"_Absolvo te_," he murmured as he pitched forward dead upon the breast
of the dying.

And the woman tenderly covered them over.

[Illustration: _Absolvo te._]




X

The Giver of Life

"HE THAT EATETH OF THIS BREAD SHALL LIVE FOREVER"




X

The Giver of Life


Of the five specters in the boat three were without life. Those whose
faint breathing indicated that they had not yet reached the point of
death were too weak and indifferent to rid the boat of the bodies of the
others. Ever since the homeward-bound whaler had struck a derelict in a
gale of wind north of the Falklands and foundered, this little boat,