Milford chronicle., 1889-09-13

not wounded by tho same hand that brought
/ down the white newt There she was hutter-
ing, rising little, again falling, her heart
/ dim with tears, her llfos vigor bleeding
away, the white OF her bosom smeared with
1 soil that adhered, as she dragged in the mire,
/ into which he had cast her. Whittier was
she tondingi 6ho turned her face out TO sea
lit lay before her Ink black. Red Hall and
itsmarshes wero to her PRISON. freedom be-
| You'd It's seawall.
sho was startled by a sound as Of bricks
falling. Sho listened without curiosity.
Tho sound REQUIRED again, and was followed
after awhile by grating holse, and then a
ratio as OF iron thrown down. She heard
nothing further for fow minutes, and sank
back into her dull dream, and watching of the
poor NOW, that now beat its wings on tho roof,
aud then Sid oil and disappeared. Was II
dead nowi II did not matter. Mehalah
could not caro- greatly for bird. But pres
entity from out Of tho shadow OF the bak0
house noated fow white feathers. The gull
was still vending its way ON, with unerring
instinct, toward the rolling sea. just then
Meholah heard a thud, as though some heavy
body had fallen, accompanied by short
clanlg OF metal She would have paid IL no
further attention had she not been reused by
Gaoing the mailman striding and thon jump
inr, with tho chain wound round ono arm
IIo looked at the moon, his matted hair was
over his face, and Mohalah could not distin-
euish tho features. He ran across the yard,
and thon leapod tho dixie and went OF at
long bounds, like a kangaroo, over toward
the sea wall.
Mehalah drew back What should sho dot
Should sho rouse Elijah and tell him that his
brother had wrenchod of the grating of his
window and worked his way out, and was
now at largo In the glare Of the moon on tho
marshes, loaping and rejoicing in bis free
don't No, She would not Let tho poor
creature taste Of liberty, inhalo tho fresh,
puro dir, capor and race about under no
canopy but that Of Gods making. She
would not curtail his timo Of freedom by an
hour. Ho would suffer severely for his eva
sion on the morrow, whom Elijah would call
out his men, and they would hunt the poor
wretch down like wild beast She could
SEQ Rebow stand over him with his great dog
whip and strike him without mercy. She
rouse Robowl She reconsign tho maniac TO
his dark dungeon with its dank floor and
Sitting atmospheric Tho gull was forgotten
now; Its little stlivings overlooked in anxiety
for tho nlightier strivings Of tho human suf-
foror
Yet all these three were bound together by
a common tel Each was straining for the
infinite and for escape from thralldom; one
with broken wing, one with a broken brain,
ono with broken heart There was the
wounded bird tapping and edging its way
outward 70 the salt sea There was the dazed
brain driving the wretched man in mad gam
bols along tho wall 70 the open water. There
was the bruised soul Of the miserable girl
yearning for something she knew not what,
wide, deep, eternal, unlimited, as the all em-
bracing ocean. In that tho bird, the man,
tho maid sought freedom, rest recovery. She
could not 60 10 bed and leave the poor ma
mac thus wandering unmatched. She would
go out and follow him and see that no harm
came 20 him.
Sho took OIL her shoes. shut the window.
Her mother was sleeping soundly. She I'M
did the door and descended the stairs, They
crcakod beneath her steps, but Rebow who
had slept through tho noise made by his
brother in cifecting his escape, was not
awakened.
As she passed the bakehouse she lit on the
wounded bird In a spasm OF sympathy she
bent and took it up. 1t made a frantic effort
TO escape, and uttered its wild, harsh screams
but she folded her hands over the wings and
held tho bird to her bosom and went on,
The blood from the broken bone and torn
flesh wet her hand, and dried on it like glue.
She hooded it not, but walked forward. BY
the raw moonlight she saw the madmap on
the wall Ho had thrown down his chain.
IIo needed il not now. There had been sutil
ciont intelligence or cunning in his brain q
bid him doldcu It's clanking when making
his escape from the house
ue sprang into the air and waved his arms
his wild hair blow about in the wind, Il
looked like seaweed tangles Then he sal
down. Mohalah did not venture on the wall
but crept along in the marsh He had got d
stone, and was boating at his chain with il
uron tho Stone casing Of the wall on the ses
face. He worked 40 it patiently for an hour
and at last broke ono OF the links. He waved
the chain above his head with o shout ant
flung 10 behind him into the marsh. He ran
on. Mahalah stole aftor HIM He mover
looked back, always forward or upward
Sometimes no danced and shouted and san.
snatchcs 10 the moon when it nared out from
hohini a cloud Ouco, when at o bend Of tn,
wall, his shadow was cast before him, h,
covered back from it, jabberins and putin.
bis hands supphcatinEly toward il; then b,
slipped down the bank, laughed and ra,
across the marsh with his shadow benin,
him, and Thought I'm his howndercd brair
kAAN AlA AlasA NNNlAAAlAlN NAAtlNA sAilA NelsAN
the figure that stood before him 70 stop him
He roached the mill that worked the pump
He must have remembered it: it was mike,
up somehow with the confused recollection
in his brain, for il did not seem 20 startle Of
brighton him. lie scarcely noticed il, but
tutoring a howl, Wild, triumphant shout
sprang upon duck punt hauled up on IN
wall Il was Elijah's punt, left there coca
sonally, quite as often as st the landing nea
the house, a small Aat bottomed boat, paint
ed white, with pair Of white muiiied OARS
Tn a moment, before Alehalah had consid
cred what 20 do, or whether she could i,
anything. he had run the punt down into tn
water and had seated himself in IL and takoi
the oars and struck out 10 ses ont toNyar
the open, toward the unbounded horizon
He rowed little way, not very far, am
then stood up. He could not apparently en-
. dure 70 face tho land, the place Of long con
fuclueut, he must look out 10 SEA
Mehalah stood on the sea wall. The wave
wero tapping at her feet The tide had turn
ed It aowei at midnight She had forgot
. ten the gull she bore in her alarm for th
man She opened her arms, and tho Dir
fiuttered down and feu into the water.
The moon was now swimming in a clea
i space Of sky free Of cloud foaS In tina
y.eat light The lndn was distinctly visible
standing, waving his arms in the white punt
drifting, not rapidly, but steadily outward
In that great light went out also, ON the sam
cold, dark water, the dying bird, that uo'
stirred not o wing.
Mehalah watohei motionloSs, with Year,
! ing In her heart THAT she could not under
F, stand her arms extende,i toward that bound
. less cNpanso toward which the man and IN
, bird were being borne, and into which the
we've fading. lie was singingi Some old
childish lay of days thar were happy, hsfOr
c the shadow fell
! There ssood Glory, looking, indistinctl
q lonElng. till her ewes were filed with tesrs
q She looked On through the Watery veil. bu
/, saw nothing. When she wiped &c away sh
saw nothing. She watched tn the day 6roks
. hut she saw ucthing more Prom 'Mehalah,
asoory q the English salt Marshes, BY 81
( hlne Baring-Gould