Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-03-23
THE SAVANNAH MORNING NEWS: SUNDAY, MARCH g. 1884,

black hair, with the still water glistening
/ at the base of the bluff precipice
whitened with sea-birds, and the heather
/ all around her, and the stars shining
overhead, and the Tivulet deep down in
/ the terny glen. And suddenly there had
4 come into it discordant element, the
/ rudely-clad fellow with his awkward
/ speech and ungainly ways, and all its
I beauty had vanished. Robin Graham
! was at once Disguised and indignant; dis
/ gusted at being brought into rivalary
| win a rough fisherman, indignant at this
nsherman's impertinence in aspiring to
Elsie's hand, and in placing him in such
an undignited position. 1t is needless to
say that this last consideration had the
most weight with him. But how was he
to eXtrlcate himself from this unpleasant
/ dilemma? That he and Joe 0uiIliam
should be matched against one another
for Elsle's hand would be lifelong dis
grace, even should he prove successfuI:
TO be rejected in the presence OF his hum
Die rival would be simply intOlerable: and
to withdraw from this disagreeable con-
test would be construed into an acknOW-
ledgment of defeat. Clearly, he could
neither advance nor retreat, nor even re-
main where he was without encounter
ing disaster. 1t was difficult TO discover
the least of the evils presented for his Sc
lection.
Meanwhile, Elsie stood silent between
the two men. Holding the bollan cross in
her hand, she kept glancing from one to
the other, and then down into the pictur-
esque glen where she had spent her sim
pie lite among the bracken and the heath
er and the gorse. There were boaganes
there, no doubt, for they love the peat
smoke and the mOOrland flowers, and
they ravel in the babbling brook and the
sparkling waves. There her father lived
and there her grandfather had lived, and
her ap7iGTe e for many SontmFiaS aud if
for the perils of the sea, they had not been
unhappy. Was she to break away from
all these old traditions and become great
lady! or was she to continue in the
peaceful groove that had been so pleasant
TO her fathers? Which of these two? On,
that some fairy would help her in this dis
tressing situation!
No sooner had she conceived this wish
than there was a swift rush of something
black through the air. 1t was immedi-
ately followed by the pitiful squeal Of
some creature in agony. They all turned,
and saw on hillOck, a few yards dis
tant, Young rabbit in the clutch of a
hawk, which had sWOOped down upon the
Over-yenturesOme little ball of wool be-
fore it could take refuge in its burrOw.
Robin Graham regarded the scene with
curiosity. 1t was new to him, and he
was wondering whether the hawk would
proceed to deyour its prey then and there,
or whether it would carry it off bodily
in its talOns. But Elsie was deeply
moved.
"Oh, do save the poor little thing" she
cried.
Pride kept Robin mOtiOnless; even now
he was determined to hold aloof from any
appearance Of rivalry. But three rapid
strides carried the fisherman to the spot.
The great bird relinquished its prey, and
rose slowly in the air; while, appar-
emily none the worse for its adventure, the
rabbit scampered off and tumbed intOits
hole.
''Oie vie good night, Mr.. Graham"
said Elsie, in her statelest manner.
Her use of the ManX expression made
her meaning sufficiently clear. Without
another word she walked across to Joe
Quilliam and put her hand in his, and to-
gether they went away through the heath
er and vanished in the glen.
AS for Robin Graham, the lesson was
useful, though CALLING in the extreme.
Sitting alone upon the cliff, he thought the
matter over, and at length admitted that
worse might have befallen him. But it was
decidedly unpleasant to hear the voice
of his successful rival ringing out merrily
in the distance:
cred op-knots and ribbons Of black thou'lt
wear;
I'll make the Queen of the May, l swear,
Robin Rec, Robin Rec udlan."
All the Year Round.