Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1892-01-15

in my own mind.
Whatever has happened" l said, ''be
sure Of one thing, Annie is not to blame !!
Uncle, do you know what | have often sus-
pected? My cousin left US only for little
while, because she wished to be out Of George
Redruth's way"
What dye mean?'' he cried, starting, and
trembling violently.
There was something between them. He
had won her heart, perhaps. Then, distrust-
ing him, and knowing the great distance be-
tween their stations, she said to herself, I
will go away for time till l am cured, or
till he has left the place."
Ny uncle frOWned thOughtfully, and shook
his head.
NAV, Hugh-there be more in t than
that; ''but, whate'er it be, Pm sure the young
master had no hand in t. | know you never
liked 'un, Hugh; but Master large has a
kind heart, and would never do dirty deed.
Why, l ha' knawed him and sarved him ever
sin he were boy, and I'd trust 'un wi my
own life"
In pity for his trouble, l forbore to tell
him all | knew. Even had | done so, be-
Geve his simple faith in the master would
have remained firm.
Its O sunmat else I'm thinking, lad" he
said, after a pause; 'summat that were tawld
me tother day, by John Rudd. Three or
four days arter Annie went away, John
Rudd he saw her in Falmouth, alawng WI
that Yankee chap, johnson. the overseer."
He noticed my start of surprise, and con-
tinued:
They were standing talking together on
the quay, and Annie were crying. Maybe
there's summat in it. and maybe naWt; but
irE,+ I,op
been away-foIk say, in London. Putting
this and that tagether, Hugh, my lad, what
do it all mean?"
L was as puzzled as himself; but hasten
ed to assure him of one thing-the utter i'm
possibility of there being any intimate rela.
tionship between my cousin and the pseudo
American. He looked somewhat increduIOus,
for in his simple eyes johnson was a stylish
and important person, very likely to find IA
vOr in the eyes of young woman.
He rose YEARLY, and held out his hand.
Lea me to think it out, lad. My mind be
fixed that snmmat's wrang, and | sha'n't
sleep till lInaW the truth, the whole Gospel
truth. ha' been praying and praying that
things be nawt as ha' feared, for if any
living man had played the villain VII my
Annie, Lawd help him! Lawd keep hlm
from the reach O. my hands"'
AS l looked into his face, I could not help
echOng the prayer. | felt certain at the
same time, that his fears and suspicious had
shot greatly in excess of the truth. [ knew
that scandal was busy with poor Armies
name, and that much Of the scandal must
have reached his ears; but l could not yet
bring myself to believe that Armies flight
betokened anything seriously wrong Of
fIiu,r I fa1t tain hot
if wrong had been done, George Redruth
was in some way responsible.
| stood and watched my uncle, as he wan
dered away in the direction of our home
then turned my face again toward the sea,
and wandered on. AS | went, the moor
grew opener and wilder. strewn with great
stones and powders like fragments Of the
wreck of some past world; some huge as
menhirs translated thither in some prehis-
t0ric period of wondrOus flOOds-When the
ard waste on which trod was the oozy bot
tom of a troubled sea-
Here and there fed wild cattle, black and
horned. like those that haunted the woods
of ancient Britain. In solitary places the
buzZard lowered, and by the brink Of lonely
tarns the heron Waded, rising up as l ap-
preached with sleepy watt of wing.
~ ldSt, dIISl u ldllIDlt VI oSNCldl llIIICos L
approached the sea margin. My path was
now on the stony edge of lOW-lylng cliffs, at
the base of which the waters Numbered for
ever. Here [ found lonely promontory of
black granite, stretching out into the sea, and
whitened at its limits by the chalky drop
pings of innumerable sea-birdS. On a rocky
island few yards from the extreme point of
the promontory, sat flock of cormorants;
as [ approached, they turned their snake
like necks, but did not rise.
The sun was warm and bright, the sea calm
and shimmering like steel. | threw myself
down on the rocks, and, with face-upturned
to the clear skies, closed my eyes. A large
black winged gull wheeled, screaming, over
me, and then sailed slowly away. All L
heard was the low murmur Of the pillows
breaking sadly on the rocks beneath me
that sound which ''deepenS silence" and has
such solemn meanings for the troubled hui
man soul
Suddenly another sound broke upon my
ear. | started, and listened. The sound
seemed to come from the sea itself, and was
like a mermaid singing. Irose quickly, and
crossing the rocks, walked in the direction
from Which the voice came.
Approaching the edge Of the crags, l look
ed down, and saw beneath me, in the very
shadow of the prOmCntory, a quiet creek.
The rocks fell asundcr, leaving a space of
sandy beach, some twenty yards broad, and
closed by the still waters of the sea, which
broke in a thin fringe of white foam on a
sunny slope of white pebble and golden
sand.
it was a nook just such as the tabled mer-
women or sirens might have chosen When
the world was haunted, and such fair crea-
tons frightened the sunshine. But what am
l saying? 1t was haunted still, and by one
mere creation Of a poets fancy
Lying like a baSking seal on the loose
shin&Ie just under the rocks, and looking up
at me with sparkling eyes, was the colored
girl from DemeIara; and standing on the
waters edge, with her face looking Seaward,
was Madeline Graham.