Evening journal., 1891-03-09
BETWEEN THE TIDES.

In the seaside village Of Littleport tn
tide in the affairs Of men which leads I.
fortune must be taken at its ebb.
At high water few signs of life are to b
seen about the docks The harbor omen
maiestically into Long Island sound
bounded by the lighthouse promontory OF
the right, and the curving shores of Point
No Point on the left But an hour aftel
the boats at the wharves have swung te
the ebb keen eye may discern "A greer
streak in the very midst Of the waters OF
the bay, which lately seemed to feel the life
and stir Of the deep sea currents, and pres
emily stretching midway across the mouth
of the harbor, rises Silver Bar which. at
! low tide becomes an island OF fine white
sand and shells. In Littleport harbor flood
tide means comfort and security.
Each fisherman, rs soon as the waters
subside, seeks his happy hunting ground.
and Silver bar was Ben Flyers special
preserve.
Near Bens little house lived Mrs. God
frey and her son, Mark, a boy of a. Be
tween the latter and the clam pedler there
existed tender friendship fostered by long
habit.
Il wonder, Mark" he now began With
evident effort
well, what do you wonder, Bengn
You see, Mark" Ben observed, some
how / trust you. You say what you mean.
and you are pretty sure to do what YOU say.
'Tisn't so with everybody. Some people
hang out more than they wash"
Mark did not mar the force Of this tribute
by any weak response
Did it ever strike YOU said Ben, ''that
when il comes winter feel that the even
ings are ruther longS'
My mother sometimes says YOU must
be lonely Mark replied
THAT is kind Of her. That is what I
should have expected Of her" said Ben.
What are You going TO do about itg' in
qulred Mark, eager that Ben should come
TO the point.
About your mother?n
u mean about your evenings"
"Oh, just So" said Ben, pleased to find
an easy road to full confession. II had
thought on Here lie broke of, con
fused I'm 80 years old, " he remarked,
plaintively.
"What Of thatS" said Mark
MY mother used TO tell me ought to
get married" explained Ben But while
she lived never thought much about it,
You see, man needs to get fixed idea in
his mind. And so long as no girl seemed
to hold out any enticements l didn't like
to offer any inducements
81 should think not" said Mark. with
natural scorn.
And" Ben opened cit is a widow"
"You don't mean to say you are actually
going TO get married. Beng''
We'll, yes, Mark. She seems to caleu-
late on it. Marriage hasn't been habitof
mine, and perhaps it is one Of the things a
man ought to begin on when he is young
but Mrs. Brown says better late than
never"
Ben was, in fact. to be married on the
following day.
Marx instantly grasped his friend mean
ing
Ben" said he forcibly aud briefly, "you
go on your wedding journey, and Pll dig
the CLAIMS and peddle them till you come
back"
This settled all difficulties for Mark
knew all the secrets Of Silver Bar, having
many a time helped to load up the boat
with CLANS.
This went on all the week. Day by day,
os course, the tides grew later, and on Fri
day it was high water at o'clock.
Mark started out at dawn and made one
Successful trip; then, as an east wind was
blowing and the sky was half yelled with
clouds, he decided to go again in the after
noon and secure a sure supply Of CLANS for
Saturday, before bad weather should come.
The strong east wind held the waters in
the bay, and although it was almost three
hours past the turn OF the tide the bay was
still half submerged when Mark reached it.
However, he drew up his skin, set to
work, and by $50 had filed two baskets
with CLANS had dragged them across the
sands and was about TO empty them into
his boat when he paused and rubbed his
eyes.
Where was the boat2
He had, as usual. pulled il as high as pos
sible out of the water, and here was the
very furrOw he had made in the firm, white
sand. But the boat itself was gonel
Looking across the bay, Mark thought
he espied il beyond the beacon, near the
lighthouse rocks.
Half laughing at the absurdity Of the
,redicament, he fastened his handkerchief
on the end Of his clam pick and set il up in
the sand, then gazed ruefully toward Point
No Point a mile away, and wondered il he
could swim the distance.
Not very far away was a schooner, main
y laden with shingles, all sails set. She
vas beating her course in the face of the
sast wind, and had sailed well into the
barber mouth TO gain purchase for her
long tack. This gave Mark an opportuni-
ty. He seized his pick, ran 10 the very
verge OF TIE bar, and waved the signal
franticslly toward the vessel, shouting at
the top u his lungs. BY good fortune
some one on deck happened to be looking
through glass at Littleport
An instant later down dropped a boat;
two red shirted sailors jumped into her
and rowed with all their might toward the
bar In less than ten minutes Mark had
scrambled into this welcome dory, having
first thrown in his CLAIMS, which the men
said would be welcome addition to their
supper.
Almost before be had realized what had
happened Mark was on the deck of the
schooner, answering the shippers ques-
tons.
BY this time the sun had looked out
from beneath a assure in the bank of