Come along!"
"Get up, Auberry," I said to him as he approached, and motioned to the
long, overhanging branches from the driftwood. He swung up, breaking off
the more insecure boughs, and was of the belief that we could get across
in that way. As he reached down, I swung the young woman up to him, and
she clambered on as best she could. Thus, I scarce know how, we all
managed to reach the solid drift, and so presently found ourselves
ashore, on a narrow, sandy beach, hedged on the back by a heavy growth
of willows.
"Now then, you men," ordered Mandy McGovern, "get some wood out and
start a fire, right away. This here girl is shaking the teeth plumb
out'n her head."
Auberry and I had dragged some wood from the edge of the drift and
pulled it into a heap near by, before we realized that neither of us had
matches.
"Humph!" snorted our leader, feeling in her pockets. She drew forth two
flasks, each stoppered with a bit of corncob. The one held sulphur
matches, thus kept quite dry, and this she passed to me. The other she
handed to the young woman.
"Here," said she, "take a drink of that. It'll do you good."
I heard the girl gasp and choke as she obeyed this injunction; and then
Mandy applied the bottle gurglingly to her own lips.
Pages:
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143