Evening star., 1918-03-31

By REX BEACH q -
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light brought an increased breeze
which heeled the boat farther; She
%.s' sooS hotter Sus shs her
and It became necessary to lend Leslie
and Jacket hand with the baiiing.
The deep channel was far behind now.
and they were on the shallow Bahama
glimpse beds OF sponges, patches of
coral, white bottom with occasional
forests of briliiant-hued sea fans. The
horizon still remained vacant and the
tip of Andros lay far to the north.
Fortunately the haze was not thick
enough to wholly obscure the sun and
30 O'Reiliy was enabled to hold his
course. But he did not like the look
OF things.
BY 10 o'clock dshe sea was tumbling
and the worm eaten hulk was laboring.
It became necessary to shorten sail.
Soon the bottom Of the boat was awash
and Esteban lay in q pool Of brine.
out they could not lower its level. The
wind freshened steadily; all hands
worked desperately. wet to the skin.
In time there came 4 spiteful driz8le
no indication of the course except the
direction whence drove the rain.
No one spoke now. Even Esteban
lay silent. shivering miserably upon
his soddsn bed. In obedience to
board all but a half-dosen Of the re-
naming cocoanuts. Rosa finally
straightened her aching back and
smiled at her husband.
OR no ms sclax Thi. dswn is er.y sh' a'ssa saaa
he told her. with an assumption Of
confidence he was far from feeling.
Johnnie tried to reason himself into
more hopeful frame of mind. He
panions had survived too many perils
to become the prey Of an idle breeze
like this; he argued that no fate could
be 30 cruel as to cheat them when
manful effort brought him little COM
fort in the face Of the chilling rain
and with the whitecaps curling higher
Del1verance came suddenly. and
from the least expected quarter. Out
Of the mist to starboard there material
lied shape, a schooner driving ahead
OF the wind. The refugees deserted her
simultaneously and stood ankle deep in
the wash. waving their hats and their
calabashes. and shouting crasily until
she saw them and fetched up.
Intense Thanksgiving. q melting re-
lief robbed O'Rsilly of half his
strength; his hands were shaking. his
his craft alongside. He saw black
faces staring down. he heard cries of
then heaving Tine came aboard ana
the leaky tub was drawn close
There was a babble Of voices, shout
ed questions. hysterical answers. Rosa
was weeping softly; Norine had lifted
Esteoan and now clutched him tight,
while her tears fell upon his face.
for Nassau: its blackbird crew spoke
English and they willingly helped the
strangers oversize. laughing and
shouting in childlilte display Of ex-
the feel of that stout deck! How
safe the schooner's measured roll,
OReilly's knees gave way, he cIutched
with strained and aching fingers at
tne rigging to support himself. leaving
Branch and Jacket to tell the surpris-
ing story of their presence here. Soon
there was hot food and coffee, dry beds
and blankets for those who needed
them.
Johnnie tucked his bride snurly into
and kissed her. Rosa's teeth were
but she smiled happily.
Gods hand directed u.s." she said.
"One only needs to pray long enough
and strong enough and He win hear"
1t was a month later. Quaint old
lay dozing under an afternoon
sun. Its wide shell streets. its low
houses. the beach against which It
crowded, were dazzling white, as tf
the town had been washed clean, then
spread out to bleach. Upon the hort
pe fyoth blown r0tmy tniyhsa cloud
scene of the cleansing. A breeze
caused the surface of the harbor to ,
lance and dimple merrily, the sound
II laughter came from the waterfront ,
men were busy with their boats and ,
gear. Robust negresses with deep ,
,osoms and rolling hips balanced
baskets and trays upon their heads .
Ind stood gossiping with one another
'r exchanging shouts with their men
1