The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-09-28
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| tnat sne now spoke 10 Her ioNeT'
"Willy!
HIS heart was melted at the faltering
voice. but he feared she was trying some
new temptation. SO. coldly ana hardly
| enough, he answered.:
What is 1t, lass?'
"Wllly, ye wadna see poor father IN
jured" ;. , ..,. :,
same"
And We should all dae oor duty-what-
| ever it might beat u COSTS
AYE. lass, at all costs" HIS voice was
firm enough now. and there was no mis-
| taking the truth OF its ring. Magge's
hope died away. From the. stern task
| which seemed to rise before her over the
waste of the black sea she must NO not
shrink. There was but one more yield
| ing to the weakness of her fear: and she
! SAID so timidly that Willy was startled.
| the voice and manner were SO different
| from those he had ever known.
"And !f-mind. say ~ .Willy-l had
duty tae dac. and it was flu of fear and
| danger, and ye could save me- frae u, wau
YEP" As she waited for MS reply her
heart beat so fast and so heavily that
willy could hear 1t; her very life, she
felt lay In his answer. He did not quite
understand the full import Of her words
and all that they implied BUT ne kneW feS,
| that she was deadly in earnest. and he feit
that some vague terror lay IN MS an
swer: but the manhood in him rose to ths
| Occasion--Wiliy Barrow was or the stun
Of Wnlcn heroes are ic iSp'iS"'
Maggie. as God is above US; l have no
other answer to give! ! dom know what
you mean. but have,a q shadow OF iear;
l must do my duty whatever comes OF u.
gle spoke again. but this time in so differ
ent q voice that her lovers heart went
out to her in tenfold love and passion.
with never shadow of doubt or rear
willy. tax ME in your arms-l am NOT
unworthy. dear. though fo' moment
did falter" He clasped her close to him,
and whispered, when their lips met:
Maggie. my darling. | never !oved you
do you good"
duty is not only for yourself. and II must
be done! !. too, haze duty tae dae-a
grave and stern ane"'
what is It? Tell me, Maggie. dear"
"Ye maunna ask me! fe maun never
ken! Kiss me once again. Willy. before
] go-for oh, my love, my love! 1t may De
Her words were lost in the passionate
embrace which followed. Them, when
he least expected It,, she suddenly tore
herself away and fled through the dark
ness across the field which lay between
them and her home; while he stood aSg-
gedly at his watch. hooking out for another
signal between sea and shore.
Iv.-conciusion.
There is inevitable sadness In the
story's ending. and, as In real life, the
penalty of transgIssion falls with even
greater. force upon the innocent tnah
lIrcn the guilty. In a slight row boat,
al infinite peril, Maggie dares the tre-
mendous sea. reaches her fathers ship,
warns father and brother of the arrest
which awaits their attempt to land
contratand goods. waits to hear the or
der given for the discriminating cargo
to be tossed overheard, and then re-
turns to her little boat and shoves off
in the storm and darkness. for shore
and home. The ship at dawn sails
boldly into harbor, and to the coast
mems surprise is found to be free of
Illicit contents. But the brother, who
had gone home to see II Maggie had
landed in safety. suddenly bursts into
the group Of spectators on the shore
and announces that she Is lost. A day
and a night of anxious search ensues,
every person in all that country volun-
teering for the quest. but there Is
neither sign nor hint of the missing
girls presence. Alone, Through 1t ALL
Willy. led by dumb instinct, his senses
dulled by grief, keeps watch at the
high promontory which overlooks the
Waters Mou'. Toward the night of
the second day new storm arises. The
author proceeds:
Toward sunset the very electricity of
the air made all animate nature SO nerv-.
Gus that men and women could not sit
quiet. but moved restlessly. Susceptible
women longed to scream out and vent
Their feelings. as did the cattle in the
meadows with their clamorous lowing, or
the birds wheeling restlessly aloft with
artieulate cries. Willy Barlow stuck
ing-some present. .ment-that there would
soon be a happen.ng-what, he knew W not;
but as all his thoughts We're Of Maggie.
must surely be Of her. 1t may have
been that the thunderous disturbance
wrought on system overtaxed almost
beyond human endurance, for 1t was two
whole nights since he had slept. Or 1t
may have been that the reco!l from de-
spair was acting on his strong ma ture in
the way that dr.ves'men at times to des-
perate deeds, when they rush into the
thick or battle, and. fighting, die. Or 1t
may simply have been that the seaman In
him spoke through all the ways and Of
ficea Of LnHt net and habit and that with
the foreknowledge Of coming stress woke
the power that was to combat with 1t.
For great natures Of the fighting kind
move with their surroundings, and the
spirit OF the sailor grew with the Storm
pressure whose might he should have to
brave.
Down came the storm in one wild, fren;
to rise. throwing great sheets Of foam
from the summit of the lifting waves.
The wind wh!stled high and low. and
ScTeHTlleu as III swept tnrOuEn tne rigging
of the flag stan. Flashes OF lightning and
rolling thunderclaps seemed to come to-
gether. so swift Their succession. The
rain fell IN torrents. so that within few
moments the whole earth seemed one
flashes that rent the black clouds; and
burn and rll and runlet r0ared with
rushing water. All through the hamlet
men and women. even the hardest. fled to
shelter--anl save the one who paced the
rocks above the Waters Mou, peentng ,,y
he had done for many an hour down into
the DEPTHS below HIM IN the pauses Of his
seward glance. Something seemed to
tell him that Maggie was coming closer
Il him.. He could feel her presence In the
ar and the sea: and the memory of that
long. pass onate kiss which had made her
but as something Of te living present.
To and fro he paced. as II some fatal fas-
cinat'on was holding him to the vigil.
He saw the great waves come into the
under the lee OF the Sh'D's Starn m vide
patches OF black which In the dark 81
lence OF Their onward sweep. stood out in
strong contrast to the white turmoil Of
cry now and again a wave greater than
all Its fellows would ride In with all the
majesty of res.stless power. shutting out
FOR moment the jagged wh.teness OF the
submerged rocks. and sweeping up the
cove as though the bringer Of some royal
message from the sea.
AS one Of these great waves rushed IN,
WHY'S heart beat loudly. and for a Sec
Ond he looked around as though for some
voice. from whence he knew not, which
was calling to him. Then he looked down
and saw. far below him, tossed high upon
the summit of the wave, mass that in
the gloom Of the evening and the Storm
looked Ike tangle Of wreckage- 50 ar
and sail and rope-tw.rling In the rush
Ing water round a dead woman whose
white face was set In an aureole Of float l
Ing hair. W;tout word but with the
out on the projecting point OF rock, and
plunged down into the rushing wave
whence he could meet that precious
wreckage and grasp 1t tight.