Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-11-10
THE AVENGING FINGER.

| "A deVulSh nlght!' crled MaSter 4Non' skillfully bringing his boat to anchor; 'not even sardine for my pains But the wind, and the fishing, too, will be so much the bet | ter tO-mOrrowT
 And Won was right in his estimate of the | weather, for the roaring blasts that swept the sea at the moment, hinging it upon the sands ill spray and heaps of foam that buried themselves with furious howlings in the si- lent and somber streets of the village, would | all be gone by morning.
 The boat at anchor, the fisherman drew from the bottom of it the huge fishing sacks, now absolutely empty, threw them upon his 1 back, remounted the strand and turned hls steps toward his distant dwelling. rough sailor, this master Won, tall, broad shoul- dered and tanned to the color of an orange by the salty winds who never sulked at work, and whom they saw (when others, frightened by the tempests, remained Ill the village), smiling and indifferent, make ready his boat unaided and put to sea-
 This evening even, despite tho counsels of his companions and the applications of his wife, he had embarked as usual, not to return till morning, but decidedly the weather was too heayy-the harvest did not come, and, ma foi! he had put about, and by 12 o'clock was safe in port again. One thought alone cOnsoled him for his bad fortune-he was gO- ing to surprise his Catherine, his dear treas ure and to pass beside her tho hours of work that the ocean refused to allow him to take from it. An, well, happiness gave him pa tence, and tomorrow, after night like this, the game would be hungry-the fishing mar velOus!
 He loved his wife so much, this brave Won, she whom he had seen play when a ] little one before the shop of her father, the whcelwright. They had passed these joyous ) moments together, participating ill the same plays, ill the Same stream of sunlight enter- ing between the wheels of the chariOts un- dergoing repairs and mingling their cries and shouts of laughter with the sonorous } strokes of the hammers Then Catherine had grown up, and Nvon, who had com- r. meuced to pass his days upon the sea, no longer dared to talk with her as of old. Q Nevertheless on Sundays, when all the coun- try side climbed the coast to the little chapel at Morlach, he followed from afar the move ? ments of the village swains about this beau tiful girl, his jealous eye resting always upon one above all others.
 This one was the handsome Dominique, the assistant of the wheelwright, Catherine's father. Invariably clothed in Q fresh blouse, clean and well fitting, his hair brushed smoothly and scented with pomade, and Q flower nodding in his buttonhole, he tra-
 versed the Place de Ia Marche with the air of a conQueror, addressing himself with smiles
 and condescending mods to the wives and d girls of the village, and to which they as i; afTably responded. On fete days, when he u appeared at tho ball that closed the exercises
 of the occasion, all eyes were turned upon
 him again, while they awaited with evident $ anxiety his selection of partner for the
 evening.
 ;. But Dominique in nowise hurried himself,
 but made the tour of tho hall, examined them
 tranquilly, and then cast his choice on the 8 most beautiful. Frequently it seemed to the J. lockers on at this game of vanity that he lost
 his time when he stopped before tho daugh-
 ter of the wheelwright, for Catherine mani
 fested for the workman of her father an in-
 difference bordering upon aversion. The , women chatfed her about it, accused her of being proud, and declared that the handsome
 Dominique was spoiled for her eyes by a
 frightful disfgurement that he carried upon a his left hand-a disagreement that he had q received when working from the hammer of
 a comrade. The middle finger of the hand le hung useless and tumefed, the flesh shriveled 10 from the bone, bluish and hideous t. As time passed on, and under tho spur oi d Dominques gallantries, Hvon regained his
 courage, and one beautiful morning made IL his demand upon Father Francois for the
 hand of his daughter. He was steady, hon - est, full of ardor for work, and loved hel
 dearly. Tho old man consented, moved, per
  to him of her preference for the fisherman A. As for Dominique from the moment of tht
 public betrOthment he affected to th, tv young girl no more and kept himself ill retire ed ment.
 ed An, but the wedding was truly beautiful ,,i M Father Francois wished to do everything 0. well; a half dozen violins and horns wer
 hired for the occasion, and the supper wa
 the astonishment of the village. It was tw,
 haH haar1 llo, ! Mime. Xvon.
 J Never had the fisherman been able to dream
 of his wife as he was dreaming of her thi
 night without evoking host of sweet mem
 ories that brought the smile of happy mal
 to soften his swarthy face and at times tea W of tenderness to glisten in his eye. at "Tonnerre, what windw andi he ran fo
 his cap, that the blast had carried away y. "Poor Catherine!" he added immediately Or "dear soul, who believes me still upon tn
 sea-"
 By this time Won had come to the corne
 of the street, at the end of which was hi tidy cottaa-. isolated and far away from a |' its neighbors. He raised his head like hors . in sight of its stable-he was home again-h
 started on with longer strides-to stop imme I diately, astounded!
 Il 'Tiensl" said he, tits lighted; she's nc W abad yet, but prays perhaps for my safety
 As the words fell from his lips the outlir 1U of human form showed itself upon the ha S curtain that shaded the little window-tt HS outline of a mans form! A man in his hou! ce at 12 at night-with Catherine-Mo l. Dieu! if it were-but no, he refused to con ,h. prehend or to finish the thought that ha co flashed across his mind-he refused even m suspect his unhappinessl At the same tim ~" as the bowling of the wind masked the noi 'oo of his footsteps, be would be able to approac CO but leave them unsuspicious of his presenc co He pressed himself against the wall of b oo dwelling-he mounted upon the stone th '0o ~ supported the gutter-he looked in u .o0 chamber. Catherine was there reclining
 her chair, beautiful, rosy and smiling; besi, , NEW SHOE STORE