Show I 1 ts G SAN ar C 6 X CL first firstos of all ail a pleasing love story but with an element of mystery that will keep you guessing until you read the last chapter that fairly describes our new serial story SR 11 sanc aa 1 0 y vi 11 S by sara ware bassett read this first installment and follow the story through to its satisfactory conclusion CHAPTER I 1 HE hied on the spit of 0 TUB sand jutting out into Cr cove just why she should have be been en singled out by this significant sobriquet wils was a subtle psychological problem there were other women in Bel leport and in wilton too who nho had lost husbands nevertheless despite the various homes in 11 which solitary women reigned none of their owners was designated by the appellation allotted to marcia howe moreover there seemed in the name the hamlet had elected to bestow upon her a ring of satisfaction even of rejoicing rather than the note nob of condolence commonly echoing in the term persons rolled it on their tongues as it if flaunting it triumphantly on the breeze marcia Mir cla ought never to have married jason hoe asserted abble BreA when one day she reminiscently gossiped with her friend rebecca she was head an all shoulders above him whatever coaxed her into it I 1 never could understand der stand she could have had her pick of halt half a dozen husbands she was bothin but a slip blip of a thing when she married debbe she ehe had the notion she could reform him rebecca suggested debbe agreed abble abbie still young as she was she might a known she could nL ten years ago he was the same unsteady drinkin idler he proved himself to be up to the last minute of his life lie he changed a hair such men seldom do unless they set out to an jason howe never set out to do or be anything ile he was too selfish an too lazy well hes gone an marceas Marcia Mar clas 3 well rid of 0 him for most three years now ashes been her own on mistress an the feelen that she is must be highly enjoyable spose shell always go on there on that deserted strip of sand speculated rebecca Roh ecca why its most an liland ls land in fact it Is an island at high tide it must be a terrible lonely place 1 I want nant to live there shrugged the sociable abble but theres folks that dont seem to mind solitude an marcia hones one of em debbe after the life she blie led with jason she kinder relishes abeln alone furthermore dynamite blast her out of that old daniels homestead how boo estead her father fallier an all ler her grandfather were born there an the giuse use Is the apple appie of her eye it Is a fine old place it only it stood else of course when it was built theocian the ocean et away the beach an a foreseen the tides would wash round it til fit whittled it down to little moren a sand bar an as good as detached it from the 04 coast altogether say what you will against the iba sea an the sand band they did a good turn for 1 barcla nil all thern them year yean of her married life at least they helped her keep beep track of jason once she got him on the point with the tide strong twixt twist him and the village shed padlock the skiff an there hed bet be I 1 she had bad him safe an sound abble chuckled yes les acquiesced rebecca but the scheme worked both ways let jason walk over to town across the flats an then let the tide rise an there he be toot tool without a boat there was no earthly way ot of his gettin home he had the best ot of excuses for an barous in ashore well he dont loiter and carouse here no longer marcia knows where he be Is now declared abble with spirit sparil 1 I reckon ashes slept more durin these last three years than ever she slept in the ten that went before em she certainly looks it all her worries seems to have fallen away from her leavin leavan her lookha like a girl of twenty pretty as a picture she must be thirty five it if ashes a day rebecca reflected she aint ashes scarce over th thirty arty cut but thirty or even more she dont look her agel age 1 spose shell marry again ventured rebecca leaning forward and ad dropping her voice marry there you go decca romancie mancin ro ln as usual 1 I aint ro mancin ln I 1 was just won wonder derIn ln AW an I 1 aint the only person in town askin the question neither retorted mrs gill with a sniff theres scores of 0 others in fact I 1 figger the thought Is the uppermost one in the minds of most everybody abble laughed debbe in fact I 1 reckon its conceded she its the thought that couie to every one quick as jason was burled folks round about here are fond of marcia an feel ashes been cheated out of what was her rightful due they want her to be begin in anew an have what shed ou kuhter ahter have had years ago a good husband an halt a dozen children I 1 aint denbin there are certain persons who are more self I 1 aint blind to the tact fact that once jason was under the sod bout boat every widower in town sorter spruced up an began to take notice an before a week was out every bachelor had bad bought a new