Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1891-03-21
CHAPTER w.
INTRODUCES WILLIAM JONES AND HIS
FATHER.


FATHER.
Ny story is now bound to follow in
the footsteps of Matt, who, on quitting
the presence of her artist-friend, walk
ed rapidly along the sand-encumbered
road in the direction of the sea.
Skirting the lake upon the left hand,
and still having the ocean of sand-hills
upon her right, she gradually slackened
her pace. A spectator, had he been by,
would have doubtless observed that the
change was owing to maiden medita-
tion; that in other words, Matt had
fallen into brown study.
Presently she sat down upon con-
venient stone, or piece of rock, and,
resting her elbows on her knees, her
chin IN her hands, looked for some min
utes at vacancy. At last she rose, flush
ing warmly, and murmuring something
- herself.
A(rhe somct,,ins was To- this effect.
wivn he pulls on them gloves and he
said 1 was as pretty as my picture
can only guess at the train of rea-
soning which led to this soliloquy, and
express my opinion that Matt had we'll
developed ideas on the subject of the
sexes. True, she was not above sixteen,
and had little or no experience of men,
none at all of men who were both young
and good-looking. Nevertheless, she
was not insensible of the charms of a
white hand, and other tokens of mascu-
line refinement and beauty.
BY natural sequence of ideas, she
was led to stretch out her own right
hand and look at 1t critically. 1t was
very brown. and covered with huge
golden freckles. The inspection not be-
ing altogether satisfactory, she thrust
both her hands irritably into the pock-
cts of her jacket, and walked on.
Leaving the lake behind her, she fol-
lowed the road along swampy hollow,
down which the very shallowest of rivu-
lets crept along to the sea, now losing
itself altogether in mossy patches Of
suspicious greenness, again emerging
and trickling with feeble glimmers over
pebble and sand. Presently she left the
road and came upon a primitive wood
en- bridge, consisting of only one plank,
supported on two cairns of stone. Here
she paused, and, seeing red-legged
sand-piper running about on the edge
OF the water just below her, made q
gesture like boys throwing stone,
whereon the sand-piper sprung up chirp-
ing, and flew along out OF sight.
BY this time she was in full sight of
the sea. Dead calm, and covered with
rain-colored shadows, it touched the
edges Of the fiat sands about mile
away. and left one long creamy line of
changeless foam. The sands themselves
stretched away TO the westward far as
eye could see. But to the left and east
ward, that is to say, in the direction to-
ward which she was going, there was
long, rocky promontory, with signs of
human habitation. Breaking into
swing-like trot, Matt hastened thither,
following footpath across marshy
fields.
In due time she came out upon mar
row and rudely made road which wound
along the rocky rromontory. at low
water skirting the sand, ut high-water,
the sea. The first house she reached
was wooden life-boat house, lying
down in creek; and it being then low
tide, at some distance from the waters
edge. On the roadside above the house
was a flagstaff, and beneath the flagstaff
wooden seat. An was very still and
desolate, without a sign Of life; bu.
little further along the road was a row
of cottages which seemed inhabited,
and were, In fact. the abodes of the
coast-guard. Instead Of lingering here,
Matt proceeded on her way until she
reached what, at first sight, looked like
the beginning OF villageor some small
town. There were houses on each side
Of the road, some of them several stories
high; but close inspection showed that
most OF them were roofless, that Few OF
them possessed any windows or doors,
and that nearly all were decayed and
dilapidated from long disuse, while not
few had blasted and sinister ap-
pearance, as II blackened by fire. And
still there was no sign Of any human
soul. Suddenly, however, the street
came to an end, and Matt found herself
ON q sort of rocky platform overlook
ing the sea; on this platform. shading
his eyes from the blazing sun. and look
ing out seawartl, was q solitary man.
So intent was he on his occupation.
that he was unconscious of Mattb ap-
pr0ach till she was standing by his side.
He turned his eyes upon her for = mo-
ments and then once more gazed out to
sea.