CHAPTER XXIII
AN ESCAPE FROM THE RAFT
They watched with sinking hearts, West rising to his knees, and shadinghis eyes with his hand, as that thin spiral of smoke crept along thehorizon, and finally disappeared into the north. The raft rode so low inthe water that no glimpse of the distant steamer could be perceived, and,when the last faint vestige of smoke vanished, neither said a word, butsat there silent, with clasped hands. The bitterness of disappointmentwore away slowly, and as the uneventful hours left them in the samehelpless condition, they fell again into fitful conversation, merely tothus bolster up courage, and lead their minds to other thoughts. It wasmaddening to sit there motionless and stare off across the desolatewater, seeing nothing but those white-crested surges sweeping constantlytoward them, and to feel the continuous leap and drop of the frail raft,which alone kept them afloat.
The hours went by monotonously, with scarcely an occurrence to break thedreariness or bring a ray of hope. The clouds obscured the sky, yetoccasionally through some narrow rift, came a glimpse of the sun, as itrose to the zenith, and then began sinking into the west. The air wassoft, the breeze dying down, and the height of the waves decreasing; theraft floated more easily, and it no longer became necessary for them tocling tightly to the supports to prevent being flung overboard. But therecame out of the void no promise of rescue; the sea remained desolate anduntraversed, and finally a mist hung over the water, narrowing thehorizon. During the day they saw smoke but always far to the east, andquickly disappearing. Once West felt assured his eyes caught the glimmerof a white sail to the southward, but it was too far away for him to besure. At best, it was but a momentary vision, fading almost instantlyagainst the grey curtain of sky. He had scarcely attempted to point itout to Natalie when it completely vanished.
Their effort to talk to each other ceased gradually; there was so littlethey could say in the presence of the growing peril surrounding them.They had become the helpless sport of the waves, unable to act, think orplan, surrounded by horror, and aimlessly drifting toward the gloom ofanother night. Wearied beyond all power of resistance, the girl sanklower and lower until she finally lay outstretched in utter abandonment.West thrust his coat beneath her head, securely binding her to the raftby the rope's end, and sat beside her dejectedly, staring forth into thesurrounding smother. She did not speak, and finally her eyes closed.Undoubtedly she slept, but he made every effort to remain awake and onwatch, rubbing his heavy eyes, and struggling madly to overcome thedrowsiness which assailed him. How long he won, he will never know; thesun was in the west, a red ball of fire showing dimly through the cloud,and all about the same dancing expanse of sea, drear, and dead. The raftrose and fell, rose and fell, so monotonously as to lull hisconsciousness imperceptibly; his head drooped forward, and with fingersstill automatically gripped for support, he fell sound asleep also.
The raft drifted aimlessly on, the waves lapping its sides, and tossingit about as though in wanton play. The currents and the wind held it intheir relentless grip, and bore it steadily forward, surging along thegrey surface of the sea. The girl lay quiet, her face upturned,unconscious now of her dread surroundings; and the man swayed above her,his head bent upon his breast, both sleeping the sleep of sheerexhaustion. Out of the dim mist shrouding the eastern sky the vagueoutline of a distant steamer revealed itself for a moment, the smoke fromits stacks adding to the gathering gloom. It was but a vision fadingswiftly away into silence. No throb of the engines awoke the unconscioussleepers; no eye on the speeding deck saw the low-lying raft, or itsoccupants. The vessel vanished as suddenly as it had appeared, leavingnothing but a trackless waste of sea. The two slept on.
It was the startled cry of Natalie that roused West, and brought hisdrooping head, upright. She was sitting up, still held safely by the coilof rope, and pointing excitedly behind him.
"Oh, see there! Look where I point--isn't that land?"
The raft rocked as he swung his body hastily about, and gazed intently inthe direction indicated. Land! of course it was land; land already soclose at hand, his eyes could trace its conformation--the narrow strip ofsand beach, the sharp bluff beyond, the fringe of trees crowning thesummit. He rubbed his eyes, scarcely able to credit his sight, halfbelieving it a mirage. Yet the view remained unchanged; it was land, abit of the west shore, a short promontory running out into the laketoward which the raft, impelled by some hidden current, was steadilydrifting. His arm clapped the girl in sudden ecstasy.
"Yes, it's land, thank God!" he exclaimed thoughtfully. "We are floatingashore, Natalie--saved in spite of ourselves. Why, we could not have beenso far out in the lake after all. That must be why all those vesselspassed to the east of us. I ought to have thought of that before; thosevillains would never have deserted the yacht in mid-lake, and taken tothe boat. They must have known they could make shore easily."
Her glance searched the face of the bluff, which with each moment wasbecoming more distinctly visible.
"You don't suppose they landed here, do you?"
"Not very likely; even if they did they are not here now. They would havemade it before daylight this morning. All the time we have been driftingout there they had to get away in. There is no danger that Hogan isanywhere along this shore now."
"You think he and--and those others have all gone?"