necktie abble abbie 1 its true an why pray the men cast cheeps eyes at marcia can you blame cm hundred shed be one wife in a hundred could a body win her there aint a thing she cant do from sh inglin ln a barn down to trimmin a hat hal its a mariel man el to me how ashes kept out of matrimony longs this with so many men miller ln round her she certain lys her time she dont pear to be in no hurry to get a husband sniffed smiled rebecca why should she be her parents e ants left her with money in the bank an the Hou homestead estead to boot an marcia was smart enough not to let jason make ducks and drakes of lier her property all men fancy havin a wife hold the tiller though any man marcia none married would have to put up with it abble asserted biting off a of thread with a snap of her fine white teeth marceas Mar clas always been captain of the th e an she always will be gathering up her mending rebeeca rebecca rose well I 1 cant stay here setti ln Mar marcias marceas clas fortune she laughed ive got to be coln home lem be wanton ills his supper A scuffling on the steps the kitchen door swung open and zenas henrys lanky form appeared on the threshold behind him tagged his crony lemuel gill well nell ell lecea becca it if here aint lemmy come to fetch you abble cried farald your wife had deserted you lemmy she aint she vas nas just this minute settin out tor for home home 1 I wor worrying worry ln none grinned lemuel what you two been dohnt abble inquired of her husband oh much answered the big loose jointed fellow shuffling into the room weve were been out in the sir air the caream carelessness aness of the reply was a trifle overdone and instantly aroused the keen eyed abbles suspicions pic ions she glanced into Us his face where you been set settina tinT she demanded settin olt oh lemmy an me took sort of a little jaunt along the shore grand day to be abroad I 1 never saw a finer the seas blue as a cornflower corn flower an the waves wares are rollin in an rollin in an I 1 lemuel GUI gill stepped into the breach this way began he zenas henry an me thought wed take a bit of meander wed been to the post office an was stand ln in the doorway when we spied charlie eldridge coin by with a fish bsh pole charlie Eldridge the bank cashler cashier rebecca echoed but he be aint no fisherman I 1 never in all my life knew ot of charlie eldridge dridge EI coln a fishan not that he aint got a perfect right to fish it if he wants to outside bandla hours cut but P cut bill charlie fis liln interrupted abble cutting her friend short why hed no more dirty his lily illy white hands putten a squirm li worm on a fishhook than hed ew cm olt off his head in fact I 1 dont behe belice e hed know how you likely see where he be went wal er yes we did zenas henry wheeled about havin completed the business that took us to the store he began havin in short asked for the mall an found there waret none laughed abble mischievously zenas henry ignored the comment we walked along in charlies wake lie continued followed him wal of the sort you in might ight I 1 spose call it fol foller lerin ln zenas henry admitted shamefacedly anyhow we trudged along behind him at what we considered a suitable distance he go rebecca urged her face alight with curiosity wal charlie gwun swung along kinder whist whistling lin to himself til fit 1 he come to the fork of the road then he ha made for the shore so he was really coln fishan mused abble a suggestion of disappointment in her voice ile he certainly was oh charlie was coln foshin right cough he was aimed tor for deep water grinned zenas henry ile he ketch no fish in wilton harbor sniffed rebecca contemptuously you think hed a known that ile he observed zenas henry mildly figger ln to in fact It tw arnt to wilton harbor he be was coln bank cashier or not charlie X 9 zenas henry do stop beating round the bush an say what you have to say that much of a numskull he was primed to fish in more propitious waters zenas henry do stop beatin round the bush an say what you have to say it youre golat to tell us where charlie eldridge eldradge went out with it it if not stop about it burst out his N wife ife sharply aint I 1 tellen you fast as aa I 1 can why get so hei net up it if you must know an cant wait another minute charlie went bisbin in crock ers cove Cr cove gasped abble croal Cr ers cove core echoed rebecca Cr cove nodded zenas henry mercy on list why 1 why he he must a been golu goin began abble 1 to see the rebecca interrupted completing the sentence id no notion lie he was up to her abble said wal he up to her leastways leas tway not today not what you could really call bendin up contradicted zenas henry a twinkle in his eye rather id say vother way round way you lemely LeiB iny you say that instead she who ullo tended up to him sagaciously lemuel bowed you see dra drawled sled on zenas henry no sooner had charlie got into the boat an pulled out into the channel than he had bad the usual