He tossed the peg and bow aside and blew softly and
steadily on the glowing point. It spread still
more and now a small tongue of flame rose and flickered.
Instantly Harrigan laid small bits of wood criss-cross
on the pile of tinder. The flame licked at them
tentatively, recoiled, rose again and caught hold.
The fire was well started.
With gusts of wind fanning it roughly, the flame rose
fast. Harrigan made other journeys to the rotten
stump and wrenched away great chunks of bark and wood.
He came back and piled them on the fire. It towered
high, the upper tongues twisting among the branches
of the tree. They laid Kate Malone between the
windbreak and the fire. In a short time her trembling
ceased; she turned her face to the blaze and slept.
They watched her with jealous care all night.
In lieu of a pillow they heaped some of the wood dust
from the stump beneath her head. When their large
hands hovered over her to straighten the clothes which
the wind fluttered, she seemed marvelously delicate
and fragile. It was astonishing that so fragile
a creature should have lived through the buffeting
of the sea.
Toward morning the storm fell at a breath and the
rain died away. They agreed that it might be
safe to leave her alone while they ventured out to
look for food, and at the first hint of light they
started out, one to the north, and one to the south.
Harrigan started at an easy run. He felt a joyous
exultation like that of a boy eager for play.
He tried to find shellfish first, but without success.
His search carried him far down the beach to a group
of big rocks rolling out to sea. On the leeward
side of these rocks, in little hollows of the stone,
he found a quantity of the eggs of some seafowl.
They were quite large, the shells a dirty, faint blue
and apparently very thick. He collected all he
could carry and started back.
As he approached the shelter, he heard voices and
stopped short with a sudden pang; McTee had returned
first and awakened the girl. Harrigan sighed.
He knew now how he had wanted to watch her eyes open
for the first time, the cool sea-green eyes lighted
by bewilderment, surprise, and joy. All that
delight had been McTee’s. It was that dark,
handsome face she had seen leaning over her when she
awoke. He was firmly implanted in her mind by
this time as her savior. She opened her eyes,
hungered, and she had seen McTee bringing food.
Harrigan drew a long breath and went on slowly with
lowered head.
They sat cross-legged, facing each other. The
captain was showing Kate his prizes, which seemed
to consist of a quantity of shellfish. She clapped
her hands at something McTee said, and her laughter,
wonderfully clear, reminded Harrigan of the chiming
of faraway church bells. Blind anger suddenly
possessed him as he stood by the fire glowering down
at them.
“Eggs! How perfectly wonderful, Mr. Harrigan!
And I’m starved!”
