Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1888-07-05
SAVED FROM TIE SEA

lounge IN his bachelor room, holding an
open letter in his hard. 1t was pretty,
well furnished room in the front of
house on one of the most fashionable up
town streets in New York, and presented
such cheerful appearance that we might
fairly suppose that even bachelor law
yer could be happy within its limits. Yet
Richard Ryder was far from being con-
tented and the letter in his hand was the
cause of his dissatisfied frame of mind:
"RED SHELL BAY-MoNDAY.
DEAREST DICK: 1t is long time since
/ wrote you, but / hope you have not
thought very i'll of me. 1 could not write
before, and now it is almost breaking my
heart. | can never be your wife, Dick,
for am going to marry Walter Rock
well-and | hate him. Oh, Dick, my love,
how can I ever marry that man when m
heart is yourst Yet | must, / must. Do
not scorn me, Dick, but pity me. Will
you come and see me once more, dear,
before then? If so, come on Thursday.
"MILDRED."
1t was now Tuesday evening, and Dick
wondered what good could come of anoth-
er visit to his love. Dick Ryder was
good hearted fellow, and loved Mildred
Frevcr dearly, but he felt little sore
over the contents of her letter. He was
pretty well acquainted with the circum-
stances which led up to this decision of
MiIdred's The FreYors had been rich
and raised their only daughter amid all
the luxury and refinement which wealth
could command. Two years before our
story opens however, Mr.. Trevor had
died, leaving his wife and daughter much
poorer than ought to have been the case.
Mildred herself loved wealth and af-
huence, but her mother much more So
The latter had led her daughter to be-
Iieve that the one object now to be at
tanned by her was a rich husband. SO
when Walter Rockwell, a wealthy young
merchant, offered his hand in marriage
she accepted his offer. She never loved
him-never pretended to love him-but
then up to that time she had never loved
any one. And then Dick Ryder, hand
some. clever and good hearted, came up
on the scene, and Mildred Trevor loved
him and he loved her. Perhaps if Mil
dred had been left to herself and her
feelings in the matter she would have
broken her engagement with Rockwell
and married Dick. But strong outside
influence was brought to bear upon her,
especially by her mother. Mr.. Rockwell,
too, pressed his suit and tried to hasten
the date for the wedding, while Dicks
practice grew very slowly. So the end
of it all was the letter which Dick now
held In his hand.
Mr.. Ryder could not make up his mind
that evening as to whether or not 1t would
be wise for him to go to Red She'll bay,
and retired to spend the night in troubled
dreams of Mildred and the Rockwell ogre.
Next morning he was no nearer solu-
ton of the difficulty. hnt So 10 O'Clock
drew near he remembered that he had
promised to see his chum, Tom Stevenson,
embark on the Etruria for Europe. He
hurried to the pier and found his friend.
They chatted away amid the hustle and
din around them, and just as the sailors
began to clear the decks of those who were
not passengers Stevenson said:
"By the way, Dick, | heard something a
day or two ago of your rival Rockwell. /
heard he was married to an English girl
in London year or two ago and did not
use her very we'll. | think there is more
truth than in the report, too"
"Step off the gangway sir" said one of
the ships officers to Dick, giving that
young man gentle shove on the pier.
But Dick was aroused by his friends re-
cital, and at the risk of being noticed by
the crowd, shouted: Stevenson! Tom!'
Mr.. Stevenson appeared at the side of
the steamer. CRY and learn ali you can
of that matter, Tom, for Gods sake, and
telegraph me-
'All right" said Stevenson. ''Is it so
bad as thatY Well, goodby, old fellow, I'll
not forget" But Dick was too much en-
crossed in his own thoughts to bid his
friend 'goodby" or wish him bon voyage.
One thing Dick Ryder resolved upon.
He would go down to Red Shell bay and
he would start that very evening.
Red Shell bay is an out of the way quiet
little summer resort on the New EagIand
coast. Besides the one small hotel there
are perhaps a dozen cottages altogether
too insignificant place for the railroad
to include along its line. So the iron
horse passed Red Shell bay full ten miles
TO the westward, and communication with
New York and Boston is kept up by
means of a steamer, which, during the
summer months, makes bi-weekly trips.
This was Wednesday, and the steamer
left New York Tuesdays and Fridays, SO
if Dick would be at Red Shell bay on
Thursday he must take the train to
Derbyville and walk or drive the ad
ditional ten miles. "Well," thought he,
81 have often walked 1t before, and
think can do it once more; can walk
over early in the morning"
However, Dick missed the night train
and the train that left New York on
Thursday morning did not bring him to
Derbyville Rntil o'clock in the after
noon. Meanwhile he had telegraphed to
Miss Trevor:
''WiH walk over from Derbyville
Thursday evening. Try and meet me at
the old place."
The Derbyville road lay for more than
two miles along the top of the cliffs be-
fore it entered the seaside village of Red
Shell bay. Dick had been won't to leave
the highway and take the sands, where
Mildred had several times met him to
bear him company at the close of his
walk.
1t was just shutdown when Dick came
to the point where he usually left the
road for the beach, and although it was
the close of sultry day in August, the
ocean appeared unusually sullen, while
the sky looked wild with that strange
mixture of thick blackness and fiery red
ness which we som etiT1es see before a
terrible storm.
Dick began to think that he was in for
a wet skin, if for nothing else, and hoped
that Mildred had not started out. Hard
ly had the hope escaped his thoughts
whea from his elevated position he saw
in the fading light, perhaps quarter of
a mile down the shore, the well remem-
bered girlish fgure-Mildred. He quick
ened his footsteps, and as speedily as
possible descended to the beach. It did
not take him more than two minutes, but
in that short space of time the stormy
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