Show THE DECISIVE MOMENT 11 by H M EGBERT 11 coper copyright ight by W G chapman I 1 ARDIN 1 h and A d watched thie girl asad with the brown hair find and the sad hice face ever since the voyage begun site she had two acquaintances and she elie spoke to no one else ile he learned th that at she was a miss elsa wayne Vt ayne the man was count foscaro Fos Fo curl and the white haired woman lit mother and the girl was en route to italy to marry him ILir ding was on his way to Nil naples pies to take up a minor consular post there at thirty he was not tile the sort of man to fall in love at first si sight ht but eliut tile the girls face haunted him and the expression of sadness intimated to him that the marriage w ws ps distasteful to her I 1 re ite tried to scrape acquaintance with her hut but the ill two watched her like hawks it was quite by accident that he sot got lili hn lil i chance on the sixth lay flay of the oya je they were near the acores for the first time the girl was on deck alone was a little distance from her when a sudden huge wave lashing against the deck swept her from tier her feet she fell inward the bulwarks bulwa harddng rushed forward and assisted her to rise you ton roust must be more careful he warned her you might have been swept overboard that would have been no loss she e retorted 1 I wish visit I 1 hail had been HP alp reproved her gently you yon should not talk that way ho he said you have your life before you you are arc young tig and there Is much happiness for you slie she turned upon him fiercely do I 1 look happy she asked 1 I tell you since my life began I 1 have never known what happiness meant sly aly parents are the richest people in new york II arding remembered the fabulous wealth of the waynes an old family they kept out of notoriety it was at the bankers investigation that flint wayno had coolly announced himself to be worth a hundred million 1 I was brought up with the one idea of marrying well the girl continued well I 1 am doing it count forcari Is of the oldest family in italy only 1 I told illin him that it if I 1 married him I 1 should I 1 tin run away with him I 1 won would not endure tile lie inoc mockery kery of a marriage nt at home iio ine my parents insisted that thail 1 I should sacrifice my life for them I 1 have done clone so but I 1 lose my own means there was nn an intense bitterness in her voice looked at tier her fi ng ghast liast you had bad better go below and change your clothes he answered quietly 0 she turned away scornfully but remained on deck thinking of her for or hours if it was all so sudden that nobody afterward remembered much about it the ship had struck an uncharted reef in a moment the submarine rocks had bad torn a great hole in her bottom she was filling rapidly and sinking in the con confusion fulon all order was dissolved the vessels crew pushed tile passengers aside and rushed the boats II arding dressing hastily had bad sought ali mias waynes stateroom to find her pale hut but composed at the doorway ile he seized her by the hie arm and hurried lier her on leek deck the boats boat were heing being lowered but bet the cowardly crew filled them tiler there was a struggle about each revolver shots wei were e fi fired red in the con confusion fulon IT arding caught sight of count ia fos carl trying to enter one A sailor thrust lint him back at this OAR time the dock deck was almost flush with the tops of tile waves the ship was sinking rap rapidly lilly anti and it wit was evident that she had only a few more minutes to live fl ardIng the girl and fought hit his way frantically to one of the lie boats tossing the sailors aside right an and left he 1 fe got the girl into it the hont boat was lowered it touched the lie water and swinging against the side of if the fill I 1 was overset at that moment fes q eart lumped jumped with in an agonized cr cry y bit I 1 nt and alsa wayno wayne were str struggling in file water the vessels prow was uplifted silently and with hardly any suction she went down A minute after ilard ing found helmck alone with fill the orl girl in ills arms and foscaro near tham the overturned boat hall had been righted by a wave harding swam toward it dru dragged ged the girl in and followed it 11 was half full of water and dangerously low harding arding II begun began to ball with his hands count Fos carls head alip pared above the waves tile the man was wag aln toward the boat ile he grasped tile hie edep his big hands till lill it heeled over do you wont want to milk us shouted 11 harding arding but the ninn was wag crazed with fear hording contemptuously pulled lint liln tn in the boat was almost level with the water now but harding balled furiously at last she began to ride bl higher lier lie ile turned to Fo searl wha wh was lying down in the bottom where Is your mot mother berr lie he asked naked foscaro spread out ills hands in it gesture of helpless ignorance ardIng balled the boat as ai nearly dry as possible then they drifted upon the smooth surface of the sea the sole survivors the current was waa faking them rapidly toward a little vcr dant island ill from the island they could see the distant conil coart with the white houses but they had been there two weeks and no fishing boat hid bad come near them the land island lasquite was quite uninhabited it was wag about it mile in diameter it had contained a small settlement tt lement at one time and the cultivated grapes and wheat had run wild niT affording sustenance for the castaways casta ways else elsa ground around the ripe grains between two stones stone mixing unleavened flier for them they reckoned that they could live while the wheat lasted that meant two weeks longer then it would be slow starvation or a diet of mussels and wild fruits sometimes a lolling hont bont was seer far awny away hut but nobody ever seemed to see fee tile the white skirt waving from froll the pole on a tall tree foscaro lay in the sun most of tile lie day lip he SCON scowled NIed savagely whenever ll hording arding went near him and zsa were unconcernedly interested in each other they spoke of it their plans plang you are not hound bound to him film dear sald hl net act in deserting hrs mother has lins him of human rights lie la Is like a dead man and lie bent and kf kissed ed tier her whether or not foscaro saw that kiss ids his hi glanced were so malignant afterward flint enn elsa grew afraid however on oil the following lay lie he withdrew rew to the other side of the wand they did not see lint him and there followed boldens goldens lays days of happiness in each others liers ot love they lind had decided that being dead to tile the world they would never return ding hat had a little money ant and lie ile meant to take elsa to some soine quiet place in southern europe where they could live with each other for the rest of their live then came the hoped for fishing boat it came sailing sail ins toward the island in the dawn and the two came out of the hutto see the swarthy portuguese looking in wonder at their shack they started back in terror as the two emerged they ti thought hought they were spirits speak into in italian man aped aged to himself understood tile the fishermen agreed to take them to tile the main island ns as sonn ns As they had ninde made their catch that afternoon on the tide and they went away and the houri went by it was early afternoon when ril suddenly burst through the trees rc es exultantly and run up to them we are saved lie he shouted ilsa looked at him but said nothing thin A Is iq on nn the other side of the island she lins seen the flip flaiz A hoal boat Is coming elsa we will forget abat ling lias happened wo we shall ile be aboard in half an hour lips quivered with the prospect of this new rescue all the haprov dreams of the haq pas wore vere shattered again she seemed to be in s power so strong was the conventional bond she rhe turned to z what do you say she asked elsa 1 1 I must KO go I 1 sup suppose nove after all my parents are mourning for me thov love me I 1 have my duty you will come no said harding 1 I shall htay hers here the struggle sele wat was a piteous on one foscaro wat watched elied with liflet in his eyes and rna yielded without a word with lowered head she followed him half an hour later the fishing boat returned was waltine on the shore ills life seemed altogether empty now and tie he ild did wit nut know what halwas going to do but lip d to in leave the island where life lind had become so go fair air only to cloud ditc itc lf again in gloom push nar ile he sald anti stepped into the boat and nt at lint flint runnie moment nt there cagne A rustling rust lins amons alig hie to tapis p v q and nil elba stood before him she rhe prang forward and look tier lier in lit his arms arias and fill placard her in ili the hoit flint there was tin no need of at the lat last love loc lind had triumphed quietly the little crift put out in the fragrance of hie afternoon |