The daily gazette., 1877-02-08
Captain Jacks Protege.
by REDMOND.

BY REDMOND.
A desoiate, rocky beach; broad waste
OF sea, look gray and desolate in the old
morning.
Captain Jack Brainard came whistling
along the beach, with his hands thrust
into the pockets of his duck trousers. He
was a tall, broad-shouldered fellow.
with handsome, sun-browned face, and
two dark eyes that looked straight through
you in quiet way peculiarly their own.
':Halloo, Captain jack"
Two fishermen were standing there,
something living at their feet, dark and
still.
"Well, my hearties?"
Bear hand here, will you, capt'n?n
said one. " A ship went to pieces off the
point last night, and here's three bodies
ashore, dead as herring" Captain Jack
stopped whistling, and bent down to look
at the bodies. Two were men, strong and
hard-featured. evidently part of the crew
of the ill-fated ship. They were quite
dead. The third one was a child lashed
10 a spar. .....s
Captain Brainard hitched up his duck
trousers and looked thoughtfully at the
bodies. The child--a mere babe oftwo or
three years-lay halt: f:covered in the sea-
weed, as if she were asleep. Captain
Jack bent suddenly and cut with his
sheath-knife the rope that bound her to
the spar.
Ill be drowned if this small craft aint
floating yet, Dave Bent"
The baby face was upturned to the
sunlight. Dave Bent laid his rough hand
against it gently. 1t was wet and cold
but still living face,
"Blast my eyes" cried the old fisher
man.
Captain Jack rose up with the child in
his jacket.
'.I'll take it up to the inn, Dave. You
can bury the other two. Hang me if l
ever knew anything like this before!''
Mrs. Lane, widow of Captain William
Lane, lost at sea and hostess of the ham,
let inn, sat with needle and mesh-block
mending nets in the bar-room, as Captain
Jack Brainard came stalking in.
Mrs. Lane in all her life had never
been thrown into such unparalleled excite
ment as by the sudden appearance of that
small waif of the coast.
lying on her lap, when suddenly tive
wondering black eyes unclosed, and the
waif gave utterance to prolonged vigor-
GUS scream.
"Bless mel" cried Mrs. Lane, 81 never
laid eyes on to such homely child-and
gale too.''
-"What's to be done with it," roared
Captain Jack.
'.Lawks! how do know" said VI
Aane, sit haint got any folks, most likely.
You'll have to take it to the poor-house
up the country"
Captain Jack looked thoughtful.
~ don't know-but itisn'tjus friendly
to leave such little craft to strange water
without any pilot, Miss Lane. believe
I'll stand by her myself"
Gland sakes what can you do 2" CT led
Mrs. Lane.
"Well, my Mary Ellen is bound for
China tomorrow; but you can keep her
here till come back. I'll see that you
are paid-and for want of something bet
ter you can call her Rachel-that was my
mothers name."
The Mary Ellen was laying to, in
Salem harbor, with anchor raised, next
udy. WuCu SapIdiu OdCh CdulC W Say
goodbye to his hostess, and to place in
her hand little box of Indian wood
carefully tied with faded ribbon.
"You'll find a necklace there and a
ring, Miss Lane-they used to be mothers,
and might as well go along with the
name"
And Mrs. Lane placed the necklace
round the plump baby neck, and laid the
ring carefully by until such a time as the
little waif should be old enough to think
of rings, and then Captain Jack shook
her heartily by the hand, and went away
from the hamlet-inn, and half an hour
after the white sails of the Mary Ellen
had disappeared far down the bay.
| 1t was the same desolate coast of fif-
teen years before. There were the light
house and the reefs on which so many
gallant ships had met their doom; here,
the gray beach, the slippery shingles, the
old boat-houses, and yOnder the sand
hills, the fishing hamlet ana the rocky
pasture lands facing toward the sea. Cap
tain Jack Brainard, standing alone on
the shining sands, looked at each and all
steadily-he had not seen them before
for many years.
SIT was somewhere here" mused Cap
tain Jack, ''that Dave Bent always
moored his boat. I'd be obliged to him
if had it now to take me up the cove
it's growing dark already"
The soft dip of oars struck suddenly on
Captain Jacks ear-he looked up. A
boat was gliding around the point, i'm
PEELED by single rover.
'Boat ahoy!"
The slender oars of the dory fell in
stantly. The rover turned and1looked
at Captain Jack. 1t was youngtgirl OF
eighteen or nineteen.
The face turned toward Captain Jack
was gorgeous face-pale and delicately
dark, with lustrous eyes and halfparted
lips, scarlet as coral. The brow was
broad and low the hair heavy and black;