a cake of ice on his wrist. He
shoved the boat's nose again into the wind and pulled on his oars with
a steady, desperate stroke, and she shot ahead. For five minutes he
held her head into the sea and gained a few yards. He set his feet
firmly against the oak timbers in the boat's side and began to lengthen
his quick, powerful stroke. He found to his joy he was making headway.
He looked over his shoulder and saw that he was half way. He couldn't
be more than a hundred and fifty feet and yet he didn't seem to be
getting any nearer. It was now or never. He bent to his oars with the
last ounce of reserve power in his tall sinewy frame, and the next
moment an oar snapped, the boat spun round like a top and in a minute
was hurled back helpless on the marsh.

As the sea dashed over her again Bivens looked up stupidly and growled:

"Why the devil don't you keep her straight?"

Stuart sprang out and pulled the numbed man to his feet, half dragged
and lifted him ashore.

"Here, here, wake up!" he shouted in his ear. "Get a move on you, or
you're a goner." He began to rub Bivens's ice-clad wrists and hands,
and the little man snatched them away angrily.

"Stop it!" he snarled. "My hands are not cold now."

"No, they're freezing," he answered as he started across the marsh in a
dog trot, pulling Bivens after him. The little man stood it for a
hundred yards, suddenly tore himself loose and angrily faced his
companion.

"Say, suppose you attend to your own hide--I can take care of myself."

"I tell you, you're freezing. You're getting numb. As soon as I can get
your blood a little warm we've got to wade through that water for a
hundred yards and make the yacht."

"I'll do nothing of the sort," Bivens said, with dogged determination.
"I'll stay here till the next tide and walk out when the water's ebbed
off."

Stuart shook him violently and shouted above the shriek of the wind.

"Do you know when that will be, you fool?"

"No, and I don't care. I'm not going to plunge into that icy water
now."

"The tide won't be out again before four o'clock to-morrow morning."

"All right we'll walk around here until four."

"You'll freeze to death, I tell you! Your hands and feet are half
frozen now."

"I'm not half as cold as I was," Bivens whined, fretfully.

"You're losing the power to feel. You've got to plunge into that water
with me now and we can fight our way to safety in five minutes. The
water is only three feet de