soon dry out in this
sunshine he reflected aloud. We're
4 M .ny.Cn tt0,, 80 ,,.1sxl ;-~< O,~. ~.H e
the surf and We're summing ourselves
on the beach. Maybe you'd He hes
itated i'm some embarrassment. Maybe
you'd like to be left alone for awhile,
Joan. toto tidy yourself up a bit"
She looked surprised and grateful.
III take a look about the island NY
self, first. and be back in an hour"
II am Il perfect fright she said dis
consolately.
mo, you're not" he cried warmly.
Then he left her. She watched him
scramble off among the rocks above,
and then. with a sigh of despair. began
fumbling for combs in the hopelessly
gnarled mass of hair.
When he came back whistling from
his detour of the bleak little island, on
which grew not u single spear of vege-
tatiOn. she vas sitting composedly in
the sun. her long brown hair hanging
loose to dry. her wistful eyes gazing
OuL ONSI Vie water III Ino ulEGCIlOn III
home. She had her shoes n
stockings. and they, too. We're drying
near at hand. Somehow. you had the
feeling that her shirt waist and the
duck skirt also had been wrung out
n dried and pressed into an amaz-
lngly ~preSentablc shape. The eternal
feminine in her!
He. too. was parefooted. The rocks
were growing hot beneath the rays of
the sun. He walked with the tender
care of one who finds discomfort in the
act of putting down his foot.
Good" he exclaimed. That's the
, way Mary dries her hair" he added in
the most matter of fact way.
way? IN put it up at
Don't! l like it! It's gorgeous. Good
ness. Id never think o had so much
hair. You-you can sit on it, can't you?'
NO one sits on her hair" she re-
torted. not quite sure whether to be
pleased. Eric. ! must have a drink
! of water
His face frightened. There isn't a
sign of "A spring on Little Eddy" he
| said.
What" she walled.
But" he added triumphantly. II
found a pool of rain water up there at
the top. and covered it with a slab of
stone. SOS 1t wouldn't evaporate. Come
along. I'll show you over the island
if-Iee! Doesn't it burn your feet?"
"Ooh / should say it does!" she
cried. screwing her face into an exag-
gerated expression of pain. They were
| young.
Together they picked their way to
the pool he had SO th%oughtfully located
and preserved. Then they sought th,.
shade of the shelving rock and sat
~shoreward. searching the horizon for
sails or the smoke of tugs.
The afternoon wore away, and the
gloom OF dusk began to settle over the
blue waters. the evening mist creeping
out from the shore to meet the shad-
W from the mysterious east. The cast
Always so near to home yet so for from
its security. fell into a dull. brooding
silence. their thoughts crowded with
vague fears n a certain growing re-
sentiment toward those on shore who
were failing them. They could not I'M
derstand why a whole fleet of boats
a not put forth at once to search for
them. Was not h the daughter of
a supreme court judge? Was not ne
the nephew Of the great Horace Blag-
den? Why. then. were they being treat
ed with such indifference. such mex
nlicable disdain? Could 1t be possible
that no n cared what became Oh
them? A thousand bitter thoughts as
sailed them as they sat there, staring
out over the d%arkening sea. Neither
complained aloud. and yet both had
come to feel that they would not be
found that night.
The great~reyolving lantern in the
distant lighthouse sent out it's beams:
the stars struggled through the scat
tering mists. and the solemn moon
spread a soft glow over their world Of
desolation. The tapping of the waves,
the: regular swish of disturbed waters
against the lonely reef were the only
sounds that fell Upon their ears. They
were hungry, exhausted, despairing.