beginners luck an hooked a alln bluet lesli lesh oughter aughter seen that critter hullt lie ile most had charlie out of the boat boal 1 I shouted to him to hang bang on an so did lemmy in our excitement we must a belleree bell ered loudean lou dern we meant to cause in no time the popped outer the house she took one look at charlie alln in the boat raced down to the landin an put out to him Qu chern scat she had the fish pole an while we looked on charlie dropped down kinder limp on the seat of the boat an began ayin up his hand in a clean pocket handkerchief while the gaffee gaffed the fish an hauled it in my exploded abble brewster my soul an body later on continued zenas hen ry charlie overtook us lied hed stowed away its his fish pole Leas leastways tway lie he have it with him when lemmy an me asked him where his fish was he be looker bl ackern thunder an snapped out hang the fishl heeln he in no mood for neighborly iloray conversation we let left t him an come along home CHAPTER II 11 N TOE THE meantime marcia howe I 1 IN the heroine of this escapade comfortably ensconced in her island homestead paid scant heed to tile the fact that she and her affairs were continually on the tongues of the outlying community she was not ignorant of it for or her intuitive sixth sense made her well aware her goings and comings were watched this knowledge however far from jettun nettling her as it might have done had she been a woman blessed with less sense of humor afforded her infinite amusement bitter though her experience had been it had neither taken from nor miraculously had it dimmed her faith in her particular star on tile contrary there still glowed in her gray eyes that sparkle of 0 anticipation one sees in the eyes of one who stands a tiptoe on the threshold of adventure apparently she had in her nature an unquenchable spirit of 0 hope that nothing could destroy her start she confessed had been an unpropitious one but starts sometimes were like that and did not the old adage that a bad beginning made for a fair ending furthermore the error had bean her own she had been free to choose and she had chosen unwisely why whine about it one must be a sport and play the game she was older now and better fitted to look after herself than she had been at seventeen only a fool made the same blunder twice and if experience had been a pitiless teacher it had also been a helpful and convincing one the past with its its humiliations lons its heartbreaks heart breaks its failure lay behind the fut future ure all before fore lier her it was hers hers she would be wary what she did with it and never again would she squander it for dross today as she moved swiftly about the house and her deft hands bands made tidy the rooms slie she had the sense of being in step ith tile the world the morning crisp with an easterly breeze had stirred th the e sea into a swell that rose rhythmically in measureless breathing immensity far away to its clear cut sapphire horizon the sands had never glistened more white the surf never curled at her doorway in a prettier more feathery line it all spoke to her of home home as she had known it from childhood as her father and her fathers father had known it IL the salt ot of deep burled caverns was wag in her veins the chant of the ocean echoed the beating of her own heart hearl lonely if she needed anything it was a companion to whom to cry it glorious to be alive and she already had such a one never kever was there such a comrade as prince ual half she would never want for a welcome while he had strength to wag his white plume of tall nor lack affection so long as he was able to race up the beach and race back again to hurl himself upon her with his sharp staccato yelp of joy oh she was worlds better off with prince ual hat than it if she were linked up with some one of her own genus who could not understand besides she was not going g to be alone she had decided to try an experiment jason had had bad an orphaned niece out in the middle west ills bis sisters child a girl in her early twenties and marcia had invited her to the island for a visit in fact sylvia was wag expected today that was why a bowl of pansies stood upon the table in the big bedroom at the head of the stairs and why its fireplace was hea heaped ped with driftwood ready for lighting that was also the reason barcla now stood critically I 1 lug U he her r pr preparations ep she was especially desirous the old home should look its best today for the outside world had contributed tri buted a richness of setting that left her much to live up to sylvia had never seen scon the ocean she must love it but would she that was to be the test there was room money affection enough for two beneath the homestead roof and sylvia was alone in the world moreover mardo marcia felt an odd sense of obligation toward jason at the of his life he had given her back her freedom it was a royal gift and she owed him so in return TO BE CONTINUED |