The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1894-10-20
TWAS a relief to both of them when,st

haired boy of about nine years came
leaping down the steps of the terrace,
under the shelter of which they were
sitting. This lad was Tommy Null.
grove, commonly called by his sister
Marina, tina: precious mite"
Done YETI" cried he, making a tenn
pestuous rush at his sister and plant
ing himself unceremoniously at her
side.
Nearly. And what about the verb?'
$50. is, it, linus. tits, cunt" sang
out the youngster in a confident tone.
clasping Marina's arm and swinging it
to the rhythm of his recital.
"Hush-h-h."
Then Tommy gave his attention to
the ship building. The little schooner
rugged craft which was 500 to be all
his own was now completed save in
one respect-a name. The outline of
this Lieut.. Walton was at that moment
carving. As he finished, he said:
That must do for to-day, Thomas.
Letters of gold tomorrow, after the
trial trip"
'Oh, but | say. hat isn't fair ex-
claimed the lad, in a disappointed
tone, as he spelt out the name that
had been carved. Look, sis. Fancy
calling my yacht Miss Mulgrove.' 1
thought it was going to be Richard
and Marina for you've both helped to
make it for me, haven't you, now??"
The situation was a trying one for
the young people. On the previous
day Tommy had, in the emphatic
style of small boys, declared that
the yacht, then only just be-
gun, must be called Richard and
Marina" and no objection was raised
at the time. Since, however, there
had been indications that Richard con-
templated suggesting a much o
important combination of the two
names. 1t vas to prevent his designs
from reaching practical shape-in
plain words, to avoid a proposal-that
Marina had started that conversation
about love and marriage, with which
the reader is already familiar. Her
free-and-easy treatment of the subject
made an earnest appeal such as he had
determined upon quite impossible.
And her last little speech contained,
as he understood it. a very significant
hint of her reply should ne persist in
disregarding the warnings of her pre-
vious remarks.
1t is easy enough TO say faint
heart never won fair lady" For all
that, | believe Richard Walton was
acting under al impulse of manly
courage in accepting his fate. He loved
truly enough to see her duties as she
saw them. She had the care of our
motherless children, besides those
numberless responsibilities of parish
work which had fallen on her shout
ders when the mother died eight
years ago. And her father had
never been himself since the shock
of that dread parting. Realizing all
this, the young officer had, with ONE
what of the hopeless loyalty of the
knights of old. sought in a delicate
way to indicate his submission when
he carved the prosaic words Miss
Mulgrove," instead of those previous.
ly decided upon.
But he had quite forgotten. alas!
hat remuneration is not usually part
of the creed of the British boy. Mas
ter Thomas Mulgrove had, according
to his own notion, INDUCED in quite
enough self-sacritice already for one
morning by committing to memory
part of an irregular Latin verb while
the bodybuilding was going on. To
his sturdy intellect, changing the
yachts name was simply a breach of
contract; be had no feeling whatever
for the sentiment conveyed thereby.
His sister had, however, and she
blushed tremendously as she OWNED
its import.
Il say, Marina" pursued tina,
wretched youngster, what are You
coloring up for? Did not you want il
to be called Miss Mulgrove,' then?"
Marina had never yet boxed the ears
of that precious mite" 1t would
have been a relief to have done SO at
that moment; it would have beer still
more a relief if she could have rushed
away somewhere and had Il good cry.
Walton, on his part, felt equally
miserable. He wanted to say some
thing that would ease the situation.
but words utterly failed him. In the
presence of that young imp, what, in
deed, could the poor fellow say?
Then, suddenly, help came to these
luckless victims.
"Oh. there's papa, and the lot of
EN- cried Tommy as he caught sight
of his father, his twin sisters, Ethel
and Janet, and his bigger brother Jack
emerging from the garden at the end
of the lawn. Then he scampered away
to meet them.
Richard took his knife, and without
further ado began to scratch out those
words from the stern of the little YES
SCI.
Sailors have superstitions about al
tering a ships name after she is
said he, with remarkable
GOODNESS, 80 it is just as well to be on
the safe side"
The Richard and Marina was
that afternoon on Burnstead
lake, just half a mile from the parsDn-
age. Her behavior on this trying &C.
casion was magnificent. Tommy. as
owner, was the most important per-
sonage present More by luck than
he said nothing more to
his sister to box his ears. Why
he nave done so, however? He
had had his own way regarding Rich.