Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1872-05-17

Iuougn 1T was, however, none of our
household being astir, | found the
tropic world awake before me !; along
the road to the harbor wagon after
wagon, laden with sugar hogsheads and
drawn by rough, savageloolxing bulls
or unkept oxen, were passing on their
way to the wharf.
Etiquette in the West Indies does not
allow a lady to be seen abroad unatten-
ded, so, hastily clambering up the hill
side bordering the road, l sought a
narrow, sheltered path I knew of,
which, crawling among the scraggy
bushes, kept its difficult way to the
river. sass ir eH3 tiu4g site'a NJ.
Weary with my exertions, eat down
moment to rest Just here, at the
turn of the path, an opening through
wood and rising hill gave glimpse of the
ocean, with here and there the faint
tracing of mast and sail, Is from the
far outer world an occasional ship
sought harbor. @1@ '43 20
As sat there, leaning my head ON
my hands / believe / felt the first
touch of homesickness had ever
known. At least my little room at
home was shaded and quiet; at least its
poverty and nakedness were not dis
played on the roadside. Here was l
with my dream all ended, even in the
midst of my dreaming. Above me
palm and tamarind feathered the sky,
the jewel shine;of tropic leaf and flower,
| splendor, color every where, and L alone
| gray. solitary, and cold. .s.q
| Absorbed in thought, know not how
long | sat. A quick step startled me. it
| was not a native step; no native sets
| his foot down as if it were of the slight
est importance when he lifted it again.
There was meaning and energy in this
football, and hastily rose to face the
intruder. 1t was my gray, sturdy, faith
| full captain.
"Well, my little girlr' cried the
| hearty, familiar voice, shows this +?
Out here alone this time O. day -? The
women folks will all be down upon you
for breaking rules" -
ell thought you had sailed" was
my reply, as burst into tears in spite
of myself a teH sa al.. s.. 8,
! Whereat the captain burst into that
honest. friendly laugh OF his, which
seemed SO thoroughly to set aside trou-
BILE and difficulty, shredding them like
so many cobwebs. aa la.. assault
"Well, we'll !" he said; "well, well,
| well -
Which was his sole comment.
Taking my hand under his arm, he
drew me away from the path, up toward
the level of the hill, where little
breeze stirred slumbrously, and soil
| tary lake, shut in with foliage of BAN.
boo and clambering vine, cooled the
air. .tf.e .It
''Rest here bit, and wipe your eyes,"
said the captain, spreading his red hand
kerchief on the ground for me to sit on.
81 am on my way to Sonora Marie's to
breakfast, but there's no hurry. Neither
she nor all her lazy slaves can get it
| ready before twelve o'clock, you know"
| He looked at his watch with seaman's
exactitude, and sitting down beside me,
opened his great umbrella over my head
to shut out the sun. felt sheltered
| and comforted. h"a yeg
$50 you thought..Ir,shad sailed, Lis
| beth p he said. g You must have a
high opinion Of your poor old captains
| good mannersW -'
The tears welled TO my eyes again. ]
could not answer. 1aifHa -1o
"Tut, tutr said my companion,
cheeriIy. "You must not be 30 down
hearted, Lisbeth, when Mrs. Marie has
taken SO kindly to you. But you'll get
on better when the ships fairly out of
sight. You'll feel more settled" 4,
eff you were here" broke forth.
ooh, what do you want of me? You'll
be with the young senior and senoritas,
and all the rest of it. They will treat
you like princess. Pm no company
for such. They don't want an old sea-
dog like me-" -- . .'1'...1 .s
Always from my childhood the cap
tain had come and gone out of my life
like myth his ship waited in the har-
Dor; he had wings; he was not like any
one else. And for this reason his going
from me now seemed to shut me away
forever out of sight into living death.
Something of this muttered incehe-
rently, clinging to him as though he
might vanish while | wept. +a n
The captain stopped and looked into
my excited face; his gray scintillatiIg
eye shot strange ray into mine.
"Umph 70 he said, tanning himself
with his great sombrero. "It's hot;
ten in the morning" a
There was silence for a moment-a
tropic silence, unbroken by chirp of bird
or fall of leaf. My eyes followed the
far glimpse of the ocean, with the occa-
sional sail heading toward the harbor
"You like ships, Lisbeth?" said the
captain. IS .fse4 . Earr, %
~ love themI' | cried, with enthu-
siasm.
ISL "Just SO, just so. You like things
with will; but, my littleo girl, if you
expend SO much feeling on everything,
what will you have for some good man
when he asks you to like him" srl
"That would be different" My voice
shook. -H0ilaspp ~ f33a
"What would be different ~ said the
captain, turning suddenly and harshiy
upon me. Lisbeth," he said, more
softly, laying his great brown hand on
my arm, " you know mean to be your
friend. Iwant you to remember that
after am gone. If any trouble comes
10 you, you know where to write; yet,
after all, it will be strange to sail away
without my little girl" 1&s
l could make no reply. v
9 / wish the wife was here" said the
captain, with troubled voice; "She
would tell me what to do"
"There is nothing to do, captain
you have done all you could for me-"
You must hunt up that engineer,
Lisbeth." The captain was feeling in
the depths of his fathomless pockets for
an extra handkerchief as he uttered
this jest; but / saw tear wander down
over the bridge of his nose before he
could find It