The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1886-09-08
MIDSUMMER FIRES.
CHAPTER /.

. Ao-LiofIoN Nouiu DC midsummer ustf
! The sun was nigh its setting. Out oyei
I the level, shining sea he seemed to lie
blood red and rleldy purple cleaned the
/ throbbing waves OF the horizon I: rosy ano
golden came the ripping wavelets from
that distant path of the sea to tine yellow
sands of the Manx coast
A path, winding up headIand, led
from the western shores to a white road
The red gleam of the sunset was upon il
and the sparse heather landward glowed
ruddy, a. some girls sauntered lOItering
along the path.
There were three Of them, sisters One
was a child, Nessie; the Others, Meta and
Kate Qualtrough. were on the happy bor-
der-land of girlhood and womanhood.
We have no picturesque national garb
of a foreign land wherewith TO set them
forth-they were dressed as hundreds OF
girls in London might be dressed, though
they came Of so pure Manx race as to
be proud Of the days when English peo-
pie were looked upon as foreigners in
Man.
Nessie WAS full of life; she danced
ahead, or she fingered behind she sprang
To right or left over the broken ground of
the head-land: what her sisters waited
for had evidently no strong hold on her
thoughts At last she struck in with
this:
Yen be utterly foolish, You girls,
idling here any longer foi those lads. =
Her accent bore the North Country hlt
and the soft, sweet tones of the Manx
people. 'Do you think they'll be leaving
their fishing for the
list y commanded Meta
The girls were ali at play in Il scene,
but it was play with serious vein in it
to Meta
him full of respect y and wild
Nessie threw out her arms and made a
gay, bowling reverence in circling fash
ion to the hills and the green mountains
But the boys are not 80, and I'm think
ing they d only be hindering us if they
were here"
.-sull, we promised Kate put in.
And they promised, too and if they
break their promise We'll be free from
ours, | say DO come, well be awfally
late, and there's lot to do"
Then they walked on bit faster. Nes-
sic was out of sight, but yet they were
closely following ON her steps. SO many
turns and bends and shoulders there are
to these Manx headlands that one may
be easily out Of sight.
A shout bunst forth into the still sum
mer air, and the next moment Nessie.
with waving arms and with yellow hair
flying as the light wind caught her, was
seen on the topmost bit of green.
Boat ahoy r and her arms gesticulated.
There was a boat skimming along the
bay-Peel Bay One unbonneted head
was in the stern of the round. deep boat :;
it belonged to fisher had, who WIS the
working ebum Of three scarlet-capped
Youths. One of these last was Quail
trough, cousin Of the girls; the others
were his friends, lads who, a year or two
back, had been with him at King VIII
liam College at Castletown, but who, be-
ing English, We're only in Man for sum-
mer jaunt now.
And now it had been for the delecta
tion of these same young EngliShmen
that the doings OF that midsummer even
ing were being made - much OF.
''Do they mean to land or not?" asked
Kate.
.Undoubtedly,' was Meta's decisive
word, "Do they not know it is for them
that We are making this delay p
In very short time the boat was out
of sight, which means that she was well
under the he;idland and landing her crew
in White Strand Cove. Some few mo-
ments .nore and three young men in
boating flannels, and each with rough
pea jacket atop, Appeared from Chamber
ing up the face OF the he;ldland. Then
the party went on more swiftly
Firs; ON to and across the white sunlit
roadway, then down an opposite lane,
rough and stony and untended. This
lane finally lost itself on furry common,
where short, sweet, mossy grass was
patched irregularly by sayagery of
gorse, and furze, and strong. waving
bracken Meta, walking apart, pulled
the bracken Kate and Nessie, with en-
ergy of a more talkative and less solitary
humor, bade the young men bring out
their knives and slash away mossy
branches of gorse and furze-
where i all this to 90 now ~ asked
Doyle Phiiipson. the elder of the two
English brothers. "Is this common the
haunt of-of-the eneiny?r A twinkle
lighted up would-be grave face.
"Oh, don't?" Metas exclamation was
instructive.
There cried the MAJ man Of the
party. Take Meta's horror for your key
note, Philipson, or you'll he setting u all
in danger Of the evil influences of the
hour
"Eh, Willier' and Nettie flung her Wig
orous small self against her cousin, her
self armed with huge bundle of prickiy
furze, Yen be the worst OF the three.
You ought to know better"
Blessed are the immunities of ignor-
ance " the youth exclaimed,
Il do not say that at all,r quickly
young PhiIipson replied 4 wish To
know-I wish to-
Meta viii tell you then
The ,rirl visa still in ber afi.zot b,1r,,or |