Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-06-11

x mount tho heights above h . stato q E hraathless excitement. Black Jack following fn a moro leisurely manner, was d4tontshed.to ses, him pause upon raining the open moor and s;ssxed around him in a despairing and be- wild1rc manner.
 N '.s Aw said awTi fetch it to-day, but there's no chance O putin things straight once ye've oaen crooked. aw see. Two stones, an' and tree root, an then down below big whin bush, that's the place it's in. but how can aw find it under the snow2 An mebbe there's | somcthin' inside that neIl want to take with | him. Aw wadn't ha' done 1t if aw'd known, Jim! Aw wadn't ha' taken thy bOx-let alone | ugh !"
 Black Jack had cone up by this time. and tried to turn his steps hOmeward, but the old I man shook him off.
 "Aw canna gan back to him without his | box, aw tell ye. There's mebbe somethin' | he'll want in it!''
 "Whatten box ist thou's efter?" asked 1 Black Jack, wonderingly; .'thou maunna ex- pect to find his chest up aloft here, ma canny l man! Come along wi thee, am dinna fash 1 about tn lads belongins. He'll want for l nowt where he's gaen, ye may take ma word for thatr' Day after day the search was renewed, but fruitlessly though in due season the snow melted. The body O. poor Jim Craster was laid to rest in the old graveyard on the hill, within sound of the waves. Molly Fenwtck was not wanting suitors who aspired to Jtn's place, and the very thought of them was loathsome to the gir,. Perhaps, too, Mrs. FenMick would not have been sorry to sec Molly welded to some good man, who would teach her to forget the past. | Each year on the anniversary of that spring day when Jim had told her of his love, and when the furze was in full bloom, she climbed tho heights and went over every word that had passed between them.
 The previous Winter had been a severe one, and under the influence of a prolonged frost, l a good deal of earth Lad crumbled and fallen | into the hollows; landslips had taken place, 1 and tree roots were left standing without 1 the support of the ground they had grown into.
 Molly aimlessly, and without consciousness of what she was about began digging with l the point of her shoe into the soft, sandy soil below where she was sitting, when, quite sud- 1 denly, it collapsed, a small chasm opened out, and her foot slipped down into it, touching l some hard substance at the bottom, which she 1 took to be a stone. She stepped back, and then looked curiously down into the hole. To her surprise she saw there some carved wood, the corner of a box apparently. She went down upon her knees, and began to clear away the earth and to work it loose. The sand had settled down upon, and roots of whins and ferns had | twined about it, so that this was work of some difficulty. At last the task was accom- l plished, and she sat down to examine the ! find.
 Suddenly there was queer sound, a sort o1 sobbing cry, half of fear and half of triumph. | Shc turned her head, snd there, close behind her, stood old Craster. Like the rest Iof tho villagers, she imagined that the loss of his son had driven the old fishermaN crazy, and |, l,I,o him because of Jim, there was something uns canny and repellant ir his talk and demeanor: something which inspired her with fear. Tho suddenness, too, with which he had come 1 upon her was in itself alarming. , l What do you want" she asked tremhlingly. l He made dart at the box, and, before she could defend it, it was in his hands.
 What is 1t? Is that the box you are always
 looking for?"
 The moment he clutched the box the old man sank upon the ground. All strength
 seemed to have left hi n at once. But he still
 held the box and glared upon her with jealous and savage anger.
 sThat was where I found it." explained
 Molly, pointing to the chasm. Did you put it there?"
 "What-what odds does it mako to thee? Thou wiled madad, Jim, away from me, and now nothin' I'll serve Jc but gettin' his box tool Be off, aw tell theel His feyther hes
 the best reet and the forst, aw wad think P
 The fierce tone made the girl shrink back, but it was not that which caused her to trem-
 ble with sickening dread.
 Merciful heaven! What meaning was hinted l at in these words? l s'Jim Did you say the box belonged to
 Jim?'
 His voice died down to feeble gasp, but
 Molly heard. She pushed away the box he
 offered, and covered Ter eyes with her hands.
 "Oh, no, no! Throw it back into the hole, l I dare not touchi it!'
 Break it open, I tell yep repeated the
 hoarse, feeble voice.
 The lock was very poor affair, and did
 not require much strength to force. Slowly
 the girl drew out it's contents one by one,
 lock of hair, rank and discolored by the ac-
 tion of the salt water, sealed packet ad-
 dressed to herself anl beneath all, a handful
 of coins, guineas for tho most part.
 These she left where they were and took up
 the packet. It was wrapped in thick paper,
 and, though stained and damp, had withstood
 the water tolerably well, so that the writing
 upon it was still legible. It contained a letter
 and the silver ring she had given to her lover.
 Jim had found that h. wearing of this caused
 much curiosity among his shipmates, and
 subjected him to questioning from them-vul-
 gar and otherwise. He did not care to talk to
 them about his Molly; his love seemed to him
 a thing too sacred to be paraded. Therefore
 had he bought this box and placed in it the
 ring he valued so highly along with the lock oi his sweethearts hair, which-sailor fashion he begged from her. But if the fortune of the sea overlook him he hoped that the box would
 be found by some kind-hearted person who would forward the letter to Molly. She was
 not to forget he was hers still " through life and the grave.'
 Molly kissed the loving words and placed them in her bosom.
 ) As she restored the silver ring to :the finger ) from which she had taken it six years before F 8 thrill of joy ran through her. She had 6 right to love him, and this action assured hel l of it.
 : When she turned again Jim's wretched fath. !; CT was watching her intently and with sus
 pense in his haggard eyes. 3 What was she to dol?
 "Ye dinna speak wummani How do av l. know what evil ye're matching? But aw din l ma mind if Jim could get his box back. En
 weary on us aw've niver gittin' that moaI ], oot O ma mind. But ye winna let them hanf ] us? Alvin an aad man, and yer lads feyther 3 dye year me, Molly, ma canny lass2' Then in a low broken voice she said Yoa