The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1880-09-25

To NIlDtll luIS answer WIS uutiCNSNN l'llDNtN
the direction Of his look. But 1t was only /
moment, for it was busy afternoon witt
them. It was not long after the flood slack
and there had been a heavy haul from the
travis
| Its CarrOw'S Bcss, the fisherman repeated
as he threw a fish into one of the large tubs
around the flakes; land there she sits every
afternoon, rain or shine, a-lookn' over the
bay"
Hes one OF them painters" said aglrl IN a
low tone, ganclng at the sketch'book and sun
shade under the strangers arm.
And what's he cheesin' round here iorg "
asked another.
II guess he's a squattin' after sketches" re-
piled one of the men, though | don't see
what's to be made out o travis, flakes and
herrn' sticks, May be he'd like to get Car
rows Bess on his paper and she's likely
enough to SIT still for him if he won't go ask,
| IN her.
i The glrl who had called the stranger zone
o them painters was right He had come
to the Bay of Fundy for sketches, and had
crossed from Manan to Duck Island that
morning "Carrow's Bess" had struck HIM
rs about the most picturesque object he had
come across in n long time. He had been
drawing tough old fisherman and weather.
beaten houses all day and was resting near
the shore, watching the sun set over Manan,
when he had noticed girl sitting far out on
n rocky point gazing intently over the water
He had gone up TO her and spoken to her but
her only answer had been strange, almost
savage look and wild gesture towards the
bay The waters glowed in the setting sun,
and the waves, as they beat against the rock,
sent the purple spray over her feet Her long
far hair fell from single loop INTO her lap,
where 1t lay IN heavy coils; and she sat almost
mutlonless after the artist left her.
He had seen some fishermen and girls near
by, and 1t was to his question the young fish
crman had replied, ITS Carrow's Bess, and
there she sits every afternoon, rain or shine,
alOokln over the bay"
"Shcd better be takin hand at the flakes
than to be moonn' away her time alookin' att
nothn'," put IN one of the fisher girls after
while.
"IIush, Edna" SAID the fisherman, Eyer
know rs she's not been Alright in the upper
story these three years and afOre that there
wasn't a handler girl on the island"
"Well, Dan" Edna replied somewhat sharp
ly yer needn't be too easy on her, for they
say rs yer the one as suffered the most when
she chose the likely young chap from the
States, though she had been mighty sweet on
yer atore The otner chap came cheesin' round
here"
AN if what yer says true, Edna, all the
more reason should speak for the poor girl
when she can't speak for herself. Yer see"
he SAID to the artist some five years ago Car
rows l}Css Vas one o. the brightest, lkelicst
girls on Duck Island She was the first at the
travis and the last at the flakes and when Car
rows old woman went off she was q heap o
comfort to her father. One day when she was
over at Fishers Cove yonder, one o. them
painters from the States like yourself saw her
and it weren't long afore he came over to Duck
Island He lived at CarrOw =, and he put l5ess
INTO all his pictures. Folks round here be
gan to say the young Teller was mighty sweet
on Bess and l3ess didn't seem to mind bein'
run about him bit One day at the flakes
she told us she was a.goin' to be married TO
him; he was a-goin away next day to the .
States for q week to fetch his mother and sis
ter and some traps for the weddin We was
all to be at the racket and say good-by to her,
for she was a-goin' to the States herself tn live
with hlm. 1t gave US n heapo sorrow to part
with her, for we all thought well O Bcss, and
there was many a young fcIler among Us as
would ha' liked TO ha Kept her here. They
run me about her STILL as yer may ha' heard ,
Edna say, but I'm not the only one "a would
ha taken ner home with glad heart. Well,
when her Teller had been gone SIX or seven
lays Bcss used to go ont In the afternoon toI
-hc point where she sits now and look over the ,
bay to watch for him, and We hang round, :
900, for we wanted to hal him in Il crowd.
'One afternoon we saw Il little sal-boat put
out from Flaggs Cove on Manan and Bess
lollcred out to us that he was a-comin'. Well a
mister, the boat hadn't got half way over =
when we saw a black cloud comm round =,
swallow Tall Point, and while he was II wavin'
O Bcss, aforc he could hear w a,hollerln' to
lm the sQuall was on him. 1t took two O
Is to hold l}css and then we thought she'd get !;
away from us and into the water 1t blows !
pretty hard here at times, so hard an so sud :,
len IL we ha' to chain the flakes down to keep
EN- from benz blown away. There was no
a boat in that sea- the rain was go ,
hck we couldn't see ten feet, and we knew T.
hat aiorc we could La' got to em they'd ha
,crishcd in the cold water When the clouds
feared away the boat WAS a-ilOatin bottom up i
md not one o. them as had been aboard was !,
q be seen. The tide was on the flood slack ~
ust as il isto-day, an we knowcd If the bodies y
vas to he found anywhere they might ha' been
washed ashore ut Whales Cove. Some lcllcrs II
pulled over there with me next mornln', an ;,
We found Bcss's teller Il lynn ON the pebbly =
,caCh. We brought his body to Duck Island
md buried him under the pine yondcr. At
irSt we thought Bess would go stark mad she d,
vent on so. After her ieiler had been buried, :,
hough she quoted down little. All the "
nornn' she mopes round his grave and in I
he afternoon she sits on the point yonder, rs
or see her slttin' to-day. When we talk to
cr she just looks at us an points to the spot
where the squall struck 'cm. Sometimes she
cts into boat and goes cheesin' round the
lace where they must hu' persisted"
AN that's what she's a-goln to do tins af- u
rrnoon, DAN said Edna.
They all looked at Bcss for moment AS a
he sprang nlmbly into one of the fishing o
oats and pushed away, and then The fishermen u
nd girls continued their work IN silence n
While the artist watched the tall erect figure 1t
adding across the bay All at once an anx- 81
Gus expression came over his face, and ap- :
the flakes he called the attention of
ne oil the fishermen to something over the u