Show I I I CAPTAIN MARY BY RALPH GRAHAM TABER Ruth exclaimed Mrs Ellerton as I that small lrsome body noisily entered I en-tered how often must I remind you that such behavior distresses me Im alwars forgetting said Ruth penitently rubbing her pin1 beek against her mothers pale one Forgive I For-give me mamma dear wont you I Mrs Ellerton smiled wanly It was it Xjereanie = from the hut and lifted her up and kissed nero Were of agin little gal he said In be away a couple of clays mayhap may-hap Mind the home andwhy whats the matter Mar hid tier face In his blouse 1alnt nuthln dad she sobbed There there DDlt take on said her father consolingly Yee bin alone over nIght afore He kissed her again and left her The mothereSa child went Into the lonely cabIn and stationing hers lf by th window watched the schooner fade into thl dlslanC Presently down the hillside came her acquaintances of the morning dressed jn white and blue boating suits She envied them theIr pretty rowboat and turnpi a Jrlnnp Ilf mtflmpt upon her fathers lumbering dory she envied them their dainty gowns and despite what she so recently had suffered more than all else she envIed them their aristocratic mother Shes a real lady she is she mused with a vague idea however of what constitutes a real lady With a heavy heart she turned from the window and proceeded to darn her own and her fathers clothing for the little maid since her mothers death performed all the duties of a housewife house-wife Time pasaed unheeded until the sunlight sun-light was suddenly Jlmmed She glanced out the sly was overcast with blacker clouds to the southward while beyond the cove danced a small boat could it be that of the two girls What could have tempted them to venture SQ far Theiecame an Impatient knocking I I and Mary opened the door Before her I stood Mrs Ellertonnot the haughty woman of a few hours bEforC but a mot er with a drawn scared facC My girls she gasped Vh01e is your father To the flshln banks I thouhthls boat there Mary shook her head father uses that for near fishln = = TT fL i 11 S I z I c TEE SIGNAL not for nothing that you burst In upon i me What did you wIsh 1 To ask If we might go down to the II cave A schooner has just come In and we are dying to see It Gertrude said Mrs Ellerton Yes mother replied a soft voice behind her You startled me child said Mrs Ellertan petulant you entered so noiselessly There there I did not i mean to wound you You may go to the rove but keep Ruth out of mischief mis-chief Gertrude the elder was pale und shy but Ruth the baby was chubb and strong wIth reetiess feet that carried hr with the rush of a romping I romp-ing omboy Their father Wag their favorite plajfel1ow ana they grieved F at his absence through the week for I the cottage was a lonely one save for a fishermans hut it was a mile to fhh tS fh h their nearest neighbor Mrs Ellerton watched the children I depart then her gaze wandered over the view beyond the cove where lay a small schooner and nearby on the shore tile flshcrmms solitary hut the silvery bay which the cove gave on arti the long beach running out to a point on the tip of which stood a lighthouse light-house An hour later Irs Ellerton was I again disturbed by the chattel of chll drscn and coupled with Huths high treble she dlftlngulshed an unfamiliar note Glancing through the window she saw Ruth entering the garden bringing with herwas it possible Mrs Ellerton opened the window Oh mamma crIed Ruth weye had suh fun and Ruth interrupted Mrs Ellerton aeverely who Is that with you Why Mary and she Mary who Mary what Ruth looked puzzled She turned to the little stranger who replied timidly Please mum Mars Bethel Yes Mary 13ethil Ruth echoed And who is this Mary Bethel Mrs EJlertons severe manner which had been steadily growing colder now dropped below the freezing point Ruth felt her ardor chilled while poor shivering shiv-ering Mary Bethel the innocent cause of such a change in the temperature i of the superior Mrs Ellerton felt herself her-self turning to Ice Who Is this Mary Bethel Mrs Ellerton repeated Why faltered Ruth she lives at the oe and I And If so she had better return I I then How often continued Mrs El lerton pitilessly how often have I earned you never to pick up acquaintances