ce more in the open
with the fresh breeze whipping about her, and tossing her hair over
cheeks and brow. The searching party was left behind, and the small
boats seemed like mere vanishing specks in the distance. She had no
fear now, for she believed that the "Eb and Flo" would carry her safely
away from her pursuers, whither she did not know. The strain through
which she had recently passed, and the want of sleep the night before
were telling upon her now, causing her to feel very tired. She leaned
against the cabin for support, and this the captain at once noted.

"Here, take this wheel fer a minute," he ordered. "I want to go below.
Jist keep her at that," he continued, when the girl with uncertain
hands laid hold of the wheel. "Ye kin do it all right."

For the first time in her life, Jess was in command of a vessel, and a
delightful thrill swept through, her as she watched, the full-swelled
sail, and listened to the ripple of the boat as it cut through the
water. What an easy thing it was to control such a craft, and cause it
to do one's slightest bidding. And what a sense of freedom possessed
her. It was a life for which she had so often longed, and she thought
with amusement of her various social activities in the city. She had
always been fond of life in the open, and she was never happier than
when wandering through the fields or along some secluded woodland way.
But such opportunities had been rare, for the barriers which surrounded
her had been too firm and high.

In another minute the captain came from the cabin, carrying a
three-legged stool, which he placed upon the deck.

"Thar, Miss," he said, "I think that'll be more comfortable than
standin'. Ye kin lean aginst the cabin, providin' ye don't go to sleep
an' push it over."

The girl smiled as she resigned the wheel and sat down upon the stool.
It was certainly a relief to sit there leaning against the cabin for
she felt unusually tired.

"You are very good to me, Captain," she remarked, turning her face to
his. "I do not know how I can ever thank you."

"Don't try, Miss. I don't like to be thanked, anyway. It takes all
the pleasure out of doin' anything, accordin' to my way of thinkin'."

The girl made no immediate reply, but sat looking out upon the river
and away to the road winding along the shore. She could see an
occasional auto speeding on its way, and she wondered what had become
of the one which had been at the store when