back to the cove; the landing must be made on the open beach, and, although Captain Eri had more than once brought a dory safely through a high surf, he had never attempted it when his boat had nearly a foot of water in her and carried a helpless passenger. Little by little, still running before the wind, the Captain edged in toward the shore. Luther Davis moved once or twice, but said nothing. His oilskins were frozen stiff and his beard was a lump of ice. Captain Eri began to fear that he might die from cold and exhaustion before the attempt at landing was made. The Captain resolved to wait no longer, but to take the risk of running directly for the beach. He was near enough now to see the leaping spray of the breakers, and their bellow sounded louder than the howl of the wind or the noises of the sea about him. He bent forward and shouted in the ear of the prostrate life-saver. "Luther!" he yelled, "Lute!" Captain Davis' head rolled back, his eyes opened, and, in a dazed way, he looked at the figure swinging back and forth with the oars. "Lute!" shouted Captain Eri, "listen to me! I'm goin' to try to land. D'you hear me?" Davis' thoughts seemed to be gathering slowly. He was, ordinarily, a man of strong physique, courageous, and a fighter every inch of him, but his strength had been beaten out by the waves and chilled by the cold, and the sight of the men with whom he had lived and worked for years drowning He looked at one by one, had broken his nerve. his friend, and then at the waves. "What's the use?" he said feebly. "They're all gone. I might as well go, too." Captain Eri's eyes snapped. "Lute Davis," he exclaimed, "I never thought I'd see you playin' cry-baby. Brace up! What are you, anyway?" The half frozen man made a plucky effort. “All right, Eri," he said. "I'm with you, but I ain't much good." "Can you stand up?" "I don't know. I'll try." Little by little he raised himself to his knees. "'Bout as fur's I can go, Eri," he said, between his teeth. "You look out for yourself." The dory was caught by the first of the great waves, and, on its crest, went flying toward the beach. Captain Eri steered it with the oars as well as he could. The wave broke, and the halffilled boat paused, was caught up by the succeeding breaker, and thrown forward again. The Captain, still trying to steer with one oar, let go of the other, and seizing his companion by the belt, pulled him to his feet. "Now then," he shouted, "stand by!" The boat poised on the curling wave, bent down like a hammer, struck the sand, and was buried in water. Just as it struck, Captain Eri jumped as far shoreward as he could. Davis sprang with him, but it was really the Captain's strength that carried them clear of the rail. They kept their feet for an instant, but, in that instant, Captain Eri dragged his friend a yard or so up the shelving beach. Then they were knocked flat by the next wave. The Captain dug his toes into the sand and braced himself as the undertow sucked back. Once more he rose and they staggered on again, only to go down when the next rush of water came. Three times this performance was repeated, and, as they rose for the fourth time, the Captain roared, "Now!" Another plunge, a splashing run, and they were on the hard sands of the beach. Then they both tumbled on their faces and breathed in great gasps. But the Captain realized that this would not do, for, in their soaked condition, freezing to death was a matter of but a short time. He seized Davis by the shoulder and shook him again and again. "Come on, Lute! Come on!" he insisted. "Git up! You've got to git up!" And, after a while, the life-saver did get up, although he could scarcely stand. Then, with the Captain's arm around his waist, they started slowly up the beach toward the station. TO THE PUPIL: 1. a. Occupant means one who has possession — in this case, the man who was in the boat; stationary means not moving; preliminary, preparatory, introductory; conscious, having possession of one's senses; exhaus= tion, total loss of strength; prostrate, lying down. b. Use the proper word in each one of the blank spaces: There are tubs in our kitchen. The of the taxi-cab gave the chauffeur a tip when he got out. He was made un by the fall. The soldier fell when he was shot. The winner of the hundredfor some time after to the game, each nine was allowed yard dash was in a state of the race. fifteen minutes for practice. |