Part 17 (1/2)

”He's across and can never recross to us,” she moaned in despair ”No creature could brave that undercurrent and live And there is no other way”

Then, as the full terror of their situation flashed upon her, she sank down in a heap and buried her face in her hands

They were two lone girls ten miles from any land, on the boso toward the unknown northern sea They had no chart, no couide To move seemed futile, yet to remain where they were edy of the whole situation, a snow-fog drifted down upon the out the black ribbon of water and every ice-pile that was more than a stone's throw from them, it swept on to the south with a silence that wasscream of a tidal wave beneath the ice

”Lucile! Lucile!” she fairly screamed as she came down to the surface of the pan ”Lucile! Wake up! We are lost! He is lost!”

What had happened to the young college boy had been this: He had hastened to the north in search of the trail Rover, with nose close to the ice, had searched diligently for the scent For a long time his search had been unrewarded, but at last, with a joyous bark, he sprang away across an ice-pan

The boy followed hih tohim back, turned to retrace his steps

Great was his consternation when he discovered the cleavage in the floe Hopefully he had at first gone east along the channel in search of a possible passage He found none After racing for a mile, he turned and retraced his steps to the point where he had first co the channel Another twenty -place could be found

He then sat down to think He thought first of his coht, he realized well That they would be able to devise any plan by which they could find their way to any shore, he doubted; yet, as he thought of it, his own position seemed more critical The trail he had found would now be useless He was north of the break in the floe Land lay to the south of it He had no way to cross In such circu with his keen sense of ser, were equally useless

”Nothing to do but wait,” he mumbled, so he sat down patiently to wait

And, as he waited, the snow-fog settled down over all

CHAPTER XI

”WITHOUT COMPass OR GUIDE”

It ith a staggering sense of hopelessness that the two girls on the boso settle down

”It's likely to last for days, and by that time--” Marian's lips refused to fra lifted

”By that ti

Surely, there is souide?” Marian s a solution

Unconsciously, she had repeated the first line of an old song Lucile said over the verse:

”Without couide

On the crest of the tide

Oh! Light of the stars, Pray pilot lance stole skyward Instantly an exclamation escaped her lips:

”Oh, Marian! We can see them! We can! We can!”