The Lebanon express. (Lebanon, Linn County, Or.) 1887-1898, 1891-03-20
UUr Wl'rH THE TIDE.


ssWall, guess the Lord has about
concluded TO give Randy her free-
DOM"
This remark was made by Mrs.
Yates the other morning. as we sat In
the tent, each Of ns with n handful of
pea-pods In her apron and each she'll
ing peas with different degrees of alac-
rity. Maria Jane was doing most of
the work, for we were still very red
and moist and palpitating from row.
ing In our dory on Salt Pond. We
had set up n dory the day before and.
naturally, we wanted to use IL. even
though the wind was southwest and
the sun scorching. lt was hard, how
ever. to come baek 10 the tent and
know that we couldn't have any din
ner until we had prepared IL. Forum
ately Maria Jane dropped IN nt this
moment. vigorous aud alert as ever.
She said that Marsh was pretty tired;
she left him trying 10 rest, aud took
hold energedcally IN the matter of
shelling peas.
Didn't yon know" she went on in
answer 10 our questions, ''that Mr..
Rankin amt wellp He ain't. / don't
knows I'm called upon 10 make be-
lieye I'm sorry. for | nin't, one grain.
He's one Of them kind that's always
pleasant and smilin never SAYS q
cross word. But he will have his own
way ii he cuts yer heart out all the
time and sees IL a-bleedin', aud he'll be
just as soft, and you'd be sure 10 think
twas you that was the wretch, and
likely's not you'd beg his pardon,
seems he was so gentle. In the end
you'll find out he's done Jest what he
calkilated on doin' all the time. When
You plead with him, aud cry and groan
and agonize, as IL were, he'll smile and
say: 'Sho, now don't get excited
guess there wouldn't none of us git
excited II we we're as sure Of our own
way rs that mans always been. But he
amt got no bad habits. You can't put
your finger ON thing he's done. For
all that. | believe he killed his first
wife. And I shd think she'd ben glad
OF il. Yes. he Jest killed her a-bein' SO
pleasant and 50 cussed. She never
had her own way In n thing. They
say she was as delikit as she could be,
and she was a perfect pictcr To look at.
] remember when she was married,
and 'peared as bride. | was little
tot, and set with my mother two seats
behind where they sot. reck lect ex.
actly how | felt and what | thought
when they walked In slow along the
broad aisle. she holding on 10 his arm.
didn't look at him at all. but stared
at her all the service ! was blacker
even than | ann now, and she was like
white rose, | thought She hadn't
had good health. and she'd had spell
few months before of bleedin' at the
lungs. but they said she got over that
and was well. She had ON that fust
-.
long white feather. | en- see Jest
how the Plume lay along over the veil
vet. sot and stared aud stared. !
knew | never could be so interestin' as
20 wear a purple bunnit with a white
feather n bleed at the lungs"
Maria Jane took large handful of
pea-pods from the tin pan aud was si-
lent for a time reviewing those DAYS.
The hot wind iluttered the tent; there
was the sound of talk and high laugh
ter from small sailboat that was glid-
ing by so near as 10 seem To be almost
on the sands below the bluff How
hot il was, It Is only when the wind
is in some other quarter than the south
or west that it is cool ON this coast,
notwithstanding the hotel advertise
ments. And In summer, il you will
notice, the wind is usually either in
the south or west, or between those
two points, aud then tits at the hottest.
Then. also, there is constant danger
that the mash will send forth its mys-
terious. hellish odor. ann choosing
this latter adjective adyisedly The
word internal is not sufficiently strong,
as YOU would say yourself if YOU had
ever happened 10 be here when, as
| the natives say, ''the mash was a
( smellinh
Nevertheless, we were glad to be in
n tent on the South Shore. The life
was free aud charming. The people
thus far had constant interest tor rs.
We felt that it would be long time
/ vet before we should be tired of their
/ different phases of character. Also
now, and for almost two months more,
there would be the kaleidoscope of
/ fashionable life to watch at a distance
This movement of gayety was just tar
enough away TO amuse without IA
| tiguing. II some unutterably fasci-
mating belle came To us for glass of
water we could examine her more
nearly, while she examined us.
| just now we had also visit to which
| to look forward. or we did have until
we heard Maria James words this
morning. When Randy Rankin had
left us the day she had called, she had
| given us a special invitation to spend
| a day with her in the following week.
She named Wednesday, for on that
day the baker came along the ridge
here by the shore and then went over
/ to the Two Mile. She was confident
he would let us go with him. But we
had said we would go across Salt Pond
in our boat, then hire a horse and car
riage at one of the hotels on ''the
road" This arrangement had greatly
shocked her, as being eNtravagant in
the extreme. She said they were mon
strous dear at them livries. We prom
ised after her remonstrances that if
the wind should be i'm the east we could
venture to walk from the road. Thus
the matter was left. For some reason,
we hardly knew why. Mrs. Rankin
had interested us greatly we were
very desirous of making that visit.
Mrs. Yates remained silent 50 long
that we asked her about Mr.. Rankin.
Was he illP Instead of replying she
went on from where she had left off.
"Wall, old Rankin-though he want
old then-didn't have his wife but a
year. She had Que child, John, thai
lives under the cliff yender, and died
in two months after. Lucky for her
and good 'nough for him, | say He
was edgin up to Randy Sherman in
les'n six months, pleasant rs n barsket
of chips, jest as he always is. / tel
you, you en- hev some hopes of man
or woman as sometimes rares up and
is mad, and gifts in the wrong, and is
sorry. But when YOU find one that's
always in the right and never gives in