The Ekalaka eagle. [volume] (Ekalaka, Mont.) 1909-1920, 1916-09-22

AI"o aAA"> 1IClIC VI !
them could measure.
"Now, Miss Maxwell, you first" he
said. with an air of authority which
betokened some new move Of utmost
Importance.
"First-for what?" she managed to
ask.
You are going off in a boat. It is
your best chance. Please be quick
"No, Miss Barring goes before me,
then the others. I shall come last"
"Have it as you will. 1 addressed
you because you We're nearest the door.
Come along, Miss Barring"
He waited for no further words. He
grasped Isobel's arm and led her out
into the darkness. 1t seemed to be a
very long time before he returned.
"Now, Mrs. Somerville," he said, but
that unhappy lady was so unnerved
that he had to carry her.
Can you manage to bring the
maid?' he asked over his shoulder to
Elsie. She stopped over the maid, but
the girl wrestled and fought with her
in frantic dread Of the passage along
the deck and of facing that bowling
sea in a small boat.
Elsie herself was almost worn out
when Courtenay came back. He took
In the situation at a glance. He picked
up the shrieking maid in his strong
arms.
You won't mind waiting for me-
he said to Elsie. Don't ATTEMPT to
come alone. You are too exhausted"
1t was a fine thing to do, but she
smiled at him to show that she could
still repay his confidence.
II shall wait" she said simply.
SO she was left there all alone again
without even the dog to bear her com
pany.
This final waiting for the chance of
succor seemed to be the hardest trial
Of all. The door had been hooked to
keep 1t wide open. SO wind and sea
invaded the trim privacy of the cabin.
Spray leaped over the ship in such
dense sheets that a considerable guam
tlty OF water quickly lodged on the
port side. where C~ourtenay's bunk was
fixed. There were no means of escape
FOR 1t IN that quarter. and the angle at
which the Kansas lay would permit a
depth of at least two feet to accumu-
late ere the water began to flow out
through the door to the starboard.
At the great crises of existence the
stream of thought is apt to form
strange eddies. C%ourtenay when the
ship Strickland it was possible that
each second might register his last
conscious Unconstitutional himself
coolly reviewing various explanations
of the existence Of an uncharted shOal
in a locality situate many miles from
the knoWn danger one Elsie, strung
half consciously to the highest tension
by the a%ffrighting probability of being
set adrift in a small boat at the mercy
of the sea roaring without-a sea
which pounded the steel hull of the
Kansas with such force that the
great ship seemed to finch from each
blow like a creature in pain--Elsie,
then, faced by such an intolerable
prospect. was a prey to real anxiety
because the wearing apparel scattered
by Courtenay on the floor was becom-
ing soaked in brine.
She actually stopped to rescue a coat
which was not yet saturated beyond
redemption. AS she lifted the gar
ment a packet of letters tied with a
tape fell from its folds. She placed
the coat on the writing table and en-
deavored to stuff the letters into a
%pigeonhole. They We're too bulky, so
she laid them on the coat. In doing
this she could not avoid seeing the
words, "Iour loving sister. Madge,''
written on the outer fold of the last
letter in the bundle.
And that brought Il emo of her
previous visit to the captains state
room. She was incapable of reasoned
reflection. She felt that if she were
fated to live to a ripe old age she
would never forget a single detail of
the furniture and decorations of the
room. She would hear forever the do,
lorous bowling of the gale, the thump
ing of the waves against the quiverine
plates. the rapid methodic thud of the
donkey engine, which. long since de
serted by its cowardly attendant, was
falthfuly doing its work and flooding
the ship with electric light.
Not thinking in the least what she
was doing. she scrutinzed the closely
tied packet. She wondered idly why
he treasured so many missives. Eacl
and every one, oddly enough, was
written on differently sized and vari
ously colored note paper, and it coult
he seen at a glance that they were
from as many different people. The
l outside letter was the most clearly Wis
ihle. Miss courtenay wrote a vel
formed, flowing hand. If handwriting
We're Il clew to character she was :
, candid. generous, open minded woman
l But what was this: Elsie suddenl!
t threw down the letters. She had rea(
| "A sentence at the top of the page twice
| before she actually graSpcd its pur