The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1873-05-15

cite. writhipg in her striken pride; "but
whither?'
Sinking down on the old skeleton boat
she buried her face in her hands.
Aunt Marget, as she was called by all |
her mel ghbo1s, was well known charac-
ter in tl.cse parts. Her tall spare figure |
and clean scant calico. were familiar to |
every one who dwelt alongshore and |
rude sort of respect was accorded to her,
Notwithstanding that she ranked among |
The poorest of the poor.
A thorough-going woman was Aunt
Marget. after the New England type
angular, thrifty, incorporating hav-
ing no thought of adapting herself to
modern times and ways; having no mis-
giving of her fitness for any thing in this
world or the next; neither humilisted by
her position nor harboricg thought OF
rising above it.
She cultivated her own little garden
patch with her own horny hands. anG
in the season eked out her scanty living
by selling Ash, or CLANS, or the ike to
the big hotels farther down the shore.
Ii had never occurred to her that any
Aith or kin of hers was entitled to DE on
the charity list because her hands were
hard with labor aud her back oyerbur
dened-bless, 10 There was Tom. now,
the wild young fellow; she had her
hands full with Tom but. after all, the
boy had turned out not SO bad-Dot so
bad, thank Providence, after all
Yet. why her poor silly sister should
have married foreigner, aud French
man at that--a ne er- do well, who never
did anything in the world worth doing
but going cut of it-why Providence
should have permitted such thing, was
problem she could not clearly make
out. But when the sister died also. leav-
ing her little ten year old Babette to
Marget's keeping, the burden was cheer
fully accepted. without reference 10 the
| problem involved.
Not knowing exactly what to do with
| her little pensloner, Aunt Marget sent
her to the village academy that at least
would get the problem out Of her way for
little time. and the child would be los
ing that heatheDish accent.
Very scant we're the scrapings that
went to support the orphan at school,
and Babetta had had some bitter exper-
fence OF her own in the way OF half pupil
half teacher, and wholly drudge in the
great seminary which was the pride Of
the place.
Very few friends she had, fewer still
since Tom had gone for sailor. She
longed for a friend and fate. as is its
wont, had sent sinister answer to her
prayers in the shape of of Professor Pee
bles. TIE teacher o! mathematics. This
man made himself odious to the girl by
his ofieious attentions, which her hum
bic position rendered more annoying be-
cause she was so much in his power.
Politely, and with as little. expression
as possible, she hated the professor and
his mathematics. 4 big empty headed
man, with soul the size of a cipher.
smart figure, wig, and q gold headed
cane; an elderly man who had never at
tanned the beauty and dignity Of age, and
never would oh. the learned professor,
with all his arithmetics at his back could
not render any solution of this one hum
Die maiden shyness and GOODNESS.
Neither Euclid nor common sense shed
until the young girl learned to shun his
! presence with nnspeakablo antipathy.
Aud here he was seeking her out again.
| And she had accepted gift from him,
and shone and blushed and been happy
| 10 the rag that her anger should have
burned to ashes. Her whole nature felt
| demoralized and beggared by the
though. But over all the ruin aud desc
ation the remembrance Of Tom fingered
ike glmmer of sunlight To go out
into world which held Tom in might
net be so utterly desolate, after all.
And SO thinking, she stretched her.
self out YEARLY on the old boat and fell
asleep.
The twilight faded over the sea. The
long stretches of sand lost their yellow
lustre; an omnibus shadow, like an east
wind made visible. brooded in the sky
and still Babette slept.
Slept while thea tide came creeping,
creeping with snake Ike silence and
rapidity, farther up the shore, tapping
in the drifts Of sea-weed to wash them
ocean-ward again, aud making an is
land OF the sand-bank where the old hut
stood
At last it touched the top of the up
turned shallop, ii kissed the bare feet
OF the sleeper, and she awoke. Scared
and amazed, she rubbed her eyes and
looked about. On every side very
ocean seemed to stretch, rising. rising,
swayed by a fsree wind, gathering
wrath, the blackening, on rushing tenn
pest! Only at the hack of the hut
slim, thread ike peninsula still stretched
little way out toward the rocks be-
You'd.
On this peninsula at this moment
stood q horseman-a why. well brushed
man, angular as one of Euclid's prob
lens. Bahette looked upon him with
vide, startled eyes, as if she saw al en-
bodied nightmare.
Qaick :" he cried. "There's not a
moment 90 lose. You viii have to ride
for your life, or swim. Come, my pretty
one, I've been waiting for you all after
noon. Give ne kiss, and mount here
by my side
Babette shuddered.
g I ou do well to insult me when no
one is near, Master PEBBLES l am in no
need of assistance. l viii wait till the
tide fills"
= Falls?" he repeated, with an I'M
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