The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1895-09-26

and all her crew drowned on Black
Beach / had to be with old Dorr TO
case his dying, and as man can't
well be in two places at once couldn't
leave one to see 'tcther," said Ronald
in Retrospective vein.
81 was there and saw il ALL" an
swered Tom, "but | was bit of lad
more in the way than ont of it--but
-" he stopped and was silent.
"a wild sort of yarn was going
bout the light that night" continued
Ronald; "folks said old Dorr sent
man to light the lantern, and the fell
low swore he went, and left il burn.
ing. After the ship struck men tried
TO get in, but the tower were locked.
There was n hoy that swore that he
ran up the lighthouse stairs of his own
accord to light tho lantern, and a
strange man stopped him and threat
ened to dirk him if he didn't go back.
The boy were scared and said he smelt
/ birthstone"
Tom laughed. al was the boy" he
said, "but don't remember the brim-
stone"
"And did you know them?"
al must co." said Tom hurriedly,
ns he saw the two he had been watch.
ing returning that way, and lac walked
of with the oasy roll of the sea-bred,
making n harmony in the landscape.
|
II hal been the great event of the
little fishing hamlet, this wreck of
seventeen years ago. Others might
count from the war, or the fire. or
| floods, but with them everything had
either happened before the wreck or
since. 1t was the Ammo Domino of
evcnts.
Small wonder Such storm as
ragged that night had never been known
before or since. The death OF the
stricken keeper would have been man.
ifcstly visitation of God, but the
whole elimination of the unusual and
unexpected, in tho disasters by land
and sea, carried with it nn effect of
superstitious awe.
Nor was the element of mystery
wanting. Some unknown hand had
extinguishcd the Black Beach light
aud lured the unfortunate shin, seen
in the oning at nightfall, to her doom.
Who was the miscreant? What had
he TO gain by it? The underwriters
and salvage men laid the loss of the
vessel to accident. Tho cargo being
o! sugar-the ship was from Mauritius,
Observation-Disclosures was nothing
saved. aui further it was not wreck.
er's station. Tho one objcc. rescued
was babe taken from its dead moth.
cr's arms by the man Ralph Bargerat,
who had been living among the fisher
/ folk for his health, he SAID. He
seemed, however, to have no lack of
| health or money, and he did not find
favor with the sturdy fisherman, pos.
sib!y on account Of being himself II
/ foreigner.
But his adoption of the wait Of the
sea, the little Nirginian as he named
her, went far toward settling nll un-
ju't preiudices against him, aud pre-.
disposing everybody in his sfavor.
only that he held himself aloof, and
while kind and courteous kept GER
tain well-dehned distance between
| himself aud the community. And
/ from that on, the worst thing they
could say OF him was that lie was
/ proud. As he was evidently OF good
| lineage and had inherited wealth, he
was forgiven by the majority for he.
! ing II gentleman. True, there were
| still some who asked each other why
! al l., 4
| darkcnod his doors, who saw nm evil
and morose spirit looking odt oi his
| dark dropping ewes, and the shadow
of rcmorSe in his lonely life, and en-
/ forced solitude.
/ But how his adopted daughter Viz
/ Ginia would have laughed to scorn
these idle surmiScs? Her "papa
Epiph, ~ rs she had been taught 10 call
/ him, the best, dearest old papa in the
world, who had caught her MP ont Of
/ the cruel sen that boreft her OF father
and mother, aud had loved AMI cher.
ishcd ner rs the apple oil his cye ever
since! She would have been almost
capable Of killing any one who would
have dared aspcrsa hlm.
And he loved her so we'll taat hc
could give her to another 50 that she
might never he left alone in world of
care and sin. Little a3 she knew
about it, for all these thinss had been
kept from er-sho still knew they
existed. anl she would not always have
her dear toste: father to guard her.
For she learned, quite by accident,
what Papa Ralph woull never hays
told Eer, that his health WAS now ser,.
ou,iy alfected-somethinS wrong with
the heart, the result of that awful
night on the beach she thought likely,
and she could hardly bear to have him
continue those long, lonely walks, un.
less she might so too.
She had met her lover, Paul May
bic, in one OF her occasional visits to
the metropolis, and the two young
people had been mutually attracted to
| pqpb pibpr nm npanunt M Iouht nl