Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1879-02-13

SION OF his glanIs. ana -1elt IL signify eXasper-
ating.
q s"How's the wates?" said I, as we stepped
down the slip, for the wind was blowing
through the hills in gusts, and there was a
good chop on the river.s i p e.
"Calms pond, 'ssaidhe piacidly. re s*E
We looked at each other and groaned in
wardly-the Gaths had always rowed on the
bay, about the same as sea water, and we had
foWed on smooth inland surfaces; q chop
and swell that would }anihilate' us would be
water over which they would skim like SO
many Camillas DER the plain. But We went
of quietly, serenading the janitor with "Weel
may the boatie row!' as we went. Our new
boat had come, and waited for us, outriggers
andsll, and we had taken her down to spot
secure from observation, and given her
g thorough trial. She was beauty, and
from the mo nent she took water answered to
our will not merely vike-aessteed benesth-its
rider, but IS the breath does in ones. uostriIs
We came In after our breather on. AM easyjo
and there sat the janitor Dis we had left him.
II say" said be, with an air of keeping the
sad secret from our superiors, as ! came up
the slip-'1 say, is that the best you can
I"Best% answered. I can't say that it is.
We weren't on our mettle just now, you
know I suppose that we could de- little
better on squirt. But perhaps that is a fair
average"
~ OWL tVA JOu, odAu uC1 Will ICd1ly
compassionate condescension, not that we
were TO be simply beaten, but that we were
to be beaten out of sight, But had heard
that IN diplomacy it is sometimes what is not
said that counts, and there were certain
things to be read between the lines of my re-
ply
|, he first thing that we looked for in the
morning was the water: it was As smoothasa
baby's cheek, and as' rosy in the sunrise that
stole oyer it between the dewey shadows of
the steep and woody shores. Latter in the
forenoon some of the club went to the rail-
way station, happening to be with them, to
meet: certain friends Of the Gaths who came
over for the day, among the rest some won
derfully pl city girls, one whom !. knew Har-
den would rather have in Jericho than on the
boathouse balcony to see the Gatts come in
best men. Kate and several of her cOmpan-
ions were there too-all our acquaintances
had made the affair their own and there was
to be a general half holiday in the town that
afternoon.
1 took Kate's hand moment, drawing her
q little: apart, and she walked on with me
few PAGES. "'Vox popu]i, vox Dei'" [ said
You see, Kate, even the dogs would cry
whipped if they
::"Yox, ct pr@terea nihil,' hundred times,
and don't see anything of the sort, more.
over. If you can't whip. those great
"Goliaths. Goliath of Gatt."
Your oars are just as much weavers' beams
as theirs"
"They don't row with The sun in faces, Kate,
as do. And the stakes are more to me than
of all the races ever rowed in Christendom. II
you mean never to speak to me-
"Oh, is it, there9 had quite forkotten''-
"What! you are not in earnest?"
-"Never more So"
!. ,tKate?"
"WenY'
"Give me something to row for my girl"
and stopped short and looked down at her
with the color rising on her lovely cheek.
u will give you a signal"
"How shall know what it means?''
"You will know"
II believe yju would send a man into den
of lions for your glove"
81 never blamed the woman who did," SAID
Kate, with gay laugh all at once, because,
as saw, her eyes We're actually full OF tears,
land never thought well of tue mali ii, that
story"
SO we parted. Rates tears-thcy augured
ILL., Plying me-burial before death! A sud
den fash of anger swept through Inc. If she
would not give me something tn row for,
would give her something to cry for, would
win, or would break blooG-vessel.
went to my Office for the mail, on the way
and Che1iots. "Tell us the truth, Geotfreys.',
they cried. "These Gath people are up here
with fists full of money, ready TO wager thou
sands on their crew. Say, shall we take them
uP?n ,,. .... ,-:.---,, -,
are mighty men. They row to win. never
morning. exercises. No-don't bet on US.
We won't die rae the Cheviots. It'll be a
close, thing, perhaps, but it's out of the ques-
ton to suppose we can win from them"
"That's as it may be-" cried Brand. But
Eye taken the offers of the Philistines to the
last dollar in my pocket" And cheer greet.
ed him that fairly slammed the door behind
me as left, and told what the rest meant to
do; and Of course it didn't tighten our hearts
any to know how they were going to tighten
their pockets.
Well,it was a big crowd that lined the
shores and the buildin g-tops, that hung alon e
the banks in boats and skitfs when we went
down to the boat-house, and seemed only like
one vast animal with countless eyes and
tongues. The balconies were filled with
ladies, the stake-boat was set, the-tugs were
ready to follow us, and such tumult of ex
citement as there was in the boat-house moth
ing bntia menagerie just before dinner.time
could rival; old Reed was kicking through the
panels ofhis dressing room door because he
had dropped his key, and young Smythe was
taking his fist and smashing every pane in a
sash because he couldn' tsopen g. window ;
they were yelling here and running there
the blood Of all the Chevfots was up! In the
midst Of The confusion, there, on heap of
sail-cloth under one of the balconies, the
Gaths lay stretched at their ease like nest of
young lions;and as looked them over won
dered if four as superb giadiators ever fought
in Roman circus. They had q deuced pretty
uniform, too, snow-white, With a deep Grim
son handkerchief knotted on their heads.
"Come up here" cried, leaning OVERCOME
up and survey the course, and Sc the crowd,
and be introduced to some-'
"Thank gou. Godfrey answered Converse.
ITS yerX clever Of you, Geotfrey; you know;
time sounded, and they rose and strobe down
to their boat, was not surprised at the shouts
OF admiration that rent the air-in act, we
shouted OurselYes..- 70 r~----r,~ e~
never want to endure. another. momen4
like that IN which r grasped my oar, waiting
for the start, after places were taken. 1
glanced back at Harden and the rest, and then
across to the Gaths-such, white, set faces !!
My pulse stopped for,one second; there was
dead silence; then word, dip, a bound, q
yell-I was all>myself again, my heart beat at
my oars blade, my soul went out of me at
every stroke, Harden and Devlin were one
with me, little Jersey steered her to hair; nv
detection had vanished like smoke I meant
to win that race oE de- We were side by side,
we were creeping on, we gave them our wash,
the swift tremendous strokes seem to come
like our breaths; heard nothing but one
continuous roar along the banks the whole of
the way, saw nothing but those fellows
laboring after; and as for them, they never
saw us again without turning. their heads over
their shoulders. AS we rounded; they seemed
to- be losing form a moment, although they
rallied; and Is. we entered the quarter, I asked
the men If they had anyt thing left to call for.
b.. "a last breath, "piped jersey n -
Let them have it,p Icried. And we came
in two lengths ahead, in the midst of deaf
ening tqmult, wild women and yelling men,
that might have walked the dead.
:, Of course we padded aside to let the Gaths
enter at the landing first. But Is we came up
ourselves, eight great arms were reaching out
to seize me; powerless to struggle we were
carried up the slip. BY Gaths, and Cheviots to-
gether. Justas4 passed under the baleonyin
that triumph, looked up. There was Kate
,leanihg!far over. Upon my word for that in
slant, that one instant, I had forgotten that
Kate existed. And there she stood with the
Others, framed in the sunset, her dsordered
hair gtlded like,a nimbus, laughing, crying s.
flushed, lovely and half divine! AS hereye
caught mine, she extended her hand impetu-
ously; kissed the spray of flowers she: held,
and tossed i: down to me. It was spray OF
orange aox .SF5 HE a'1 =. Weekly ai;u -"