Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1924-12-31
"The Wings of the Morning"
A TALE OF ADVENTURE
(B
A TALE OF ADVENTURE
(By LOUIS TRACY


"Oh, it is pitiful," he almost whim-
| pered. "It cannot bel"
| With a gesture of despair he drew
| the sleeve of his thick jersey across
his eyes to clear them from the gath
ering mist. Then he tremblingly en-
deavored to open the neck of her
dress and unclaSp her corsetS. He had
vague notion that ladies in a faint
| ing condition required such treat
ment, and he was desperately re-
solved to bring Iris Deane back to
conscious existence if it were possible.
His task was rendered difficult by the
waistband of her dress. He slipped out
clasp-knife and opened the blade.
| Not until then did he discover that
! the nail of the forefinger on his right
| hand had been torn out by the quick,
probably during his endeavors to
grasp the unsteady support which
contributed so materially to his es-
cape. 1t still hung by shred and
hindered the free use of his hand.
| Without any hesitation he seized the
offending nail in his teeth and COM
pleted the surgical operation by a
rapid jerk.
startled to find the girls eyes wide
| open and surveying him with shadowy
alarm. She was quite conscious, abb
surdly so in sense, and had noticed
his strange action.
THANK God!" he cried hoarsely.
you are alive"
Her mind as yet could only work in
a single groove.
"Why did you do that?" she whis-
pered.
"Do what?"
"Bite your nail Off"
| "It was in my way I wished to cut
open your dress at the waist. You
were collapsed, almost dead, thought,
and I wanted to unfasten your cor
SETS"
Her color came back with remark
able rapidity. From all the rich vari-
ETY. of the English tongue few words
could have been selected of such re-
storative effect.
She tried to assume sitting pos
ture, and instinctively her hands trav-
eled to her disar2anged costume.
"How ridiculous!" she said, with a
! little note of annoyance in her voice,
which sounded curiously hollow. But
her brave spirit could not yet COM
mand her enfeebled frame. She was
perforce compelled to sink back to
the support of his knee and arm.
"Do you think you could lie quiet
until | try to find some Water?" he
gasped anxiously
She nodded childlike acquiescence,
and her eyelids fell. 1t was only that
her eyes smarted dreadfully from the
salt water, but the sailor was sure
| that this was premonition of lapse
to Inconsistencies.
| "Please try not to faint again." he
said. Don't you think I had better
| loosen these things? You can breathe
more easily"
A ghost of smile fiickered on her
lips. "No, no." she mumured. "My
eyes hurt me-that is all. Is there
any-water"
He laid her tenderly on the sand
and rose to his feet. His first glance
was towards the sea. He saw some
thing which made him blink with as
constituent A heavy sea was still
running over the barrier reef which
enclosed a small lagoon. The contrast
between the fierce commotion outside
and the comparatively smooth surface
of the protected pool was very marked.
At low tide the lagoon was almost
completely isolated. Indeed, he mag
med that only fierce gale blowing
from the northwest would enable the
waves to leap the reef, save where a
strip of broken water, surging far in
to the small natural harbor, betrayed
the position of the tiny entrance.
Yet at this very point fine cocoa
nut palm reared its stately column
high in air, and it's long tremulous
fronds were now swinging wildly be-
fore the gale From where he stood it
appeared to be growing in the midst of
the sea, for huge breakers completely
hid the coral embankment. This SEN
tinel of the land had a weirdly i'm
pressive effect. 1t was the only fixed
object in the waste of foam-capped
waves. Not vestige of the Sirdar re-
NAMED seaward, but the sand was lit
tered with wreckage, and-mournful
spectacle!--a considerable number of
inanimate human forms lay huddled
up amidst the relics of the steamer.
This discovery stirred him to action.
He turned to survey the land on which
he was stranded with his helpless
companion. To his great relief he dis
covered that it was lofty and tree
clad. He knew that the ship could not
have drifted to Borneo, which still lay
far to the south. This must be one of
the hundreds of islands which stud
the China Sea and provide resorts for
Hainan fishermen. Probably it was in
habited, though he thought it strange
that none of the islanders had put in
an appearance. In any event, water
and food, of some sort, were assured.
But before setting out upon his
quest two things demanded attention,
The girl must be removed from her
present position 1t would be too hor-
rible to permit her first conscious
gaze to rest upon those crumpled OBJ
jects on the beach. Common humanity
demanded, too, that he should hastily
examine each of the bodies in case
life was not wholly extinct.
So he bent over the girl, noting with
sudden wonder that, weak as she was,
she had managed to refasten part of
her bodice.
you must permit me to carry you
a little further inland" he explained
gently.
Without another word he lifted her
in his arms, marveling somewhat at
the strength which came of necessity,
and bore her some little distance. I'M
til a sturdy rock, jutting out of the
sand, offered shelter from the wind