Middletown transcript., 1894-01-27

! 1uiI n 91srily Ichod tho merry aezn
nafy boys, y EheY eto5sed the whaI
and vaniphed ono aflek another 10 ID
mist 81 had disapp9 one BY one
iher happy dreams, and The monotonod
sound OF the escaping steam seemed I
4 foretell q dreary future, without va
1 riety, without hope, without Jackl
Gradually she became aware Q
voices near her, one clear, high-pitshet
commanding attention, the other, sof
and suggestive. The Fall River nal
and the Kankakee boy were just behint
her, deep in conversation. For th'
first time in his short life, the boy wa
asking as many questions as he pleased
without fear of rebuke. For the frs
time in q long while, the man hat
found an appreciative listener. Boil
were happy, and the conversation ros'
to that joyous diapason which marks
perfect contentment with ones sur
rounding and ones self.
s'Have yu ever seen a ship?n said
the boy. "Not any kind of craft, but
a regular out and outer?"
The man modestly admitted that he
had seen several thousand of the very
largest calibre, Here was mind Of
knowledge too precious to be neglected.
The boy who knew something Of engi-
neering, Immediately proceeded to
sink shaft. In half an hour he had
extracted several tons Of ore, in shape
of information about ships. barks.
barkentines, briggs, schooners, and
sloops. Next he threw out side gal.
lery to develope vein of standing and
and running rigging. Striking bed
rock, he retraced his steps, and, re-
commencing operations, struck a bo-
nanza, the navy.
The gray eyes deepened in color at
the thought of this inexhaustible
treasure, aud his questions came thick
and fast, as the blows of a miners
pick.
"How many guns does line Of bat
tie ship carryp What is the difference
between ship Of war and sloop Of
war? What is corvettep
The quick percussion Of questions
was abruptly checked. A little woman
who had been sitting near them SO
quietly that they had not noticed her
at all, suddenly jumped to her feet, and
stood before them, exclaiming, "Oh!
thank you so much! Where is the
telegraph ofice?n And hardly waiting
to be told, she darted off, appeard in
an instant on the wharf, and then van
ished behind the curtain of fog that
screened the steep hillside.
.'She got the cart before the horse,"
said the Fall River man. ibid you
notice that she thanked me before l
told her where the office was?''
''Bet your life she did," answered
the boy in his gentle. amiable way.
SIS there any definite number of ships
in squadronr'
And so they went on with their
talk.
Aud Mary wrote "Cone," with
trembling .hand on yellow telegraph
blank, addressed to Lieutenant John
Crowninshield, 2074 Corvette street.
Chicago, Illinois.
And the next week there was quiet
little wedding at Caconna, when tall,
dignified officer in Her Majesty's navy
was married to pretty little Yankee
woman, in a perfect furry of joyous
excitement.
And why shouldn't she be glad and
thankful? Wasn't that lovely in
luisitive boy, and that delightfully."- |
,alkative man, sent by Heaven, from
nobody knows where, just on pur-
pose to correct her stupid blunder
IN droppiug dear Jacks letter over
ooard2
Were they sent there for that pur-
bose? That's the question. As 1
stated at the beginning, it is liable to be
7ariously answered by various per-
IONS.
Mary's opinion on the subject is un-
quivocal. Question the boy. and he
would probably tell you that he didn't
70 clear up the Saguenay on any snch
business as that. Interrogate the Fall
River man, and. But no, on the
whole you would better not. He
would undoubtedly answer you by the
Iuire and ream, and life is too short for
hat.