The San Saba news. [volume] (San Saba, Tex.) 1873-1966, 1889-08-16

perhaps some day he might go in there
Very likely, he thought, she might have
meant to take him in that very day, ani
had forgotten about it, in which case, O
course, she would be glad to find that he
forgetfulness had been set right by hi
own energetic action. OF course, thi
settled the matter; he would be very
sorry, he thought, that Miss Ruth should
be uncomfortable on his account
He gave a look up and down the rive
to see if anybody in boat was in sight
a crIriously anxious look, considering thai
he had so well convinced himself thai
what he was about to do was just what
Miss Ruth wanted him to do-and then
having assured himself that the coast wa
clear, he slipped out of the water and
across the bit of bare sand, and through
the hole.
He found himself in something like &
little open dock in the floor of the oil
house; evidently place where, in for
mer times, boat had been kept. Steps
black and rotten with age, led to the
level of the floor. Upon these slippery
steps Teddy went gingerly. His first OBJ
ject of investigation was the shadOwy
place under the stairway. He found that
he had been right. 1t was a cannon, q
little six-pounder, such as whalers used
to carry to fire signals with, and it was &
regular little beauty.
If he only could manage to get the USE
of that cannon for the approaching Fourth
of July, he thought, how gloriously could
he celebrate that glorious day.
He did not stop to examine the othel
interesting things which were scattered
about him. With these, thanks to his
frequent peepings through the tracks, he
already was tolerably familiar. The sail
loft was an undiscovered country that he
longed to explore, so up the stairway that
led to it he went, two steps at time
The loft was far lighter than the room
below, for the sunbeams came through
the tracks in the roof as well as through
the cracks in the walls 1t was a great
bare place, with some old sails piled up ii
one corner, some sail-making gear still
lying on little bench, and some chalk
marks still on the floor that doubtless
showed the exact cut of the Harmony
Homes last suit of sails.
Teddy next caught sight of delights
full little tub of boat, standing close to
the side wall at the end of the building
nearest to the water, carefully checked VI
on blocks so that it stood on an even
keel. The oars, and little mast with
the sail wrapped around it, lay fore and
aft on the thwarts; and the rudder, all
ready to be shipped, was lying in the
stern-sheets.
Running tackle was rove to rings in
the bow and stern, and to stout hooks in
the ridge-pole of the roof. The ends Of
the lines were coiled away neatly over
belaying-p pins in two of the upright
beams.
Then Teddy perceived that a great
trap-door, rugged with CONFERENCE.-The,
opened in the floor Just over the little
dock below Obviously, this was the
identical boat for which the dock had
been built.
So here the boat was, in perfect order
except her seams had opened little,
and that would be all right when she had
been a day or two in the water-and with
everything ready for lowering her down
into the dock once more, and away for a
jolly cruisel
As he thought of what fun he could
have in that boat-along with Noah
Barkum and Lem Harbud and Pud Nye
and, perhaps, Sam Wyburn-he forgot
everything else in the world; even the
little brass cannon and the Fourth Of
July.
He wanted to go right to work at
swinging the boat up by the tackle and
then lowering her through the trap door,
bit he found IS t lsi the
that the light was fading that the sun
must be nearly down. Accordingly he
went down stairs again, and found that
the tide was half in, and that the hole in
the door was foot under water.
There was pin that held the door
down. and when he had pulled this out
he found that he could raise the door
easily-for It, also, was hung with coun-
he got out without diving,
and pulled the door down again. Even
at high tide he saw the water would not
be much more than two feet deep. Now
that the door was not fastened he would
roll up mis- trousers and wade in whenever
he chose to.
After he had got out of the oil house,
and into his clothes again, Teddy had
some twinges of conscience in regard to
the liberties that he had been taking with
Miss Ruth Marbles property These
twinges were but feeble on the following
morning, however, and he scarcely could
eat his breakfast, so eager was he to get
to work at setting the little boat afoat.
Anyhow, he thought by way of salvt
to his conscience, it would be good foi
the boat to put it in the water and swell
its seams tight. He decided that it would
be time enough after he had performed
this useful and friendly act for the i'm
provement of Miss Ruth's boat to ask
Miss Ruth's permission to 60 out in her.
He hesitated a little as to whether he
should not take Noah along with him, but
finally decided that there would be more
excitement in doing this part of the WORK
alone, and then springing his discovery
on Noah and the other boys when thu
boat was all ready for her first cruise.
1t was just half-tide when he wenr
down to the wharf and there. was only
about foot of water at the shding-door
He was barefooted to start with, and i
did not take him many minutes to roll NJ
his trousers, slip down the edge of thu
wharf, open the door and shut it behint
him, and then scamper upstairs to tn,
sail-loft. 1t was the most splendid thing
that he ever had anything to do with, h
thought; and he was 50 excited over i
that be quivered from head to foot.
1t is possible that Teddy would havl
auivered still more violently, had h
known that Miss Ruth Marble had hap
pened to see him 90 down on her whar
and then disappear over the edge of it
that she had felt instinctively that some
thing was going wrong, and had mad
up her mind to go down to the %harf her
self, as soon as she had finished pairing
psniul of June apples, and see what h
1rae mn IN