Show THE SUMMER STORMS FICTION ION CORNER By Ralph Blanchard pOR OR a week it had been raining T Ken sat on the porch of the resort resort resort re re- re- re sort hotel and looked over the lake Why in thunder doesn't it stop he asked He threw the newspaper at a fly on the railing Gail V sv was a s sitt sit- sit Minute ting t i n g on t the be 3 swing She was i Fiction pretty with a few freckles over her nose and cheeks just cheeks just a few Theres no use letting It get you Ken she said knowing inwardly that she was tired of it too With this thing on your leg you'd be fed up he be snapped thumping the heavy cast He had been in an accident two weeks ago Now that there was rain he was doubly un un- un- un happy Maybe by tomorrow I can take you for a ride in the boat Gail suggested It looks as though it might stop raining tonight Ken kicked his good leg against the steps Ill go by myself Im I'm not a cripple Gail felt her face redden a bit She too was nervous and on edge The rain had been so bad for the thelast thelast thelast last week that no one had done anything anything anything any any- thing but play cards She turned her face from KenIm Ken Im sorry he said Gail turned abruptly But Bat Ken you k know n now o w the doctor warned you about being on the lake What if you should have an accident Im not an undernourished school kid you know She knew what he was thinking and answered Of course you can take care of yourself but its it's better betterto to be safe than sorry Will you please shut up Gail looked at him He had never 1 1 1 C 1 t tA A wave vave nearly swamped the boat and he was thrown back back- ward come right out and said that he loved her but she knew that he did And she understood him It wasn't that he was angry at her but it was the whole business of rain and anda a broken leg THE HE next morning the rain stopped for a while Ken was up early and down by the lake walking along the shore with his crutches He felt better than he had for several days and when he came to a boat he tie decided that he would go out just a little ways from the beach With his crutch he pushed the boat out and laboriously placed himself between the two oars He heaved a sigh as he felt the boat move over the water For a while he thought the sun was coming out from behind the clouds but the sky grew darker As the boat sped through the water it would snap at the waves After a afew afew afew few minutes Ken realized that he had gone further t than h a n he had planned He looked up at the sky and saw that it was just on the verge of storming As he looked up one of the oars slipped sUpped slid down into the darkening water just out of reach The rain poured down as though someone had taken a knife and slashed the under side of the dark clouds Quickly he took the other oar and used it Indian fashion but the boat was much heavier than a canoe and it was hard to lift lilt the heavy paddle The waves grew larger The shore was at least three-hundred three yards away probably more and the wind seemed to push the small boat further further further fur fur- ther away If It only he had two oars his arms would not have been so tired In his mind he saw Gail Gall sitting sitting sitting sit sit- ting on the porch He Be wondered if he would ever see her again His Ills wrists ached and sharp pains shot through his broken leg A wave nearly swamped the boat and he was thrown backwards His head hit the side of the craft He was having a c crazy r a z y ugly dream Multicolored spots swam up and down before his eyes A sickening sickening sickening sicken sicken- ing hum rang loudly in his head Suddenly the dots disappeared The hum stopped abruptly When he be opened his eyes he saw Gail blurred before his vision and he heard her voice softly Its all allright allright allright right Ken Its It's alright now She must have missed me and I gone gona for help he thought Then her voice faded away As he closed his eyes he knew she was right E Everything would be fine He felt her soft hand on his face tace He wasn't quite sure whether he was sleeping or awake now but he kissed her fingers as they caressed his lips bps I. I i |