Fairhaven herald. [volume] (Fairhaven, Wash.) 1890-????, 1892-05-06

I
and me- Do you think Pve been olindP Do |
you think can't see that2 Jim Marwood
has got your heart; and do you think you
will ever marry him while Pm alive?"
l got SILVER down the back and felt |
round for my stick for his tone was awful
and didn't know what he might do next,
Hetty never was the girl to be cowed,
and she flashed round on him the next mo
ment like gunpowder.
SIT is Jim Marwood that has got my |
heart, and | have his, and Pm not ashamed
to say it before you or any man. | know |
you've got your cottage and your garden
that you are so mortal proud of, and |
know Jim is poor, and we shall have to |
wait for years; but you needn't think you'll |
/ brighten me out of marrying him, for you
won't; and if didn't marry him I'd never |
marry such miserable, wicked, ugly |
wretch as you'll So don't hatter yourself |
would"
And she gave a kind of sob, and burst |
out at the door, and rushed up our little
fight of stairs, and | heard the door bang
and the key turn in her lock sharp and
passionate.
waited, still as DEATH wondering how
he would take on, and hearing no stir |
kind of squinted around the dOorpost into
the passage
There he stood in the dusk facing toward
the open entry door and the starry sky. A
desperate, hideous, evil looking thing, with
his monstrous head and shaggy hair and
his little twisted legs. There was that
dull, tranced look in his eyes, and he was
staring before him like | had often seen
him do in the mine.
"She shall never marry Marwood while
Pm alive. God made me same as him."
heard him mutter to himself, and then he
went out.
| saw him no more that night, and
didn't let on to Hetty that had overheard
them The next day we were all under
ground as usual. Somehow or other Matty
and Marwood and me found ourselves
always pretty close together. He seemed
to me to be hanging on to Jim in a way
didn't like, hearing what had heard, and
| kept as close to both as | well could,
keeping my tools ready to hand, and watch
ing the dwarf out of the corner of my eye.
Jim never looked taller nor handsomer
nor straighter than he did that day. Hap
by he was as a lark, whistling over his
work and laughing as light hearted as
could be-
couldn't be light, for there was a curl
Gus weight on my mind, a sense as if some
mischief was going to happen before night
fall
noticed that the dwarf scarce took his
eyes off Jim, except at IL O'Clock, when we
stopped for our bits of food, and then he
sat in a corner by himself under a truck
and scribbled on a scrap Of paper, with a
queer sort of smile on his face had the
shivers more than once, for he looked so
evil and so black among the coal heaps,
and every now and then he would talk to
himself in Welsh which | had never heard
him do before, and it turned my blood cold,
for it sounded for all the world like the
gatherings Of a maniac.
In the afternoon we got down to lower
level It was a dangerous part Of the
mine, as we all knew, and we kept our
Davy lamps pretty tight, can tell you.
There's fire damp about here" said one
of tine men
"And a spark would settle the lot of us,
wouldn't it," said the dwarf.
They were almost the first words he had
spoken, and the expression of his face as he
: said it made my hears give turn
, "Ah that it would" Jim answered.
A kind of sick fear came ever me that
. our lives were in the dwarf's power, and
hanging, as it might be, on thread. Such
4 a longing came over me for mouthfU Of
fresh air and the sight of the open sky as
had never had in the mines before.
People warming their toes at their hand
some fires on the winter nights don't
know what it means to us chaps who have
the digging of the Goals in the depths Of
: the earth, and who put flesh and blood il
jeopardy every hour to do it.
Nothing more was said about fredamp
Q however, and that day, the longest day
had ever known, came around to o'clocl
u without an explosion.
The cages were ready for us to get up Il
u the top of the shaft, and most Of the mel
;. had gone.
i "You go nows" says to the dwarf.
~ Mop he answers, "I'm going to stay
u little overtime tonight. You all go on
~ and send the cage down again for me
And look here, give this to your siste
Hetty, will your and tell her to open it."
10 He put bundle into my hand, tied u
er in a handkerchief l took it gingerl
er enough, for, with such suspicious in m
le mind, 1 half expected it might 20 of i
- my face somehow.
~ Then we touched the signal rope and u
~ went Jim and me, and the dwarf stood ur
derneath and turned his face up watchin
:" us out of sight.
Nv Well ! felt more comfortable when "
We put our feet on firm ground on top {
=, the shaft, and then sent the cage dow
Ao again for him.
"Wonder what's in that bundle?" say
40 Jim.
"a "a maybe Hetty will tell you some time,
Il, replies, little thinking how it concerne
VI him.
. took it home and called Hetty to ope
81 it. Our cottage wasn't far from the pit
~ and it couldn't have been above ten mil
~ utes since the dwarf had put it into m
hand.
,o She undid the knot and there-if yo
u would believe it-were the title deeds
III his cottage and dozen sovereigns tied u
2 in a piece Of canvas, and the scrap Of pap'
~ had seen him scribble on under the trucl
IN There were these words on it,
w. "What is here is for you. Ugly an
= rnisera BILE, | am. but wicked, am not.