TABLE OF CONTENTS
| [October 5, 1918] | ||
| I. | DISASTER. | [256] |
| II. | THE WATER OF LIFE. | [260] |
| III. | THE WAY OF THE PRIMITIVE. | [262] |
| IV. | MUTUAL DISLIKE. | [266] |
| V. | THE FACE OF DEATH. | [269] |
| VI. | THE STONE THREAT. | [274] |
| [October 12, 1918] | ||
| VII. | PLAYING WITH FIRE. | [498] |
| VIII. | THE TIGHTENING NET. | [501] |
| IX. | CLAIRE'S ABASEMENT. | [505] |
| X. | HOW SIMPLE THE SOLUTION! | [509] |
| XI. | THE MAKING OF A KNIGHT ERRANT. | [513] |
| [October 19, 1918] | ||
| XII. | THE UNHORSING OF A KNIGHT ERRANT. | [697] |
| XIII. | FAINT HEART AND FAIR LADY. | [702] |
| XIV. | PHILIP TO THE RESCUE. | [706] |
| XV. | UTTER EXHAUSTION. | [711] |
| XVI. | THE QUESTION ANSWERED. | [714] |
| [October 26, 1918] | ||
| XVII. | ANGLES OF A TRIANGLE. | [151] |
| XVIII. | THE ROMANTIC REALIST. | [155] |
| XIX. | THE LAST DISCUSSION. | [160] |
| XX. | THE LAW OF LIFE. | [164] |
| XXI. | INTO THE SUNLIGHT. | [168] |
CHAPTER I.
DISASTER.
In the confusion Lawrence stood still. Over the howling wind and smashing sea, he heard thin voices shouting orders. Another mass of water swept over the deck. Near him a woman screamed piteously. Instinctively, the masculine desire to protect womanhood made him ache to help her, but he bit his lip and clung to the rail. If he could only see! Never before in his five years of blindness had he felt the full horror of it. He had taught himself to forget his loss of sight. It is useless to waste time in sentimental moping, he would say, but now—
"God, when will it end?" he muttered savagely.
The City of Panama lurched back and forth like a rocking-horse. Somewhere forward they must be lowering the boats. He stumbled along the deck, holding to the rail for support. The spray dashed in his face, and he could feel the water from his hair trickling into his ears. He shook his head and laughed grimly, but he could not hear his own laughter. The terrific noise of the wind drowned everything else. It became increasingly difficult to keep his hold on the rail. He was wet to the waist. Each time the wave struck him higher, and he noticed that the lurching grew heavier. He was strong, six feet of hard muscle, but the water was stronger. His mouth was filled with it, and his ears seemed bursting. His rugged features twisted into hard lines. As he struggled forward, he raged at the blindness that kept him from seeing.