St. Landry democrat., 1893-10-28

! quccrcst look. She met his eyes, an for
II moment her bright new color went
| away; then she turned to me an said, so
pitiful: Poor Uncle Jerry! Hugh, help
lnc to lash the rudder again; Uncle
Jerry can't stand much more
Il moved a little over, an they both
reached for the rope. The next moment
Miss May gave Il horri'i, GroHning cry,
an Mr.. Hugh was in til" water holding
on by the rope. Miss Mays face was
drathIy pale, an she was NIL bent over
! in the uuecrest way telling Mr.. Hugh
to be patient She didn't seem able to
move, an remember | wHs sortrr cross
at the idea Of her ~iyn' out jest when
she WAS most nccdrd IralIel one Of the
! boys, an between us we pot MIR. Hugh
on board, Miss May all the tim" lranln'
! more an more over the side, till feared
| she'd be over, too. | warned her, but
! she only said, 80 fear Of that, ncIe
Jerry an laid her head down on the
side Of the boat | might have known
dear lass dear luss'
incl" Jerry paused to contr"! the
quiver in his old voice,
"As we pulled Mr. Hugh on board
there was a sudden jerk, an Miss May
went over. | saw then what the trouble
had been. The rope that held the dory
was only partly out. an the sudden pull
Mr.. Hugh had given il had hauled it
tight an drawn Miss Mays arms tight
across her chest
"The pain must have been awful, for
when we found her both arms We're
l.
her chest where the breath hal been
knocked out Of her, almost.
"She knew If she said anything Mr.
Hugh wonld let go, SO after that first
cry she never let sound pass her lips.
''For a second or two the rope held her
up, an thought | could save her, but
she knew better. A | started to pull
her in her dear face came above the
foam about it, She tried to shake the
water from her eyes in the Old way.
" Good bye, Uncle Jerry she says,
her soft voice all hoarSc and strained
with the agony she was in.-then She
looked at Mr.. Hugh, an that look has
haunted me ever since. 1t was so full
Of love. You could see all she cared for
him, an all she'd suffered, kinder, in her
eyes Good bye, Hugh, my dear, dear
Hugh She said, an his name rs it lett
her lips, was the last sound She made;
then the water closed over her an She
never rose again.
Uncle Jrlry Didn't care to conceal the
honest tears that rolled down his chrrkS,
and something III my o"n eyes blurred
the sea from my vision. Neither spoke
for a minute then sid: Did Yea say
they found her.
Uncle Jerry replied. grutfly: Il found
her myself, after the storm, lyiu' on a
bed Of sea weed. that same Ioyin look on
her face. | didn't tell no one, for |
couldn't bear no one to fetch her. got
my wagon an lined it with clover an
ferns that cut on purpose, an tux her
up to Miss lIolt's an laid her on the
little bed she'd slept in all summer The
next day hcr friends come and TUX her
home.
1T closed the season at Miss Hollis,
an sold the Foam for twenty dollars 10
get her out o the bay, an haint never
took a pleasure party since. Guess |
won't paint any more tcr-day.'
And gathering up his brushes, Uncle
Jerry left me abruptly and started
through the heavy sands for home, while
moved my seat ont Of reach Of the in
coming tide and watched his shopping
figure till it vanished in the door Of his
cabin, and mcditated on what | had
heard. t. Frank LesIie's Weekly.