Fairhaven herald. [volume] (Fairhaven, Wash.) 1890-????, 1893-06-23

arm, tne little mother pulled ont Smith
letter and read it over two or three times
and every time she read it her mind mis-
gave her more. The most innocent. unsus
pecting person in the world herself SONS
good angel must have put suspicion into
her mind, or if not suspicion at least the
IDEA that It would be safest to 20 straigb,
to the schooner, for might it not sail with.
out her If she went to the hotelS
And so when the train drew into Phila,
deiphla anu the passengers were discharged
INTO themob Of bowling hackmen her WON
ans intuition picked out the only honest
one IN the lot, young Irishman, and she
asked him how much he would charge To
take her TO pier s, Richmond
"'Howly motherl' he said, 'Di eudden,
40 IL FUR cent under swim dollars. IL nd
take four hours
Then she told him that she was going
10 JON her husband in the south, and that
she hadn't but $40 with her, and she would
need most of it for other things, and so he
dropped to 50, for he was Just book from
the ARMY himself. and 'wuddent rob a
soldiers wife, and the trunk and crib and
rocking chair were piled on the trap, and
the mother and baby climbed into the
musty interior, and the jolly, gloomy, in
] IL.
Richmond and pier were reached at
last, and the lrishman and the little
woman, both loaded with baggage. went.
as directed, out to the end of the pier and
across four vessels in all stages of lading
until the Sarah Jane was reached The
] captain was on Shore and the mate WAS 81,
taken by surprise that trunk and furniture
were deposited on the deck, and the hack
man was paid and had gone before he re-
covered enough to ask what under the sun
she wanted.
" Are you the captain of this vessel?'
asked the little woman. And when he said
that he was not, and that the captain had
gone ashore, but was expected back soon.
she calmly said she'd wait, and seated her
self in the little rocking chair, between
trunk and cradle, and rocked to and fro
singing softly to the baby, until after
awhile big, round shouldered, down east
Captain Grimes made his appearance.
How de do, momP he said. I'm Can
pen Grlmes, and the boys SEE you want TO
see me- CThis was New England twanp
the little woman had never heard beforeD
Captain Grimes, weren't you expecting
meP And her heart began to sink.
WAL. no, moml can't say as exact
ly was Then, looking at the trunk. 'You
don't mean TO tell me as you calculate to
ship with uss'
why, l was sent TO Baltimore by Mr.
Smith of the paymaster generals Office.
and he wrote me that he had arranged ev-
erything aud that was to sail for VII
mington on the Sarah Jane first thing i'm
the morning And nearly ready to cry the
poor thing stood there in the lantern lizht.
with her baby Rugged tightly to her breast,
the picture Of distress.
never sot eyes on your MIR Smith, and
fnever hean tell Of him, and there amt no
possibility for you TO go Oh any such acraft
as this here said the old fellow. Soyou'd
jest better come ashore with me, NOM. and
one OF the boys II fetch your things, and III
take you to Il respectable tavern
The little girl nearly broke down, but
with tears in her eyes and great sobs in her
voice she told the captain her story aud |
begged him 20 take her And when he said
that he had no room, no place in which he |
could put her, and nothing to give her To !
eat, she declared that she could sleep ON
deck, and that IL they had bareback and /
water that would be enough for her. and /
seeing denial still on his grim old face she [
choked down her sobs and sat resoluteIy /
down in her chair and said she would stay. /
They must take her, and that was the end OF I
1t. The captain still eXpostulated, but she
said with a lofty air that the letter from the
paymaster general of the navy, which she
had in her pocket, was authority enough
for him, and that he'd be paid for the pas
sage If that was what he wanted, and that
with great emphasis) she was-going-to-
stayl
Then she rocked back and forth with
great spirit, and as the baby began to
whimper: Yes, mothers darling. IL is 20
ing TO see its father, and no cruel hearted
Did sailor is going to make it stay any long.
ri There, there, there; 90 to sleep; 20 To
,leepp
at was hard fight, but she won The
I'D fellow gave in grumblingiy and went
below to see about ways and means. He
gave her his own bunk and rugged up
screens for her, and she had presence OF
mind enough to smile and thank him warm
y when he showed her the miserable hole I
md to praise the greasy bacon and hard
ack and wretched coffee they brought her
n the morning. A.,
THE voyage was hard one, but she sat
IN deck in her chair all day long. The few ,
men on board were very respectful, and the
aptain and mate made much of the baby. |
mere was nasty weather rounding Cape
Aoebtisl's anu tb ollb blIllt JncY were
-reat danger, but the little woman could
ot be made to go below. Advice, en- ,
reaties nor commands had no effect. Sta :
ioning herself abaft the mainmast or ,
on deck, she stuck out the /,
torn, her eyes turned always TO the SOU !
ou'-west where Jim was.
And when at last they glided behind
he breakwater and the harbor master,s
oat put out to meet them, with jim on
oard, there she stood near the bow. her {
ably in her arms, her eyes trimming with I
ears and her face TRANSPORTED with glad =
ess." :
''She was IL plucky little girl" said the :
ldge as Pond concluded, "and luckier u
DO, than many another poor wife was in II
hose days. But did they never learn any .
hing more about that fellow Smith," u
Yes! The husband wrote TO a friend i'm D
ne Office and the matter was investigated. Is
was found to have been a most fortunate %