"Yes; why should they hang around here? The last idea in their headswould be the possibility of our ever drifting in alive. Hogan has goneback to Chicago to make a report to Hobart, and the rest have scatteredlike a covey of partridges. Not one of them has a thought but that wewent down in the _Seminole_. Now they'll pull off their graft, and pullit quick."
"And what will you do?"
"Get safely ashore first. It will be dark in less than an hour; but weare too far out yet to venture swimming. We shall have to hang tight tothe raft a while yet, and drift; the current is carrying us all right. Doyou see any sign of life over there--houses, or smoke?"
"No; I have been looking; the whole shore-line appears utterly deserted.Have you any idea where we can be?"
"Not the slightest; only this is certainly the west shore; there is nosuch abandoned spot anywhere between Chicago and Milwaukee, and we mustbe much farther north. They had plenty of time to put the yacht quite aways up shore before they sank her."
"Hogan must have known where he was."
"Unquestionably; it was all planned out; he knew exactly where heintended to land, and how long it would take them to reach there afterthey left the yacht."
"Perhaps," she suggested hesitatingly, "the gang had some rendezvous uphere in these north-woods, a place where they could hide."
West shook his head negatively.
"No, I don't think that; they may know the country, and how best to getaway quickly. But those fellows are city thieves--Hobart and Hogananyway--and would feel far safer back in their haunts in Chicago. Thereis no place like a big city to hide in, and besides, even if they havegot the money already,--which I doubt--there has been no chance to divideit, and 'Red' would never let Hobart get away without paying him hisshare. They are not loitering around here, Natalie, waiting for ghosts toappear; they are back in town hours ago."
"But what can we do?"
"Get ashore first, of course, and discover the quickest way to return tothe city. None of this shore is deserted, and we'll find houses backbehind that fringe of woods. I figure we have a big advantage. We knowtheir real game now, and they are so sure we are both dead, they'lloperate in the open--walk right into a trap. By this time McAdams musthave discovered some clue as to the whereabouts of Hobart. With him underarrest, and our story told, some of these fellows will confess, and itwill all be over with."
"But suppose they have already succeeded in their purpose?"
"That can hardly be possible, Natalie. There hasn't been time yet.Certain legal forms must be complied with. You could only draw alimited amount."
"Until I reached a certain age; after which there was no restriction. Iattained tha
t age yesterday."
"And they are aware of it, no doubt. Yet there must be some legalauthorization necessary which may cause delay. The sooner we reachChicago, the better. It is twilight already--the sun has gone down behindthe bluff, but it will require an hour yet for this raft to drift intoshallow water. You swim, you told me?"
"Yes, very well indeed."
"Shall we risk it then together? It is not far to the end of thepoint yonder."
She looked where he pointed and smiled, glancing back into hisquestioning eyes.
"Why, that involves no danger at all. I will do anything to get off thisraft. But if we are going to have light we must start at once."
The two slipped silently over the edge of the dipping raft, and struckout for the nearest point of land, West loitering slightly behind, afraidlest she might be hampered, and perhaps dragged down by her water-soakedclothes. A few strokes reassured him as to this, as she struck outvigorously, her every motion exhibiting trained skill. She glanced backat him, and smiled at his precaution; then faced resolutely toward thedistant shore, swimming easily. He followed closely, timing his strokesto her own, confident, yet watchful still, while behind them, now but adim speck in the grey sea, wallowed the deserted raft.
The distance was greater than it had seemed, the twilight deceiving theireyes, while their clothing had a tendency to retard progress. Weakened bylack of food, and buffetted by cross currents, both were decidedlyexhausted by the time their lowering feet finally touched bottom. Nataliestaggered, faint and dizzy from the exertion, but West grasped her in hisarms before she could fall, and carried her across the sand beach to thefoot of the cliff. She laughed as he laid her gently down in the softsand, putting up her arms to him like a child, and drawing his face downuntil their lips met.
"Oh," she exclaimed breathlessly, "That was glorious, but I hardly hadenough strength left to make it. It--it was an awfully long way."
"There are currents off shore," he explained. "That was what made theswimming so difficult. You are all right now."
"Yes; at least I think so," she sat up. "Why, it is almost dark already.I cannot see the old raft at all. I--I wish it would come ashore; it gaveyou to me, Matt."
"And you are not sorry, even now, safe here on shore?"
"Sorry! Why I am the happiest girl in all the world this minute. I canhardly think about that money at all, or those scoundrels trying to robme. I am here with you, and you love me--what more can I ask? Is thatsilly, dear?"
He laughed, and kissed her, neither giving a thought to their drippinggarments, or a regret for the hardships they had passed through. Theywere there alone, safe, together--all else for the moment mattered not.
"Yes, I love you, Natalie, dear," he answered. "So it is not silly atall. But we must seek shelter and food. Are you strong enough now toclimb the bluff? See, there is a ravine leading up yonder, where thefooting is easier."
She nodded her readiness to try, too happy for words, and hand in handthey toiled their way upward through the gloom.
The Case and the Girl Page 28