American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1917-12-14

And the men In the boats Viii 10.
ashore, scatter and never be heard
from again. No one will ever learn
what became Of the Indian Chief, or
that we were aboard7"
"The French cruiser will report hav-
Ing spoken us at sea. That will be
the last word. The truth will never
be made clear. Our fate will be anoth-
er sea mystery, never explained"
Some Of the crew might talk later
In liquor"
There is always hat danger, and
Mccain Is farslghted enough to guard
against It as far as possible. The
boats will easily become separated In
the darkness. II the others are ever
picked up, II will be accidentally by
some ship at sea-and there are al
most no ships In this ocean. There
are few flaws In the plan, as / have
figured out"
She did not answer, her eyes on
my face, her expression exhibiting the
horror she felt at this vivid picture
which l had drawn. Then she slowly,
gently withdrew her hand from my
grasp, sinking into u chair, her head
bent forward.
"You-you really believe they actu-
ally plan to do all this2" she asked
at last. And what-what about met
You suggested that-that marriage
might save me from this fate. Do you
think so Ill of me as to imagine l
would ever consent to such a bargain2"
"What l may imagine has nothing
TO do with the case, Miss Vera. My
thought, and that of Fergus Mccain,
Is not liable to be the same on any
subject. The only hope he can have
Of ever winning you Is through threat.
He possesses power and can assail you
with deadly peril. 1t Is my belief that
he contemplates doing So"
THAT he win offer me choice Of
marriage with him, or death7"
"Yes; II will not be put In just so
brutal IA form. for the fellow has a
certain polish over his ~villainy, but
II will mean that"
Loan me the revolver"
"For what purpose?'
'yro kill the brute, II ever he dares
such n proposal. Mr.. Hollis, l would
die before l would ever permit his
touch Marry him to save my life
Why, | am so ashamed l cannot look
you In the face: cannot ever find
words to express my detestatlon Of
such a suspicion"
l stepped forward, and my hand
gently rested on the bowed shoulder.
my dear girl" / said earnestly,
look at me. and believe my words.
Lift your y l want you to read
the truth in my heart. II Is not your
life alone; II is mine also, n the
lives Of nearly all the others aboard,
which are at stake. For the sake Of
us all am going to ask Of you a sac
rifce."
There had been n mist Of tears In
the uplifted eyes. but as | paused this
had vanished.
"A sacrihce1" she stammered. '"rhat
! marry that manf"
God Forbid No; but that you en-
courage him TO think 1t possible"
"Oh, l could not--I could notl Do
not ask that OF me"
'But listen" | urged eagerly. forget
ful OF all else IN the earnestness OF
my plea. Vera, listen before YOU
make decision. The only possible
hope lies In the freedom Of one OF US
aboard. | can st juggle figures as to
keep the ship safely at sea for another
day and night, but no longer.
someone must be free to act and
plan. l cannot. nor any OF those men
confined amidshlps. BY winning Nc
Cams confidence by seeming 10 yield
20 his desires. you viii be allowed free
dom on board. You can demand It as
the price Of your surrender. All else
must depend on your woman's wit"
"But-but could I convince the man
OF my slncerlty7 IL detest him So"
"He will want 10 be convinced your
mere consent will satisfy him. You
must not look at this from your stand
point. He is conceited and cowardly.
To save his own life he would be
guilty OF any t%reacherous act. He will
Judge you by his standards. There
will be no necessity for any p%retense
at love you need not even permit him
to touch you. Merely allow him to
believe that fear makes you an unwil-
ling victim"
"You-you actually wish me 70 do
this-play this hideous part7"
~Only because Of our desperate sit
uation; we must fight with the only
weapon at hand. There is no other
course open. The one thing l have in
mind ls-someone on board free 10 re-
lease the prisoners Immediately after
the boats leave, In time TO enable us
to prevent the ships going down"
"But-but. Mr.. Hollis, would-would |