The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-02-07

Z assent 70 TINS, DuE made no other ans wer,
What his own looks were like he could not
guess. but the spectacle he presented 70 his
& rescuers wGs nothing less than CHASTITY. The
three weeks stubble OF his beard, with its
I indeterninate cOlJr OF half-1e ked bread.
Z gave blush tint to the excessive pallor Of
/ his complexion BE had been dreadfully
/ sun-blistered, and his nose and forehead
were still fuTred with leprous-loOking scales
/ Of parting skin.
! He looked altogether 1eshlass, and the
1 bones OF his nose, broWs and temples were
| tightly overdrawn, and took blush polish
/ with the strain. The face looked all eyes
and beak-the eyes systematically large,
| glittering, and deep-sunken.
II think he'll do, Bill" said the first
speaker; what do you thinkp
The man addressed thoughtfully peeled of
little spiral OF dough and chewed it, re-
/ garding the patient meanwhile.
He could hardly be much worse,n he
said, after an interval; LETS hope he'll
mend IN hot drop Of that mutton soup
| for him.
So saying he left the hut, and in little
| while returning with a pannikIn Of warm
broth, be fed the patient with an iron spoon,
nursing the feeble head on his own shoulder
very gently.
The other man watched this process with
absorbed interest, seated on one Of the
kerosene cases with bis bare elbows on the
table and mis- beaded chin in his hands.
That's right, matey," he said. encourage
ingly, as Hetheridge's lips shaped TO receive
the last spoonful. you begin 70 peck a
bit, and in day or two we'll have you on
your pins again. He's lool1in' better al
ready, amt he Bilr'
1--WE got hope for him." Bill answered.
''If he'll take kindly to his tucker, he'll be
all right. Have drop more, mateyln
the tired eyes signifed "No." The
nurse lowered the patient softly, and
smoothed the roll of blankets which did
duty as his pillow
He went outside the hut a second time,
and returned with tin of fair water Din.
ping in this one end of tattered old lack
towel OF coarse herden, he laved Hether-
idge's hands and face, and dried them with
series Of soft pats.
And now" he said, with tie tap on
the shoulder by way of farewell and en-
couragement, you'll do very nicely Look
after the danper, Joe; it's ready by this
time, surely"
His companion went out in obedience to
this request, and shortly returned with a
big. ungainly muffin on the eud OF a pointed
stick. he busted the wood ashes from it,
employing his soft felt hat for that purpose,
and dumped it on the table,
In the meantime the man who answered
to the name of Bill had laid out pannikins.
tin plates, a jar of sugar, and even the daz.
Zling luxury of knives and forks The
preparations being completed, the two men
sat down and ate like a pair OF healthy
giants, Hetheridge Watching from his
sunken eyes and idly envying their vitality
The whole day was a chronicle of soup
and sleep.
The men who had found and saved him
had kept watch and watch over him from
the first, and to-day the man who had
made the damDer was his nurse, He was
always at hand when the patient awoke,
always watchful, assiduous and gentle. He
smoked his pipe in the doorway for the
mort part, sitting on one of the kerosene
cases, and reading in u dogs-eared mis-
shaped old volume which had long since lost
its binding, and with much thumb bling and
ill-usage had fallen in places into "A very de-
crepitude OF eligibility. The habit was
probably bred of solitude, but as be read he
murmured half aloud, and Hetheridge rec
oGnized the voice he had heard on his first
waking from delirium to consciousness. The
sunshine lay hot aud bright outside; the
falling waters OF a creek close by made n
ohangeful music, and the readers deep
chested murmur had an influence as soporifc
as either of them
The rescued man thought of nothing in
his waking moments, nor cared to think of
anything. There was an unheard Of gulf
OF agony far away behind him. He had
passed through it and beyond it somehow,
and he lay resting as tranquil and with a
mind az idle as a week old ohilds. He had
no care to know where or when he had been
found, how long he had lain here, or what
had happened in the outer world since his
unloOked-for leaving
The second man returned to the hut at
shutdown. Another meal differing In no
particular from the FIRST was ready for him
on arrival The two sat over it with the
same grand appetite displayed at early
morning, and conversed in murmurs in con,
sideration of their patient Hetheridge lay
careless between asleep and awake. He
heard the words they used but had no
earthly interest In them.
II say, Bill, old chap. said one, 'Ive had
stroke OF luck to-day"
Good iron" said the other, genially.
80 have you" said the first speaker.
wi is itw Bill asked, "Grogl"
NO" the other answered, tits better
than grog. A Melbourne paper. only eight
where is itF' Bill asked, eagerly. "How
did you come by it,"
II was right on top of Mount Dismal
when l saw chap on horseback a mile
away. gave him coo-ee, and rode down
like the very devil.
He waited, and it turned out to be old
gamey Carter. He'd got half a dozen pa
pers with him just to drop around among
any OF the boys he lighted on, and begged
the latest. Here it isp'
He drew it from between his bare breast
and his flannel shirt and waved it on high
with an almost boyish glee. His comrade
turned up the lamp and settled himself with
grave expectancy Of enjoyment.
This is a bit of luck, he said. "Tom
Jones is fine book, mind you, but when
you haven't had another thing to read for
ten months at stretch, it gets monoto-
nous Wen take it turn and turn ebout,n
he added. "Shake your chin. old child.
and I'll light up"
The man with the newspaper began to
read. To the intense delight of both, the
paper held the news brought by the monthly
mail from England. There were rumors of
wars. there was split in the cabinet, a hor-
rible murder at dead Of night IN one of the
great London squares, a daring burglary,
and great divorce oase-a glut of treas
urel
Hetheridge, between sleeping and wax
ing, heard it all with a profound want of
interest. Nothing mattered to him-he felt
as II nothing ever could matter to him
any more.
"lsay," said the reader suddenly, in an