The Ekalaka eagle. [volume] (Ekalaka, Mont.) 1909-1920, 1916-09-15

''AN ~ iVdiIy cIuCu. / dLu sure you
Will make her understand that this is
not a place for a woman"
Again he swept the row of silent
bodies with a comprehensive hand.
Yet the trivial thought intruded itself
on the sailor that this elegant old
Spaniard delegated the task of expla-
nation to him solely because he did
not wish to appear before Miss Max
we'll in a somewhat disheveled state.
He dismissed the notion at once.
"How many?" he asked, glancinc at
the quiet forms which bore no band-
ages.
ELEVEN now. BY the way, just one
word. What chance have we:' Chris
tobal put the concluding sentence in
French.
Courtenay answered in the same Ian
guage: "A very poor one. But l shall
come to the salon and warn YOU. That
will be only fair, don't you think?'
Most certainly. Well, l may as we'll
finish here And the doctor signed to
his helpers to lift the next sufferer on
to the table.
Courtenay returned to the stairway.
At the top stood Elsie. looking eager
ly for his temperance. \ sense Of
unutterable anguish shook him for a
second as he saw the sweet face, in
stinct with life and beauty, gazing
down at him. How monstrous it was
to think of such a fair woman being
battered out Of recognition against the
rocks. He bit his lip savagely, and it
is to be feared the words he swallowed
were not those of supplication. But
his eyes were ain and his voice well
under control when he said:
CDR. Christobal is captain below
there, Miss Maxwell, and he absolute
~ vetoes your presence. He was ex-
ceedingly distressed at being compelled
to send you such a message. However,
he will 500 explain matters to YOU in
person, as he is coming att almost at
once
Elsie was disappointed. She dreaded
the return to the salon, with its queer
~ assorted company. When she quit
ted them they We're in a state Of indie
scribable distress. Gray and the Eng
lishman were helping the chief stew
ard to adjust life belts, but Isobel was
in a frenzy Of despair, her maid had
tainted. DE Poincilit and the rSpaniards
We're muttering alternate appeals to
the saints and oaths Of utter abandon
ment, and Mrs. Somerville was almost
unconscious, while her husband knelt
by her side and wrung his hands in
abject misery. Anything was better
than to go back to that woeful assem-
bly,. yet she choked down a protest and
said quietly:
II am ready. | am afraid | have
been a bother to you, Captain Courte-
nay
"Say, rather, you have given me
hope. l think heaven has work for
you to do in the world. Let me go out
first. Never mind Joey. He can strus
gle along behind. Steady now. Head
t down and lean we'll against the wind"
Elsie found, to her Amusement, that
there was less sense of danger in fac
ing the wind than in being driver
) along before it. Moreover. she had
greater confidence during this SECOND
transit owe the exposed portion OF tho
. deck. She felt Courtenay dragging her
5 on irresistibly until they gained the lee
of the smoking room. He let her rest
-, there beneath the ladder leading to the
bridge. Then a strange revulsion OF
feeling came to him. He experienced
an overwhelming desire not 10 be part
ed from her. He had a S%ickcning fear
that he might never see her again. so
1o SJCJ,+nG J.nr,- clncn fn h,t. ,1,oo1-.
Would you like to sit in my cabin a
little While if | bring Miss Baring:'
She thought that would be splendid,
Courtenay, if any one, woul0 succeed
in calming Isobel. In order to make
herself heard she in turn had to put
her lips quite near to Courtenny's face
Yes she cried: II shall be only toe
pleased. But be patient with her, She
is very frightened"
There is no accounting for the work.
ings of a mans mind. Cour1enay, a,
no time a lady's man. most certainly
had other matters to attend to Just
then. Yet here he was thinking only
of a woman's comfort. His disma,
forebodings We're hanished by a rush
Of absurd delight at the thought that
he would have an opportunity of speak.
ing to her occasionally. What a brave
girl she was. What a wife for a sail
or. In truth, these We're mad notions
that iostled in his brain when his life
and hers We're not worth an hours
purchase. He drew her to the foot OF
the ladder.
Run ahead. Joey" he cried. The
dog. a weird little figure, leaning for
ward at a ridiculous angle against the
tearing wind, obeyed instantly. Nov
: YOU" he said to Elsie. ''blt wait unit.
| pass You at the top
t Though her skirts were troublesome
she managed the ascent. Then she
$ was taken off her feet again and hard
e ly knew where she was until she found