acquaint-ances And these fisherfolk of all people I am more than surprised Ruth I am I But Mar Bethel heard no more With a sob of heartanguish she burst through the gateway and her patched skirts fluttering ran wildly down the road toward her home I It was not much of a home this refuge ref-uge or the Bethelsa tworoom hut with brown sods banked around It as I an anchorage Even with this sometimes some-times the wInd swooped down so yb lently that the little structure would creak and groan as it in fear of being I demolished I tq MarY reached the beach her I Is there 110 one pleaded Mrs EI lerton Theres no man about but I dun I no Mary said dubiously I reckon I might row the dory that fur but Im raid I couldnt bring both boats back the tide is runnin out now Oh could oucould 3OU row out to I themTwould Twould be a tug I might have to let the dory bond I dont know what fatherud say Dont mind the boatIll pay for that But oh hurrydo do hurry The dark clouds were rapIdly rolllng up and far away lay a black ribbon of water showing that wind was coming com-ing Ill go mum Mary said quietly I will go with you tremulously exclaimed ex-claimed Mrs Ellerton Not Ietsn you kin row Mary answered an-swered Reckon Ill have my hands I full thout any extra ballast And i with the agitated Irs Ellertons broken works of thanks ringing In her ear she bent to the oars I The tide carried the dory along at a rate which quickly overhauled the truants I tru-ants But the wind was swifter than the tide It came In long fierce puffs with short intervals of calm between The I I black rim of the ocean broadened And I the fishermans daughter familial with the see felt that it would be a hard i race x I As Mary neared the cedar boat she saw that the two girls were frightened to the verge of tears I Ye lost an oar Ruth explained and tIle tide is running away with us I Mary considered the sky and then 1 the frail skiff Climb In here quick she com mande The girls obeyed and Mary pushed the empt boat from them Oh why did you do that cried I Ruth I Cause Mary answered commencing commenc-ing to raw cause Itll be all we kin do to fetch shore without alowln nuthln Isnt this boat awful tottery asked Ruth Prhaps but Its a safe un I But you are not headed for the cove Jt I coveI I know it Coudnt do nuthin with this heavy boat gainat such a tide If we fetch the Dolnt well be doln well Put out that snare oarno not on that side tother Now dont nobody say nuthln but p1l1l away for all youre wuth For some minutes they tugged at the heavy oars Then Gertrude asked tremulously Mary Isnt the tide taking tak-ing us out Its touch an go answered Mary As she spoke she put the bow about and the others uttered cries of fear The black line of windbeaten water was sweeping toward them at racehorse race-horse speed Down In the bottom shouted Mary 1arOh Oh Mary Mary cried Ruth dropping drop-ping the oar Dont lose that oarow sit down blat downso All we kin do now Is to keel from get tin broadside to that ud be like to swamp us In a moment the sky changed to I saffron and the all was full of flying I spray There was no hope left of I making the point and the ocean lay beyond It was fortunate that Mary I had decided to stick to the heavy dory Even over Its high bow the tops of the waves dashed now and then and every I moment a great one threatened to overwhelm over-whelm It Getie called Mary fish the bailer from under that starnscat Thats it I Now get to work wIth It Gertrude obeyed but soon laid the I bucket down Oh Im so sick she faltered Ill take It Gertie said Ruth tIOur ageoush Guess Im too frIghtened to I feel sick Gertrude sank down In the boat and Ruth undertook the bailing Mary had been out In this same dory with her father when the wind had I blown a stiff breeze but never in such a gale as this She knew quite well how to manage the cranky boat and she had ofter heard her father say Thai warnt no boat safer but she realized that any boat was In peril In such a storm She set her teeth hard however determined that the I others should not see she was alarmed Oh Mary moaned Gertrude will we ever get back Course answered Mary Ive seed I it blow twenty times harder She did not think It necessary to add that she I had not at the time been on the ater Now she continued