Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1874-01-24
SPOONS AND SPARKS.

A prOau ana S1nuOuS line OF river,
bright with the full sunshine of Sep
tembcr noon, here bordered with mead
ows, there fringed with low woods and
winding toward the clustered roofs of a
distant town. Two wherries, drifting
idly in the shadow of hemlocks and
pines, while their prone and meditative
occupants watch the lazy wreaths of
smoke curl above the bowls of their
pipes. OF these two individuals, the
one nearest the sunshine is David
Whipple, Bostonian aged 19, fair
haired, fair skinned and six feet two.
The other lying at full length, with his
cap pulled low over Il pair of dark eyes,
is of slighter make and more vivacious
expression This is Ernest Walch, a
young Virginian
Fifteen minutes of silence had evi-
IDENTIFY tried tho latter's patience excess
sively. He had frightened several tur
ties back to their watcry haunts, had
whistled to birds and apostrophized
flies. He finally pocketed his pipe and
sat erect, with the remark, 81 say,
Davy"
"Well?"
q saw Miss Wentworth to-day"
That this announcement possessed
some interest in the mind of the youth
called Davy, may be surmised from the
fact that he, too, suddenly sat erect !;
but he only said, as he slowly knocked
the ashes from his pipe, Humph."
YOU'D have said something besides
'Humph,' if you had seen her. She
rode past our hotel"
"And / presume you moaned after
her in YOUR usual STYLE"
Very near it, l admit, reioined the
other, with shrug. 1.-The case is
unique. 1 never before tried for a
month unsuccessfully to gain an intro
duction to lady. But l shall succeed
yet"
"Pll wager anything you choose, y
was the reply, emphasized by flourish
of the pipe, "that I'll have an intro
duction first, after all /" and the speaker
faced his friend with the last trace of
indifference banished from his counte-
nance.
"Safe enough to wager, where neither
is likely to win" commented his COM
panion.
"Thats as one thinks. l consider
my winning as certain as-as that can
reach the stone bridge, two miles down
the river, at least Il minute in advance
of YOU"
"Done" exclaimed the Virginian
with laugh and quick Strengthening
of his 1.-the figure. "The loser in the
race abandons his chances, eh?"
"Just so.
In two minutes the wherries were
abreast and their owners ready for a
start. The next, they swept off down
tho straom pu1laI ayanly and aoc;lv
Both the young men We're powerful
stroke, David greaterreserve of strength
1t was pretty to see the wherries dart
through shadows and sunshine, past
bold wooded curves and banks gay will
golden-rod. Their progress during the
first ten minutes was quiet, but at the
beginning of the second mile it became
more lively. Laborers in the fields OF
either hand paused to watch as the
wherries shot by, and now the rec
Jacket, now the blue, seemed gaining
For while the fates favored David, anG
he won half boats length in a quarter
of mile. Then Ernest bent more gal
lantly to his oars and regained his
place. But in the next quarter he los
again, and David's greater strength tol6
steadily against him.
When they were on the last hal
mile, long straight stretch, with the
bridge before dwarfed in the dis
tance, they pulled like two youn.
giants. David's teeth were set ant
every muscle in play. Ernests cap hat
fallen, and his black eyes CLEANED
. triumphantly as he noted that each de
termined stroke brought him nearer hi