The Argosy, January 1907 — page 27: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

IN THE DEPTHS OF DISASTER, That despair echoed in my _ heart. Billy was exhausted by his desperate struggle against the rapacious hordes. So was I. ‘It seemed inevitable that very soon we must sink down exhausted amid the hungry monsters. And then In that moment of despair [I had an inspiration. It was an idea that gave no certainty of escape from a hideous fate, but it offered hope, and hope to us then was new life. “Come,” I said to my brother. “Come?” he repeated vaguely. “ Where?” ‘Anywhere out of this circle,” I ex- plained. As I spoke I leaped the waist-high wall that surrounded fus. I almost fell as I struck into the mass beyond up to my knees, but I caught my balance, by the mercy of Heaven, and in a minute more | had plowed my way through the writhing things until the crabs reached hardly to my ankles. “Come,” I shouted again to Billy. This time he obeyed me promptly, and very soon he was at my side. We kicked the beasts clear of us, and sat down for a little rest. For the moment we ‘were safe. The vast bulk of the crabs were gathered about the spot where we had been. Else- where on the cay they were only two or three layers deep, so that we were able to hold them at bay. It was thus that we came alive out of the terrors of that night. From time to time we changed our position as the mass about us thickened with the crowding of the relentless creatures, and by this means we thwarted them. But we could hardly stand for weak- ness, though to fall meant death. When the first gray of dawn shone in the east, I sent all my soul into a prayer that again these enemies that had come in the darkness would fiee from the light of day. And again, to our un- speakable joy, the advancing light drove the ‘myriads back to their secret places under the sea, and we were left alone, to sink down in a stupor of rest. I do not know how long I slept, but when I awoke I judged by the position of the sun that it was about the middle of the afternoon. I found myself great- ly refreshed, but outrageously hungry: 2A 209 The gnawing within me drove my thoughts to the provisions, and I got up, to go in search of them. I came to the place on the shore where they had been, but I could-see nothing of them. I stared all about anxiously, but there was no trace of the bag or the water cask. Then and then only, I remembered the crabs. We had fled in wild dismay from the spot to escape our foes, and in the stress of our emotion had forgotten to take the provisions with us. They had gone to glut the famished creatures that sought to feed on us. As the situation became clear to me, I again fell into despair. It was thus that Fate broke us down with repeated blows. I knew that after the struggle of the past night, the weakening of our strength by starvation must leave us helpless at the mercy of the crabs long before the next night had passed. Death was cer- tain now. I looked at Billy, who was still asleep, and I had not the heart to waken him. Every moment of unconsciousness was a moment stolen from despair. And then, presently, my _ brother awoke and came to where I still stood, and looked about him even as I had looked. At last, without a word, he turned and gazed into my eyes. He read his own knowledge reflected there, and still without a word, he faced about and stood looking out to sea. After a while I flung myself down on the sand, and there I sat in abject despair. What hurt me most was that I had failed so terribly. I had planned to avenge my uncle’s death, to recover his money. I had accomplished worse than nothing. 7 Billy cast himself on the ground beside me, and in dead ‘silence we gazed at the waste of ocean and thought the thoughts of hopelessness. The sun was close to the horizon, when my eye caught a bit of blackness on the water, far away. I watched it idly, thinking it to be a bird. But as I gazed, the speck grew bigger, and I knew that this could be no bird. A wild, incredulous hope sprang up in my bosom. I spoke to Billy: “See, out there!” and I pointed. “What is that?” . GEomichoo <S) (E@)