The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1881-06-14
TN sroEElCUrTER,s STORY.

He was whistling eYer his work. care.
less from long custom, Of the solemn
| significance of the letters he was cut
ting in the white mar. lie. Tho June
sun was nearly al the end Of the days
journey, sinking slowly 10 rest upon tn.
bosom of the broad Atlantic, whose
waves washed the shores Of the little
seaport town Of Monkton. A strsnger
handsomely dressed in gray. with large
lustrous brown eyes. came 70 the fence
that was around the yard whore the
stone-cutter worked. and read the let
tering. almost completed, upon the
tombstone:
HIRAM GoLDBY, .FFf
Aged IS.
LOST AT SEA, JANu2Ry. 1866
The last six was nearly completed.
A strange pallor gathered Tor a m
upon the stranger's face, and then b.
drew a long. deep breath. and said:
lis not ten years q long time 20 /.
cutting letters on a tombstone, frieni'"
..Eh, sirPn
The st~one-cutter looked. shaded hs
eyes with his brown hand, rs he turnct
his face 70 the setting sun, u
l.sThis Is 1876" was tho grave rcpiy,
.'nnd Hiram Colby has bcoa ten ycer.
under the waves" H'i i1
"Well. sir. that's the question is ks
therePn
rs he theref Your stone tells US ls
Is. and has been for ten years" ue
Eyes, sir, so it does-so il docs. And
| yet she has ordered il. She camo ovc-
q week or so back with a worried lool
reen anything but pat enco in tho ton
| l.pr -osro aud 1hao.tI 80 .s.. w.,
may cut a STONE. Dayy,'' she says. and
put 1t up in the churchyard. and 1 don't
want TO see it. III pay you whatever
you choose to ask, Dayy.n she says,
but he's not dead, and don't want q
tombstone .Lor, num- says T. 'ho'd
q turned up In all these years IL he was
not dead But she shook her pretty
head, the prettiest / evcr seen. sir. and
| Iaid she: MY heart never told INT tha.
We vas dead. Davy, and I'll boz
lieve it till my heart tells mo So"
His sweetheart" questioned tho
stranger.
His wife. sir-his loving. faithful
wife, that's had property, and ,oneli-
ness and misery. her full share, and
might ha' bettered herself"
'How was thatPh ~ IrI@ ,T
mi. Miles, sir. tho richest shopown-
.r heroabonts. he waited patiently SCI
IN long years. trying to win her. Then
ie said she was free even II Hiram
tame back" 4GNr1
"Enoch Arden" multered tue strirr
rer. sD
"Nnat ls1 you say, sirf'
s.Nothing, nothing. What answer
did the willow make, Mr.. MilesPr
If Hiram's dead said she, Pm
his faithful wife. Maybe you are from
the city. sir. and have heard the story
of our Penrlp" f
f.What story Is thatp''
"Well. sir. It's been told many times.
moro particularly in the last year, but
you're welcome to what j know Of it.
There. that six is done. and IN leave
the Scripture text till morning. II
YOU ilcpme 10 the, gateway and take n
seat On some stones. I'll tell you. that
Is, If You care to hear ill., ~
~ do care" was the grave reply; 81
want very much TO hear the story"
Maybe you're some kin 10 the Pearl
Of Monkton that's Mrnt they call Mrs.
Goldby hereabouts. LIS u matter OF
thiriy-three years back. sir. that there
was a wreck OIL Monktops rocks. that
you caii see from here, sir. HOW tides
low. Cruel rocks they arc. aud many
n wreck they've seen. the more the
pity. You see them, snip"
II see them"
.'Fell, sir. with this one wreck, thir.
ty7tbrcc years ago. there was nothing
washed ashore but a bit OF a girl baby
three or four years old. with n skin like
a leaf. land great black eyes. Hiram
Colby found her on the rocks. IIe
,,.. 4, Ior 80 t,,l,~ .,.o,
tall. and he carried the child in his
cottage, sir. the second white one on
II see It,"
.'Well, Hiram took the baby there,
and Mrs. Colby was tho same as a
mother to it-a good woman, God bless
her soul-the Widow Goldby."
rs she dead. thenPrG ct9HiM
Aye. six years agone. The baby |
was telling You of, sir, talked a foreign
lingo, and was dressed beautiful in rich
clothes, that must have cost q power OF
money. But never would Hiram or the
widow sell them, putting them up care
fully in case the child was ever looked
for. She was that pretty, sir. and thai
dainty, that everybody called her Pearl.
though she was not like our girls, but
afraid, always deadly afraid Of the sea.
l have seen her clench her mite OF .
hand and strike Mt it, for she had a bit
of temper in her, though nothing To
harm.
"When Hiram made his first voyage.
for they were all seafaring men here.
abouts, and there was nothing for o lad
to do but ship, the Pearl was Just a lit
tie w~ashed-out lily, n fretting until he
came home again. And 1t was so when.
ever he went, for they were sweethearts
from the first time he nestled her baby
face on his breast, when he picked her
up from the wreck. She was sixteen
when they were married, rs near as wo
could guess; Hiram was a man OF
twenty-four. She prayed him to star
Mt home then, and he stayed a year,
but he fretted for the sea, and no went
away again, thinking, l s'pose, that his
wife would get used to It, as wen as nil
wives hereabouts must do. But she
never did-never. 1t was just pitiablo
to see her go about, white as q corpse,
when Hiram went away, never looking
at the sea without a shudder like q
death chill. All through the war it was
just awful, for Hiram enlisted on q
man.o'-war, and Pearl was Just a shad.
ow when he came home the last time"
H"After the war;" = 4fAft.tfF
"Yes, sir, but he made no money OF
ANY account, and so went away again,
after staying at home a long spell.
Well, he never came back. 'Twasn',
no manner Of use telling Pearl he was
lost; she'd just shake her pretty head
and say: He'll come back Not Q
mite Of mourning would she wear, even
after his own mother gave him up and
went in black; for, sir, it stands to rea-
son he's dead years ago..
at looks So"
"Of course It does; nobody else