Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1917-02-21
RUPERT HUGHES

Size forgot Trask and whirled round
Ia see the pilot fall across his own
wheel. The yacht wavered and swerved
In its course. Gloria was the nearest
To the pilothouse. She had been n
pupil Of h pilot only a few minutes
before. She ran to him, lifted him
aside and seized the wheel by It's pro-
jecting spokes, just In time TO keep
the yacht from crashing into the barge
at full speed. Sh made a sharp turn.
the yacht sweryed and ground along
the side of the barge. Gloria mean
while was alarmed more for the life
of the pilot than her own. She be-
a To cali stephen! Doctor Ryce.",
But Doctor Royce was too busy to
hear her call. His immediate inter
est was not In a wounded man, hut
in wounding n man. When he saw
that Trask was aiming his rife at
Gloria again. his whole being thrilled
with a ferocity unknown to him be-
fore. To save Gloria from being hurt
he would have massacred "a hundred
TraSks.
He leaped aboard the capal barge
before the d~eckhands could make IL
fast. He sprang at Track and seized
the rifle he held. He twisted IL out
Of Trask's hands before he could IRE
a second shot.
But he was pounced upon at once
by jed. who pinioned his arms aHd
flung him tn the deck. The captain
IT the yacht. following close after
Royce. laid hold Of Jed and dragged
him away before he could harm Royce.
But he left Royce supine ON the deck,
with rask's fatal clutch on his throat.
Gloria. wondering at Royce's not an
swering her call, chung 10 the wheel
TIL she saw the cable fast. then she
ran forward To the edge of the up
per deck and SAW why he failed her.
He was in the baleful clutch of Trask.
Gloria, looking for a weapon of res
cue. could find nothing but a life pre-
server tied 10 "a rope. She began 10
swing IL about her head in circles OF
increasing diameter, like u lasso.
II was revolving ut n violent rate
when ii reached Trask. Ii smote him
aside and dazed him into loosening his
grip for just n moment. This was
long enough for Royce to shake free
and regain his feet. He hurled him
self at Trask. but Trask. seeing his
victim erect and menacing. lost cour-
age and ran. At the edge of the barge
he slipped and sprawled. He would
have fallen between the yacht and the
barge into the river If the yacht had
not swung alongside in time e catch
him. Ii held him up. but II held him
as In a giant lemon squeezer, and IL.
squeezed his one and flesh with
dreadful force.
Gloria saw the agony In Trask's
face and the sight was horrible. h
saw the yacht swing free again.
Trask's body dropped into the wa
ter.
Now the life preserver that had
served as n weapon returned tn It's
original purpose. Gloria threw il TO
TraSk. Suffering as he was. he seized
II automatically and hooked his elbow
through il.
Now Royce also reverted 10 his pur-
pose as he knelt down and clutched at
Trask's collar as Gloria hauled him
In like a great fish. One Of the deck
hands Tended of the barge and the
yacht and kept them from closing in
again like scissors blades. Another
deckhand helped Royce drag Trask to
the deck. "
He was heavy. and his agony
seemed To increase upon him when the
desperate necessity of swimming was
over. He tainted the moment his drip
ping body was stretched out. and Doe
tor Royce had. as IL were. To save his
life twice, first 10 bring him back from
the swoon of pain. and then 10 bring
him back from the annihilation OF his
shattered machinery.
Meanwhile Jed was locked In a fe-
rocious wrcstlc with the captain OF
Pferpont's yacht. who called the en-
gineer 10 his aid. As the engineer
told P%ierpont, Il had to Knock him
senscless before | could knock any
sense into him"
And now Nell Trask, who had
turned from one battle to another,
tearing now M Royce and now at the
captain, recovered from the stupor
with which she had watched her fa-
Tiers disaster and. leaping over Ia the
yacht, knelt by him, calling TO him
with wild appeals and threatening
Royce as his slayer.
Gloria came running down from tn,
upper deck and too gazing mt the rel
suit of her work with utter diSmay.l
Trask was crushed and perhaps killed.
Jed was unconscious, and Nell seemed
To have gone ont of her mind
Gloria felt that her head was COW
cred with blood guilt. The sobs of
Nell were heart-breaking. Gloria fur-
got oil her resentments against Nell
n her father. She forget that Nell
had kept her prisoner. She saw only
that Nell was n mothcrless daughter,
who saw her father dying.
She caught the girl In her arms. herd
her in spite Of her resistance. muir