, 1923-06-20

ticuiarly. 1 was thinking"
What was you thinking about?,
He laughed. my people"
What made you think of them
for?"
"You?"
"Me?"
Yes, l was wondering what you'd
think of them If you saw them, espe-
cially my aunts."
well, you take the bun" said Jude
you sitting there thinking of YOUR
aunts and me running with them
eggs! She stopped of a sudden; her
memory had suddenly conjured up the
"wuzzard."
THAT cuss!" said Jude. "The one
saw" She wriggled close to him
till their sides touched. ~"S'posin'?"
"Yes?"
"Sposin' he was to take II into his
head to do n walk along h9re?'
Don't you bother about him." said
Radcliffe. "rd kick him into the sen
besides, he was only an optical illu-
sion. 1t was my stupid talk did it,"
I'm not bothering," said Jude.
"only It's n burned long time till
morning. N'matter: :" she rested her
hand on his shoulder in all the famil-
iarity of companionship; then she
shifted her hand from his left to his
right shoulder S o that her arm was
across his back, and her she fell
silent and he felt something poking
into his left shoulder-it was her
nose! She had evidently under his
protection forgotten 'hants'' and
"~wuzzards," forgotten him, even, for
she was humming a sort of tune I'M
der her breath.
He knew exactly her mental condi-
tion-mind wandering-and it was a
strange feeling to be cuddled like that
by a person who had half-forgotten
his existence, except as a protection
against fears, especially when he re-
membered her recent a~ntagonism that
had developed so mysteriously and
as m~ysteriously vanished. He slipped
his left arm round her to make her
more comfortable. Then her nose
CAV place to her cheek against his
shoulder and she yawned. He could
feel her ribs under her guernsey and
the beat of her heart just beneath the
gentle swell of her breast.
She released herself from his arm
and s%crambllng about in the starlight
on her hands and knees began to
make n sand pillow.
There you are!" said she. "Stick
your head on It: I'll take first watch.
You be port watch, and I'll be sta
board"
"Ne. you won'tl will. I'm not a
bit sleepy"
"Neither'm I. Stick your head on
II. You've gotta turn In or you'll be
no use tomorrow"
He did ms he was bid. and Jude
took her place sitting on the sand
close TO him.
"Give us n call If anything hap
pens" said he.
"Yqi betl" replied Jude.
ThSn he closed his eyes, A moment
before and he had been leagues away
from sleep. but with the compulsory
closing of his eyes n d~rowsiness began
to steal on him. II was as though the
tide OF sleep were rising TO drift him
of.
Now, suddenly. he was walking In
the blazing sunlight on the spit, and
toward him was walking the "wuz-
zard"-a little old man in n cooked
hat with a spyGlass under his arm.
who vanished, giving place to Jude,
carrying n hatful of Gulls' eggs.
Then SHELTON landed from some
where. and Jude, turning. was calling
him a "pesky brute
The words broke the dream, and he
opened his eyes. The moon had just
risen, touching the spit, and In her
light. seated on the sand propped M
on its stills. n spirit crab, white ms
snow with ruby eyes, was staring Mt
Jude.
Drugged with WEAKNESS md ozone
he closed his eyes for one moment
determined 10 rise up and drive the
thing away in one moment. When he
opened his eyes again the u was
rising.
The gulls were mewlng md chilling
and living above him in the blue. He
was living on his bnck, his left arm
out. and .Jude's head on his shoulder.
She had ~snuggled mp beside him for
and had fnllen asleep. Her
arm was flung oyer his chest. II was
the embrace of n tired child, delight
ful 10 wake up ms the freshness OF
- A.. IIfA nf tho MnFln
and the innocence Of the ilower-hlne
sky, delightful ms her breath s"'el
md warm against his cheek. As he
moved she stirred. grumbled some
thing under her breath, shifted her
head so that his arm was released
and turned on her other side with her
right arm flung out on the SAND.
He stood up. The tide was In and
the dinghy only waiting TO be
~ Nsat a sail Or supgk uuOn