Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-10-24
THE WRECK OFF ROBES
ISLAND.
Ly1n =. lfsskins IN HaxpsS Wsskfy,

NHEY BEGAN BY HAVING GREAT FUN
L with the captain. Tea minutes before they
arrived The captain came ont and took his usual
chair in the usual spot under the shadow Of the
station. He was not handsome man. He was
strong. rugged, picturesque, but not handsome.
Six fee. high and 400 pounds in weight he was
IN epic in hardened flesh and muscle and his
face was a. full of lines a. an etched portrait
HIS general appearance offered q contrast to
every rule Of fashion plate and he looked like
some big shaggy animal that was particularly
lazy because it was especially strong. On this
occasion the captains eyes were half-reefed and
they looked over an expanse Of sand on which
low houses were built and saw the smoke Of
passing steamers that crept along the horizon.
1t was peaceful, but it wasn't much Of view.
In fact Robb's Island wasn't much of place:
simply few hundred acres Of sand in wilder
ness Of salt water. But it had its fascinati ons.
For instance. In summer people-some of them
OF such good family stock that they didn't have
to talk about it-left their best clothes and
formalities at home and went there. They lived
in rough sheds, by courtesy called hotel.
fished in the inlets. tumbled around in the surf,
waded through the shifting sand and
gathered flesh and tan and strength and freckles
on the worst food that q summer resort could
possibly offer. At first Robb's Island was
deeply disappointing. You reached the place
in stufy little boat after sail Of
ten miles from the mainland. The common
ness and the glare of everything disguised
you. You firmly resolved to return the
next morning. But the boat didn't 60
for two days, and there you we're. In those
two days You got into tine surf and pulled up
shark or two, became the owner of a wonder
full appetite, and when the boat was ready to
start you were on the other side of the island.
In week you were a confirmed victim to the
repose of tine place, and Fou remained a hope
less islander until your conscience or your
finances drove you across the ten miles Of
marsh and water to the world and its cares.
After the summer visitors went away in Sep
TENDER parties of men with canvas clothes and
big guns arrived to kill ducks and geese, and
when they departed the island, with its hun
dred people. was left alone in the solitude Of
the waters There was not much to do then
and the inhabitants did it 1t was a dull life
and a dull place. Everybody was we'll and the
only way to break the monotony was for the
women folks to imagine few complaints to fit
the descriptions in the patent medicine al
MANAGES. small community without sick peo-
pie to gossip about is stupid, but the best that
Robb's Island could do was TO manufacture
petty aches and doctor them on homemade
remedies The idea Of resident physician
was preposterous. He wouldn't make enough
in year to feed q cat on bread crumbs and
water, much less milk.
The most interesting place on the island was
the llfe-saving station. line house Of two
stories, with o broad gable roof, flag staff, q
veranda and liberal decoration of red paint
whose cortagicn had spread over the neighbor-
hood and given the settlement u sanguinary
hue. The keeper of the station and the cap
cain Of the life-saving crew, who, according to
the authorities, are two gentlemen at once at
S40C year for the total, was and is Capt
oh Gro aud 10 ff he had
eaten his dinner and was trying to smoke and
sleep and keep his eyes open o. the same time.
He almost succeeded Blu. he was losing himself
in furtivA raps when other men began te com,
out. At first they didn't disturb him. They
took seats quietly. stretched their limbs and
gaZed across the eXpanse Of sand and sea. The
captain dozed; then the six surfmeu looked at
| each other and smiled.
The smallest man struck q match and lighted
his pipe. He pulled twice, threw his hands
over his knees, rocked backward and forward
several times, and began to speak. Gentle
men," he said, this life'r getting too slow.
think I'll go ashore and let some nice girl with
a farm marry me; girl or wilder: 1 guess
I'll take widder.'
There was pause. The captains eyes opened
about one-thousandth part Of an inch. The
other mer looked into vacancy. The captain
said nothing
You'd better be quick about it, then" ad-
vised the long man. From what hear wild
ders is mighty popular now and somebody
might cut you ont"
"Oh, guess not - said the short man. "Good
goods come in little bundles. and widders know
quality. Don't they, captain?'
The captains eyes opened another fraction
ard he took his pipe from his mouth and
growled: "Wbat are you up to ncw?'
.Oh, nothing. l just thought Of going
ashore and getting some things, and calling on
a widder."
Then why don't you go?''
I'm afraid somebody's got ahead of me-"
The men laughed and the captain scowled
| and took an extra puff from his pipe.
The long man spoke up: You needn't try to
deny it, captain. We've got the dead wood on
you this time"
And then followed volleys Of questions from
all the six men. They wanted to know when
the marriage was to take place, when he was
going to bring his bride over and whether or
not they would receive invitations to the cere-
mony. The captain pulled away at his pipe.
but behind the smoke was an increasing exas-
peration. The boys welcomed the signs with
| undisguised glee. The truth Of the matter was
that the captain aroused was one Of their
greatest delights. They often said that they
would rather hear him swear than the church
choir sing, and they never thought it u sin, be-
cause the oaths-which, Of course, cannot get
their natural glow in repetition-seemed to be
an inevitable part of the man He stood their
prodding longer than they expected, but finally
he blurted out something which, considerably
expurgated, amounted to this:
what il did go to see the wilder? IL it
| any OF your business? If people would attend
to their own affairs this here world would be a
heap better of. I'd gin married if wanted to,
but thunderation! who wants to git married?
wouldn't marry angel if she was to come
down and ask me, specially if had to intro
duce her to some gOod-for-nothing loafers that
know Of"
''We're not talking about angels, captain, but
widders, which is altogether different"
you jaw about marriage as il it was a Joke Z"
continued the captain, ignoring the Interrupt
ton. ut amt joke; it's serious; and it ruins
more men than whisky Men don't know their
own minds till they are forty and then they
mostly stay single; but If one does marry no
generally picks out the right sort of wife,
What's the matter with the world now? What
caused all this hard work and this starvation
pay? What but an early marriage? II Adam
had had the sense to wait for another woman
he'd a done something in the world little
better than stealing apples"
But. captain, put in the long man, who
had married when he was eighteen, ''there
are"
''Of course there is don't say nothing
about present company. There's o few mar
ried men who's all right and there's big lot
who amt worth a cupful Of salt water. And
yonder's one of EN-"
The men turned, and about four hundred
yards away they say heavily built young fell
low with Ratchet and nails mending the fence
that inclosed small and neatly kept two-story
house. The countenance OF every one in the