The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1884-06-28

man luSOIeHtly STtDDeu Uno uO0 W
throw him back. In an instant Davy's
fingers clutched his throat, and in an
other he was in the river, choking and
struggling to keep from taking in as
much water as seemed inevitable.
Davy got shower of bricks, in conse-
quence, from the mans companions,
and few bruises, but when he stepped
aboard Rick remarked that he was
mot such bad sort of cuss, after all,
which was about the verdict of the rest
of us.
He continued to grow thinner and
became haggard from loss of sleep.
He learned to steer his trick, and,
although entitled to his nights below,
frequently relieved one of us, because,
as he said, he couldn't sleep, and he
might as well make good use of his
wakefulness.
On one of these occasions, as he took
the wheel from me, | fingered little
while before turning in, feeling there
was something he wished to say; not
that he intimated such desire, but
there was mysterious something
which indicated crisis at hand. He
had been unusually restless all day, and
| thought it was because we were max
ing for a pier but few miles from the
point where he made his mysterious
advent among us.
''Do you think" he began, choking
back noise, half sob, half groan, ''dO
you think | cud kill mon Wi blow
fra that fest ?'' and he looked at the
hot hn1 in hn IF
pinnacle light, in sorrowful, speculas
tive kind of way. ''Ef-ef," he added,
''the mon wer'nt over strong Pr
"Keep her stiddy."
Davv corrected the course of the
hooker which, owing to his emotion,
had yawned trihe.
Then by degrees and with much
labored effort he told his story, to which
the not altogether reassuring question
was preface.
He had been foreman in a sawmill of
a countryman of his which was at the
piers we were now bound for. He had
been doing well, he said, until he went
to board with his employer. There he
met and loved Jessie Duncan, the black
eyed daughter of the mill owner. Davy
did not rave over the strength of his
passion. A few simple words told as
effectually how completely it had taken
possession of him. 1t fastened to him
like death sickness" as he termed
it. The most trying feature was that
he could not find out whether twas re-
turned or not, and when travelling
music teacher came along with the
cheap fopperies of his class, and was
employed by Mr.. Duncan to give his
daughter lessons on the organ, Davy' S
apprehensions were aroused. Miss
Jessie, it must be confessed, was
possessed of considerable fund of
coquetry, which was ever brought into
action by her position of belle and
almost the only eligible lady in large
settlement of men. When the music
teacher took advantage of his position
to carry on a Irritation, Davy's latent
jealousy became a mania. Like many
another, the stalwart lover avoided the
object of his alteration, and fell to
hating his sleek and perfumed rival,
keeping watch of the latter's move
ments and brooding much in secret.
Piqued at the neglect, Miss Jessie found
rather ostentatious solace in the new
conner. The climax came one night at
a dance, at which all the mill hands
were present. when Davy, surly and
lowering, at last asked her to dance
and received an airy refusal. With an
angry scowl he strobe out into the dark
night. The men grinned. The few
women present looked pityingly after
him. He wandered around, as foolish
lovers will, over sawdust piles and in
the adjacent groves, muttering to HIM
self, until the lights in the dormitory
over the clearinghouse where the
festivities had been held, were all ex-
tinguished, and then he sought his bed.
On going into the living room, he was
shocked mortified to find the music
teacher on the lounge beside Miss Jessie
with his arm about her waist-a posi-
ton which he himself had never been
allowed to take. The young man was
struggling for a kiss and Miss Jessie
was making that degree of resistance
conSonant with self-respect, but which
was to eventually result in confusing
defeat.
The spectacle threw Davy into a
frenzy. He made rush at the teacher,
who staggered up just in time to catch
a stunning blow from his fist.
"All l con mind of noo," he said, sis
Jessie on Bonded knee, with the white
face of the lad in her lap, with blood
a-comin' and she a-moanin': "Ye've
killed him! Ye've killed him! Leave
my sight and don't we ever, eUer, EVER
come back! O, ye've killed him.
He brought the hooker which had
fallen off a little up to her course, and
went on:
81 thowt it war all over wi me, an
| felt queer in my insides, and hot and
weak like, and was ashamed of hav-
ing hit felier so much smaller than
me-. y
He paused again.
'But Jessie said 90 and I minded.
tramped all night in the wood and on
the shore, an when / see the schooner
padded out TO you. Jessie's cry has
bin ringin' in my head ever since,
chasing sleep away. l can't stand il
any more. I'm going up to the mill
to morrow an give myself up. Glib
betting wad be a relief-rest to what
I've borne"
We made Duncan's pier about ten
O'Clock the next morning. As soon as
we got out our line, Davy appeared on