o the distant shore. Judith
set herself to this new task gallantly, but it was almost too much
for her. Over and over again it seemed to her she must give it up and
toss overboard part, at least, of her silver freight, to lighten her
load. But over and over again she nerved herself to another spurt of
strength.

She must do it! She could not give up! She would shut her eyes, like
this, and row ten more strokes--just ten more. Then she would row ten
with her eyes open. Ten, shut--ten, open. Perhaps that would help. She
tried it. She tried other poor little devices--calling the strokes
"eenie, meenie, minie, mo," the way she and Jemmy Three had "counted
out" for tag when they were little--brown--things. Her strength--was
surely--giving out--it shouldn't give out!

Blossom, watching silently from her weary perch, grew frightened at
Judy's tense, set face and began to sob. And then Judy must find
breath enough to laugh reassuringly and to nod over her shoulder at
the child.

They had gone out late--had been out a wearisome time--and the journey
back to land was measured off by slow, laboring oar-strokes that
scarcely seemed to move the great boat. So it was late afternoon when
at length Judith's hard task was done. She seemed to possess but one
desire--to rest. To get Blossom over the remaining half mile between
her and home and then to tumble over on the bed and sleep--what more
could anyone wish than that?

But there would be more than that to do. She must get food for tired
little Blossom, if not for herself. And before this towered
gigantically the two last feats of strength that faced her and seemed
to laugh at her with sardonic glee.

"Drag me up on the beach--drag me up!" the old black dory taunted her.

"Carry me home, Judy, I'm so tired!--carry me home," Blossom pleaded,
like a little wilted blossom.

She did both things, but she never quite realized just how she could
have done them. She remembered telling herself she couldn't and then
finding them done. Of covering her load of mackerel with an old
rubber blanket she was dimly conscious. It was not until she lay
drowsing in utter exhaustion on her own bed that she thought of all
of the rest that must be done to that boat-load of precious freight.
Then she tried to sit up, with a cry of distress.

"I must go! I cant't stay here! Or I shall lose--Oh, what shall I
lose?" she groaned in her drowsiness and dread. Something would
happen if she did not get up