However, I reached the house, bore her within and laid her upon the couch. Then I took a piece of the cocoanut cloth, hastily twisting it to make it as soft as possible, and went to work vigorously chafing her wrists and hands, and I was presently rewarded by seeing her open her eyes. Her head was turned slightly away, but with a faint sigh she moved it toward me. With a wondering gaze she looked full into my face for a moment, and then her eyes closed again. She had lost consciousness, and I again chafed her hands and loosened her wet garments about her throat. In what must have been a few moments only, but what seemed to me to be hours, she again opened her eyes and I saw her lips move. I bent close to her and made out to catch her words, faintly whispered.
"Where am I? Is papa here?"
That was all, for then she swooned away again.
Her father. How strange it all was, and now for the first time, I remembered that I had not noticed a woman on the deck of the ship before the boat was launched. Satisfied now that her life was safe, I left her, hurried to the beach and renewed my search, when, directly in front of my door, with the water washing partly over it, I saw the body of a man resting upon the sand. From his appearance I judged him to be a sailor. I dragged the body out of the water. The limbs were rigid and there was a deep gash on the left temple.
Feeling certain that life was extinct, I turned and continued my search. I soon picked up an oar, and as I came to the mouth of the creek I saw something which caused me to start back, involuntarily. It was a hand protruding from a pile of broken reeds. Hastily I tore away the reeds, revealing the body of a man, which, I noticed, was not dressed like a sailor. While I was moving the body away from the edge of the creek I observed that the man was rather past middle life, well built and rather stout, of medium complexion, with thick hair and moustache, both being sprinkled with gray. His limbs were not rigid, which caused me to hope that a spark of life remained. I therefore began to treat him as I knew drowning persons should be dealt with, and shortly, to my great joy, he began to revive and was, ere long, able to sit up and look about him. He gazed at me in seeming wonder as though thinking me to be a being of a different species from himself, which was not to be wondered at in view of my picturesque costume.
"Oh Marjorie, my poor girl:" were his first words.
"If you mean your daughter, sir," I said, "she is safe and sound in my house yonder." He extended his hand to me, which I took and held while he recovered his vitality sufficiently to go to the house.
"I fear we shall intrude greatly upon the hospitality of your household;" he said, with a little effort.
"No fear of that, sir," I made reply; "for the company of yourself and daughter is certainly a great pleasure to me and I am the sole member of my household."
"Are you alone, then?" he asked.