Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1883-07-27


subject, by saying that il the Wave, Mrs.
Prestons ''cat" boat, was not engaged, he
thought he would have n sail rs the morn
ing was SO fine. Now Polly, who had
once seen Mr.. Dormans performances in
the boating line, was by no means sure
that he was quite wise in venturing off by
himself, and rather timidly suggested
something to this effect. But when did a
man ever like to be told that he is moi
perfectly au fat in such matters, even
by the lips of pretty girl. Mr.. Dor
man oddly laughed, and politely ignoring
Polly's proposition to have Joe Miller,
who was hoeing in the vegetable garden,
accompany him, set forth with his face
turned wharfward.
Easiest thing in the world, to handle q
boat, if one only has little gumption,
soliloquized Mr.. Dorman, rs an hour Ia
ter he leaned comfortably back in the
stern sheet of the staunch little cat boat
that headed seaward, the boom iibed well
out, was running directly before the
strong southerly breeze. And then, hav-
ing lit his pipe, the young man gave him.
self up to luxurious DAY dream in which
the witching face of Polly Preston was
the prominent feature, for young MIR.
Dorman was in iove-and for the first
time!
An hour passed. Then Mr.. Dorman's
reverie was abruptly-not to say rudely-
broken. The boom jibed over with such
startling and fiendish suddenness that il
banged Mr.. Dorman's head and sent his
hat with his pipe, spinning to leeward
"Owl' was his involuntary but natural
exclamation, and it speaks well for the
young mans moral character that he
checked more impetuous ejaculation.
And, us with great difficulty he got the
boat round, he saw there was threaten
ing bank of thunder clouds rising behind
the Covert hills, presagng one OF those
sudden wind and rain squalls peculiar to
our coast
OF his wrathful and eminently unsuc-
cessful efforts to recover his hat, need
say nothing. 1t is sufficient to add, that
giving it up, after nearly half hour s
striving i'll vain, Mr.. Dorman fiattened
down the sheet which he Immediately
made fast to the cleat, in the securest Of
knots. And as the Wave, well on her
side, went spinning along toward the har-
Dor mouth, the young man began to realize
that i'll practice as i'll metaphor, there is
vast difference between sailing with the
wind, and sailing against it. Now, as
the storm clouds blotted out the sun, and
| n livid lighting flash was followed by n
rafting thunder peal, Mr.. Dorman should
have emulated the example of the lifting
coasters and fishermen every where i'll
| sight, and shortened sail at once.
But he was anxious to reach the har-
Dor mouth, before it began to rain.
"For of course there won't be any
wind to speak Of" he added half aloud,
when all at once-with rush and roar
that filled the air with dust, and flying
leaves from the bending trees on the shore,
the squat struck And the sheet being
fast, the unvarying result followed In
another moment the Wave was upside
down, and a drenched young man cling
ing convulsively to the keel, was being
driited seward as fast as wind and tide
could carry him
And at the sound of the first thunder
peal, Polly who with much apprehension,
had been watching the coming squall,
ran up stairs TO Mr.. Dorman's room,
which commanded a grand outlook over
the sea, with her fathers old-fashioned
spy-glass In her hand. On her way to
the open window, she stopped to pick up
some scattered papers which the wind
lllu ulSlOugeu from tne tnDlc.
Upon my word ~ exclaimed Polly
aloud i'll an Understandable tone. For be
fore her on sheet Of drawing paper, was
Polly's own exquisite face with its broad
white forehead, about which, clustered
thick tendril-like rings of dark hair, and
eyes OF unfathomable depth, and under
meath, was written:-
"Polly carissima.
II wonder what 'cayisSinao,' means"
she said very softly, with tender light
| filling her eyes, as she laid the drawing
on the table, and turned to the window.
| Adjusting the glass with fingers that
trembled visibly, Polly looked seward,
Just as n great gust of wind tore across
the harbor, its roar almost drowning the
terrible bass of the thunder peal.
One minute she eazed, and then as a
little cry escaped her white lips, the glass
fell to the floor, and Polly flew swiftly
down stairs.
"Joe joel" she cried, but alas, Joe
had sought shelter from the storm, at the
corner store, while her mother was away
somewhere making n neighborly call.
Only brief moment of hesitation, and
| then Polly sped out through the driving
Iuiu tOWdIu lue Whit u CuDlc lcuBl IL
distant, where lay her own pet row boat.
And five minutes later, the boat itself was
flying toward the harbor mouth through
the driving spray aud storm, impelled by
the light oars in the hands of young
girl whose supple, white wrists seemed
for the time to hold an athletes power.
81 could not have hung on many min
utes longer" quietly said Mr.. Dorman,
an hour afterward, as he pulled the
boat back to Covert, with Polly drenched
to the skin, very much exhausted and
strangely quiet sitting in the stern, and
the look that accompanied his words was
more eloquent than speech.
"No ?" returned Polly dreamily "Mr
Dorman," she continued trihe abruptly,
-'what does 'carissima' mean?"
The young man started visibly, and
then bending his eyes on Polly's crimson
ing face, he said -
ut means that to me you are the dear
est thing in existence" And Polly could
only hide her bushes by placing her
hands before her face, while her heart
was beating with strange tumult of
joy.
my own Polly carissima. Mr.. Dor
man repeated this over and over again,
in dazed sort of way, while in the soil
tude of his own room, he went through
the prosaic operation of making the nee
essary changes of raiment consequent
upon thorough ducking. For, as they
parted at the bottom of the stairs, Polly
had slyly whispered something in answer
to his fery appeal and the remem-