St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1883-03-03
BRAVE DOROTHY.

# i4 BRAVE DOROTHY. i
Until she was nineteen years old Dor.
othy lived a very uneyentful life, fol-
one week was much the same as anoth-
er in the placid existence of the village.
On Sunday mornings, when the church
| bells began to ring, you would meet her
walking over the moor with a springy
step. Her shawl was gray, and her
dress was of the most pronounced color
that could be bought in the market
town. Her brown hair was gathered in
a net, and her calm eyes looked from
under an old-fashioned bonnetof straw.
Her feet were always bare, but she
carried her shoes and stockings slung
over her shoulder. When she got near
the church she sat down in the shade Of
a hedge and put them on; then she
walked the rest of the distance with a
cramped and civilized gait
Every boat went away north one even
ing. and not a man remained in the
Row, excepting three very old fellows,
who were long past work of any kind.
When fisherman grows helpless with
age. he is kept by his own people, and
his days are passed in gu city smoking
on a kitchen settle or in looking dimly
out over the sea from the bench at the
door. A southerly gale with a south
erly sea came away in the night, and
the EDats could not beat down from the
northward. BY daylight they were all
SAFE in a harbor about eighteen miles
north of the village. The sea grew
worse and worse, and the usual clouds
,os foam flew. against the houses or
skinned away into the fields beyond.
When the wind reached its height
the sounds it made in the hollows
were like distant firing of small arms,
and the waves in the hollow rocks
seemed to shake the ground over the
cliffs. A little schooner came round
the point, running before the sea. She
might have got clear away, because it
was easy enough for her, had she clawed
a short way out, risking the beam sea,
to have made the harbor where the fish.
iiers were. But the skipper kept her close
in. and presently she struck on a long
tongue of rocks that trended far out
eastward. The tops of her masts seemed
nearly to meet, it appeared as if she
had broken her back. The seas flew
sheer over her, and the men had to climb
into the rigging. All the women were
watching and waiting to see her go to
pieces. There was no chance of get
ting a boat out SO the helpless villagers
waited to see the men go down, and the
women cried out in their shrill. piteous
manner. Dorothy said: .sWill she break
mp in an hour? If [ thowt she would
hing there / would be away for the
life boat. But the old men said.
3t'.''Yo OH can never cross the burn - Four
miles south. behind the point, there was
"a village where q life-boat was kept; but
Just half way a stream ran into the sea,
land across this stream there was only a
plank bridge. Halt a mile below the
bridge the water spread far over the
broad sand and be anne very shallow
and wide. Dorothy spoke no more. ey-
5cept to say: I'm away She ran
across the moor for q mile. and then
scrambled down to the sand, so that the
tearing wind might not impede her. 1t
was dangerous work for the next mile.
Every yard of the way she had to splash
through the foam, because the great
waves were rolling up very near to the
foot of the cliffs. An extra strong sea
might have caught her off her feet, but
she did not think of that; she only
thought of saving her breath by escaping
the direct onslaught of the wind. When
she came to the mouth of the burn her
heart failed herfor a little. There was
three-quarers ola mile of water, COW
cred with creamy foam, and she did
not know but what she might be taken
out of her depth. Yet she determined
to risk it. and plunged in alta run. The
sand was hard under foot but she said,
when the piled foam came softly up to
her waist, she ..felt gey funny Half
caused by a whirling eddy, and she
thought all was over; but her nerve
never failed her, and she struggled till
she got a footing again. W hen she
reached the hard ground she was wet to
the neck, and her hair was sodden with
her one plunge lover head. y Her
clothes troubled her with their weight
in crossing the moor; SO she put off all
she did not need: and pressed forward
again. Presently she reached the house
where the co1sWain of the life boat
lived. She gasped out 1.-THE schooner!
On the Letch! Norrad. y 8
Il The coxswain, who had seen the
schooner go past, knew what was the
matter. He said Here, wife, look after
the lass, = and ran out. The ..lass''
needed looking after, for she had
tainted. But her work was well done;
the life boat went round the point, ran
north, and took six men ashore from the.
schooner. The Captain had been washed
overheard, but the others were saved by
Dorothy's daring and endurance. The