The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-03-20


Anon, the peals died away; the last belP
struck up a shriIl, brief warning 70 siDg
worshipers, and in the silence that followed
the whis;lDg cries OF the wild fowl could
again be heard
The firing had now ceased the ''iighting'
was over for the night, aud the widow er5
would now, / knew. be toiling homeward
over the broad stretches of sand. l rose at
last, stiff with the long sitting, ana was
turning away from the beach when | heard
other footsteps approaching ME. L paused
and Idly watched a human figure grow cut
OF the dim light, fifty yards away. The moon
was obScured at thu moment and with
some difficulty | made out the form OF
man with broad brimmed hat and a some
what slouching gait. Presently L saw him
stop and stoop low, so as to bring the out
line CT my body against the sky In a mo-
ment he hailed me:
We'll. MeSter Graham, an is il yew?
Why. I've bin lookin' fur We all over Flint.
Al over Flint, that / have. an here you've
bin all the tonne"
| recognized the voice at once. 1t was
Yethert, and in another moment that once
surly individual stood before me. But what
a change had come over the man. The bat
tered felt hat the patched velYeteen coat
with capacious pockets; the corduroy
breeches, encreled, for some ineXplicable
reason, with a piece of string under each
knee; and the heavy navigator boots, still
decorated the square-set figure; but for all
transformed. The Nethert of the Richie
farmstead was black br0wed. and so spar
ing of speech that j never knew him utter a
word unless IN reply to a direct question;
but the 1ethert who now addressed me was
qulck-spOken. eager and all but brisk in his
manner. Tie Yethert | had known heaved
in his gait as If lie was firmly attached to the
tell of an invisible pillow; but Yethert as he
walked on the Flint beach was a military
locking person in comparison.
He continued: "Pye bin to yer house,
and the Missis didna know wheer ye'd gone
Ye hadna gone after the ducks, she said,
fur yer gun was hangin' up wheer We left it.
But, meSterV '-he broke in with q peculiar
laugh, that sounded strangely there on the
lonely shoIe-''ye can go after the ducks
wito0ut a gun Gamma ye? l know all about
IL; and again he laughed aloud.
| was more and more aStonished. To
bavc met with Yethert in Flint at all was
surprising; but 10 have him discourse in this
free-and-easy manner, ana, above all TO fiud
that he could evoke laugh, was a most IN
heard-of thing. l could only conclude that
his altered manner was due TO sundry visits
TO the local public houses and ignoring his
last remark. | asked him what had brought
him over TO Flint
Well" he replied in a confidential man
ner, and slightly lowered his voice. Eye see
tn Mester and tn Missis has BIN talkin'
about We; and they reckon It's pity that ye
shOudna get over till the Sunday afternoon;
and, so they tOuld me 10 meXan up the cows
as quick as | could and walk over and fetch
We"
but what about the tide?" interposed.
1.-THE tide will be running in soon and we
may be caught by it if We attempt to cross"
Il may here remark that III common with
many other persons who live IN the imme-
date vicinity Of the beach. | never know ex-
actly when it is high-wate or when the
tide begins 10 ebb or flow, excepting when
| haDpeD TO see Ii J.
From the window Of my study where am
writing these lines | can see the advancing
tide streaking the yellow sands with bars Of
silver. | see 1t thus day by day and know
its varying moods as know the peculiari-
ties Of an old friend. ! have watched the
Storm King a thousand times and be has
girded himself in the distant hills and
Stalked Oh legs or vapOr over the estuary;
aHd yet, If / am asked few hours after
ward what time the tide wiz begin to roll
in | am Obliged 10 make the humiliating
confession that ] do not know.
lethtrt laid his hand impressiyely upon
my shoulder as he made answer: "Mester
/ know every inch land in the river, and
In as easy as %inkn'. When ould Yethert
does 4 job,' he added feTventiy ''he does
it gradely property; an the Master and
Misses wOuldna ha' sent me over to We if il
WasDa rect. Besides, MesteT do ye think
Ould Iethert wants TO slip his wind? Nav.
1etherts knowledge Of the banks and of
the spots first covered by the tide was, |
knew, perfect; and after little hesitation
] returned with him TO my apartments, cb-
tanned possession OF a small travelng-bag,
and returning to the shore We waded eau
tiOuSly over the Deep. and stepped on TO the
firm sandbank beyond.
No sooner had we reached the opposite
side, however, than Yethert's eagerness de-
parted, and bis habitual gloom of manner
I'D He al
heaving chuTlish fashion. sometimes labor
ing by my side, sometimes walking a little
in advance, and more often laggng in the
rear. Finding that | could no longer draw
word from him, strobe steadily on in the
semi-darknesS, my eyes ever fixed on tiny
light far ahead, and my mind busy, among
other matters. with the mysterious young
fellow" whom | was TO see on the morrow.
and of whose personality or relationship to
the Richie family l was as yet quite g-
norapt.
We reached the marsh and l was soon
fully engaged in leaping or ending the net
work Of dkes and the tiny lakelets that con-
tlnually barred my progress. Yethert
leaped the smaller obstacles with much
greater agility than might have been ex-
pected from his appearance and waGed
through the broader pools. Us l had often
seen him at Burton, without removing his
boots and with the utmost unconcern. He
had fallen behind considerably and appar-
emily was not Overanxious to get upon even
terms with me, for whenever / heard the
peculiar sucking noise made by his satu-
rated boots they always sounded long way
in the rear.
This did not surprise me. Ny greatest
surprise had been the extraordinary affa-
bllity \ ethert had displayed toward me in
the earlier portion of the evening, and the
unusual eagerness OF his manner | sew
eral times fancied that the water in the
dikes was rising; but my confidence in
1etherts superior knowledge of the banks
and tides was such that / apDrehended no
danger, AID The Cop sure refuge from
the tldes-was beginning TO show Itself like
dark shadow across the marsh. Separat-
the Cop from the marsh Is a bread, shallow
stream, which, before il begins to be fed
by the tide, is seldom more than two feet
deep; and when i thought about the matter
at all my ouly feeling Of uneasiness was
that before we reached 1t it might have
risen TO such height AS TO cause us to wade
to an inconvenient depth.
Inc moon hung over the Haikin M oun-
talns at our hacks, woe begone half cir
ciet OF pale gold; but the stars shOne out
with great brillIaDcy, and the Cop was be-
ginning TO define itself more and more
clearly against the horizon. / could even
family distinguish the rude shed on its sum-
NIT, IN which Abraham's shepherd boy oc-
casslonally stood sentry over his woolly
charges On the plain below; and was con-
graduating myself IN my near approach to
the comforts of Abraham's weil-stocked
larder when / was brought to a sudden
standstll by the appearance of a number
OF glltterlng objects on the marsh some dis
taGce in trent Of me- v hich wayered and
fickeTed about IN the most extraordinary
manner. / could not make it out, and /
walked on again toward the spot. A few
strides explained the mystery. On the
marsh in front of me was a vivid reflection
OF the starry canopy above, and as / stood
rooted to the sDoE, with my heart thump-
ing against my ribs, | could hear the meas
ured rhythmic ripple of the advancing
PLAIN OF water that had intrnded itself be-
tween me and safety.
CHAPTER IL.
For moment | was paraly zed by the dis