its all I kin do to manage the boat sodont ask no more questions Jest play Im your captain nd youre tQ keep stilt till I speak All right captain said Ruth whose fears were somewhat allayed by Marys tone of playfulness Thc wind blew fiercely far awhile and then it began to rain just a few great swiftthrown drops at first and then a pelting deluge Ruth began to sob convulsively but I Mary bent to her task with renewed hope Stop that Ruth she shouted This rains the best thing as could I happen 1111 lay the sea an Itll lay the wind But neither Ruth nor Ger trude heard for wind and rain and I warring waves were singing In deafenIng deafen-Ing chorus IIIarys words proved prophetic Soon the water ceased dashing over the bows and presently Mary rested and let the bClat drift Through the rain beat upon them pitilessly Mary did not mind it but the two others were thoroughly chilled Ruth shiverIng from fright and cold crept to her sister and holding her close sobbed Oh Gertie Gertie Mary has given up But Mary was far from giving up Realizing that Immediate danger was past far the time she succumbed to I exhaustion The refreshing rain soon roused her and she leaned over and shook Ruth vigorously Ruth Ruth she cried this will never do Im so cold sobbed Ruth Get up then and ball IIm so scared Theres nuthln now to scare about were as safe this minute as wed be ashore I I Ruth did not mark the saving phrase but with a faith In Mary stronger than her years resumed the bailing with I vigor Mary meanwhile took off her I own wet but warm jacket and wrapped I It tenderly about Gertrude Youve I jest got to glt up nd NW Gertie she saId you must for Ruth m1 me i Taint dangerous now If someun keeps I j rowin nd Im jest tuckered This last i was true for she felt a curious numbness i numb-ness creeping over her Keep her headln the waves she said drowsily and as Gertrude weakly took up the oars Mary sank down exhausted It seemed to Mary thai but a feflv minutes passedthough Ruth declared it was hours and hourbefore Ger trade roused her Look Mary she said What is thatIarj Iarj rubbed her eyes and peered through the mist Then she sprang Up reaching for the spare oar Off wlt11 that jacket Gertie she cried ncglmme that white skirt 0 yourn There was a ring In her voice that ftr bade questions With neTOUS haste I Gertrude took off her dainty netticoat I und Mary promptly rigged ft Now he commanded swap placesnd wave this here flag of oUn all youre wuth The exchange of places made Mary desperately bent to the oars There was a dark spot across the water which seemed to Gertrude but a patch of blacker cloud lpasessed of curious motion but Mary knew it for what It was Soon the others recognized it too for they cried together A schooner A man ran the length of the vessels deck then a second man appeared and as Mary exerting her last bit of strength drove the dory within reach a rope wa9 thrown to her which she caught and fastened to the paInter The man drew the dory alougslde and lifted out the children God bless usmy Mary cried one of them And Mary her trembling arms tight around his neck convulsively sobbed I Oh daddy The children were put to bed in bunks and dosed with hot tea There was a toyllIe stove In the caulna bogie John Bethel called itbeforo which theIr clothing quickly dried But theY did not require It for many hours With dawn net morning how 1CI came a gentle breeze that parted the fog and wafted them swiftly homeward < home-ward Never was a ship more welcome than was that little fishing schooner when it came to anchor In the cove Mrs Ellerton was too overcome at first to do more than wring John Bethels Beth-els hard hands Mrs ElIerton after her first trans port af joy drew Captain Mary close and ldssd her freckled face again and again You shaH want for nothing dear she said so long as ever we live How could you have had such courage Twarnt no fool job said Mary but Im mighty glad I done It RALPH GRAHAM TAllER t > > 41 J j I 4 2 I 11f vG t > i Jr i I rJ j 0 fffs l 1 liiI J 4a i 9 h < 7 JiF 7ft1it oM HJ fiJ 4 = tif 1 W I I I i j l B p tl4t j4 I fi t rT fb < hf r Ji l WlrJ artt1j1m 8 Z ft rt 1fJ I 1 J t i i IW f r 1 t i I iS 1 i 1 > c W2 r = ij 1 J LJilf 61 > > I > I WE = o TRAVELING ON THE LAST OF THE STAGE COACE LINES |