The herald. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1905-1953, 1922-11-02
FOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~
BY FRANCES e. GOODRICH
. by Mcclure Newspspei syndicate)

cove. Like a chill, yielding blanket IL
pressed down ON the little village The
men who had been out in their boats
came to shore and prepared to spend
the time repairing nets and doing the
numerous odd jobs that were left for
just such weather.
In one of the larger houses In the
village a husky young fisherman stood
for a moment at the window, looking
into the graynesS. After a while, with
a shake of his head, he turned away
and again put on his oiIskinS.
"Now, surely. Tom, you're not going
out again in this fog. | never did see
such an uneasy boy in my life
well you know. Aunt Myra, l can
see just as well in the fog. I've got
fog eyes, you know" and with II laugh
he was gone, leaving his aunt shaking
her head.
Swiftly he reached the beach, and
pushing off the light dory. skillfully
threaded his way among the boats and
put out To the open sea. Ii did seem
as though he had sixth sense Of di-
rection. for there was no heSitancy in
the way he drove the boat through the
dimnesS.
Il guess Ned Bentley won't tackle
this kind of work today. He'll take
the road to Mary's and I'll beat him
by over an hour. He can't slip any
thing over me-"
The stiffness would have been I'M
canny To anyone else but a born sea-
faring man, for there was peculiar
quality about il, unlike any land still
ness.
Suddenly Toms trained ear noted a
sound, steady, slow pulSing on his
left. "One of the liners coming in he
murmured to himself. and again he
dreamed his dreams of being one OF
the guld-braided officers who trOd SD
proudly the decks of the great ocean
ships.
A sudden rifle Of wind and light
lifting of the fog. Again the stiffness,
the throbbing of slowly moving en-
gineS, and the noise from the power
fully welded oars. Then came Il
stronger breeze than before and this
time the fog lifted clearly for a mo.
!aept. In that instant a pictuC" leaped
clear on the sea. Slowly the great
ship came on. and under her bows, like
a pigmy cruuched at the feet of ii
giant, was a tiny boat. Swiftly il
slipped into the deep trough made by
the ship. balanced crafty for a second,
then overturned, and its one occupant
was beneath the Oncoming bows.
In an instant Tom knew who was
in that boat, even though he was too
far distant TO see the face clearly. So
Ned had taken the chance and lost out
Fate had taken hand in the game
and had played on Toms side. There
was nothing he could do, he argued.
There was no reason why he should
risk his own life on a fools errand.
Ii wasn't possible that anyone could be
swept under those great bows and
live.
So he rowed steadily on, but his
strokes had somehow lost their power.
The oars moved slower and slower,
then stopped, and the boat drifted.
Tom battled alone in the fog and
silence.
Then suddenly shaking himself as
though to drive of some unwished for
power, he turned the boat back. After
ward it seemed for him that for hours
he had rOwed through the fog, calling
Neds name and searching the dim
waters. Then he had found him,
dragged him into the boat, whether
dead or not, he did not know, and had
rowed with ale his might to Mary's
home.
1t was night when Tom opened his
eyes in quiet. unfamiliar room. He
could hear fire suffering gayly near
by. and the CLEAN from a softly shaded
lamp came from another room. There
was soft movement near him and q
warm. gentle hand touched his.
He turned his head and gazed into
blue eyes near his own. He was
amazed to see the tears gather while
he gaZed; it must be that Mary cOnsid-
cred him little better than murderer
because of the time he had lost getting
to Neds rescue, and she was crying
because of 1t.
"Is-Ned-" He stopped, unable to
ask his question.
Ned is alive and well, thanks to
you, Tom. You saved his life and
risked your own getting him over the
rocks that night. You got him nearly
to the piazza, then slipped and struck
your head. Ned comes every day to
ask for you, and l think he likes to
see my cousin, who Is here with me,
too" and a tender little smile touched
her mouth.
Every day." Tom repeated. How
long have l been here?"
you've been here five weeks. Tom.
and. oh, how thankful was when the
delirium left you. Ii was terrible to
hear you rave about that night /
Tom groaned. If he had raved about
that night she would know just how
he had felt. 1t was impossible for a
girl like Mary to care for man who
had had black, murderous thoughts in
his mind.
Soft fingers drew his hand from his