The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1877-07-07
y From Harper's Bazaar
w IL INV O.

Fortune brings in some boats that are not
Steered." -CymbeIiae
It's just a.bito Of a story, sir that don't
/ sound much to strangers, but I'd like to
tell you about it, if you have time to
listen, for they We all forgotten Robbery
down here, except me; they're poor
folks, you see, and things drift out of
folks heads when poverty drifts in.
Robbery? Eyes, sir, that was his name
-leastways the name was gave him
down here. AS to father or mother.
we never had any, | think; never had
any one in the wide world to belong to.
except our two selves-Bobbery and me.
| was the eldest, two long years older
than him; but then | was blind, you see,
50 the two years didn't count for much,
and Robbery got ahead of me after the
time when the long days of pain slipped
into long nights, and God shut me out
OF the world; not that [ grumble, sir
I've given over that; and Robbery was
always such good lad to me, that per
haps didn't miss so much after all.
grew to fancy things, and make be-
lieve | saw great deal, particularly
after Robbery took to working at his
trade-shoeblack, sir, and sometimes
when l became accustomed to being
always in the dark, | went out with Bob
berry, a2d held the money that he made.
Well, not much, perhaps, but enough
for us two, and the little room we had
down at Kingstown, over against the
river; only Robbery was an extravagant
lad-not in drink, sir-we were ALWAYS a
sober lot-but in oranges.
They were almost his ruin, sir-those
oranges. He used to come up stairs
sucking them softly, so that | might not
hear, and thinking to deceive me; but |
somehow smeH oranges, and it always
made me sharper to catch Robbery
whlstllng little tunes to himself on the
way up, Just to put me off,
lie made deal of me, did Bobbery-
along Of being blind, you see-and so
did the neighbors; but | was rare proud
OF him. You don't know what it is, sir,
to SIT alone in the dark all day, and then,
on sudden, to hear fellow call out,
Hear we are again! Come down and
feel the sunset, and we'll count the cop
pers. " ltwould make you love any one,
SIR, who had voice like that, let alone
fellow like Robbery.
Perhaps you didn't happen to be in
kingston, sir, last spring, when the.
floods had risen, ana the land was under
water for miles around. Robbery had to
wade little going down to his work,
but he rather liked it, he said; and he
used to tuck up his trousers, and call
back to me and laugh, as the water crept
around his feet, and he said folks
wouldn't want their boots BACKED, he
feared; for the water would soon take
off the polish.
used to sit on the window-sill to feel
the sun, and if | listened very hard /
could hear the rippIe-ripple of the shall
low water at every step that Robbery
made, and it had pleasant sound, and
made a kind of company feeling; but
"hen he was out of hearing, and it still
Kept ripping up against our walls, the
company feeling went away and left me
lonely, and sometimes | thought the
water hateful, because it lay for so very
long between me and Robbery.
Well, once was sitting alone on the
window-sill, and the day was very quiet
so quiet that did not even hear the
little ripping waves; and in the Quiet |
grew frightened 1T last; and in the quiet
| stretched out mys hands across the sill
to feel my way down. felt something
that made me shiyer, and draw back out
Of the sunlight-that made my whole
dark life grow suddenly a beautiful and
precious thing felt the water ripping
almost up to the level of the sill, and /.
was quite alone, and Robbery. would
never know. ...--ss...-..
did not CALI out or go mad with
fright, as | thought at first might do;
only crept away, in my everlasting
darkness, from the warm sunlight, and
sat down onsthe bed where Robbery ands
| slept together, and put my hands over
my earssto shut out the roar of the,
How long sat tl,eresI don't know,
but | think it must have been hours, forj
| felt thesunlight slanting ON ny face,
and the water rushing round before II
moved again. / was hungry, too; but