The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1896-09-12
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FINDING FINGALL.

''Fingall FingaIl Oh, Fingall p
A gray mist was rising from the river;
the sun was drinking it delightfully."-; the
swift. blue water showed underneath it,
and the top of White Faced Mountain
peaked the mist by hand length. The
river brushed the banks like rustling silk,
and the only other sound, very sharp and
clear in the liquid monotone, was the crack
of woodpecker's beak on hickory tree.
1t was sweet, fresh, autumn morning
in Lonesome Valley. Before night the
deer would below reply to the hunters
rifles and the mountain goat call to its I'M
known gods, but now there were only the
wild duck skimming the river and then
rising and fading into the mist, the high
hilltop, the sun and again that strange cry:
"Fingall Fingall Oh, Fingall =
Two men lounging at fire on ledge
of the hills raised their eyes to the noun
tain side beyond and above them, and one
of them said presently
1.-The second time. It's a woman S
voice, Pierre. y
Pierre nodded and abstractedly stirred
the Goals about with a twig
"Well, it is pity-the poor Cynthie
he said at last.
at is a woman, then You know
her, Pierre-her story !?
''Fingall Fingall Oh, Fingall y
Pierre raised his head toward the sound
then, after moment, said
II know Fingall.
"And the woman? Tell me.
and the girl. Fingall was such as
Shon McGann, all fire and heart and
devil may care She-she was not beau
tiful except in the eye, but that was like a
flame of red and blue Her hair, too
then-would trip her if it hung down.
That was all, except that she loved him
too much But women-et puts, when a
woman gets man between her and the
heaven above and the earth beneath, and
there comes the hunger, what is the good?
A man cannot understand, but he can see,
and he can fear What is the good? To
play with life-that is not much-but to
play with a soul is more than thousand
lives. Look at Cynthie.
He paused, and Lawless waited patient
ly. He knew Pierre well.
Presently Pierre went on.
sFingall was gentle. He would take
off his hat to squaw. 1t made no diff
ference what others did; he didn't think
it was like breathing to him. How can
you tell the way things happen? Gym
THE father kept the tavern at st. Ga
briel' Fork over against the great sawmill
Fingall was foreman of the gang in the
lumber yard Cynthie had brother,
Fem. Fem was as bad as they make,
but she loved him, and Fingall knew it
well, while he hated the young skunk.
The girl s eyes were like two little FIRE
flies when Fingall was about, and when he
thought of her he said to me, They are
the kind God made for the whole yeaI
round He was gentleman, though he
had only half name-Fingall-like that
l think he did not expect to stay-he
seemed to be waiting for something, fol
always when the mail came in he would be
there, and afterward you wouldn' see him
for time. So it seemed to me that he
made up his mind to think nothing Of
Cynthie and to say nothing.
''Fingall Fingall Oh, Fingall r
The strange, sweet, singing voice sounded
nearer.
''She is coming this way, Pierre, said
Lawless.
II hope not to see her. What Is the
good?n
'Well, let us have the rest of the
story"
..Her brother Fem was in Fingall' S
gang. One day there was trouble. Fem
call Fingall liar The gang stopped
piling. They expected the usual thing.
II did no; come. Fingill told him to
leage the yard and they wonld settle some
other time That night there was wicked
thing. We were sitting in the barroom
when We heard two shots aud then fall
We ran into the other room. There was
Fem on the floor, dying. He lifted him
self on his elbow, pointed at Fingall and
fell back. The father of the boy stood
white and still few feet away There
was no pistol showing-none at all The
men closed in on Fingall now He did
not stir-he seemed to be thinking of
something else He had puzzled, sor-
rowful look. The men reared round him,
but he waved them back for moment
and looked first at the father, then at the
son. l could not understand at first,
Some one pulled pistol out of Fingall' 5
pocket and showed it. At that moment
Cynthie came in. She gave cry. By
the holy, do not want to hear cry Ike
that often She fell on her knees beside
the boy and caught his bead TO her breast,
Then, with wild look, she asked who did
it. They had Just taken Fingall out into
the barroom. They did not tell her his