The morning times., 1896-04-19

that sometimes fly through the air and sting
Whale 10 death, hit her. After flashing
around ana making the water red with her
blood. she lay, 1T last, dead on the sea. Then
l thought of Labradora. and brought home
the baby here. We will bring up the poor
orphaned thing. Labradora can ride him
even now though the little chap is So young
that he can hardly swim faster than a jelly
fish. i am going off right way to try and
find some wbale-nother who viii nurse
him until lie gets his growth
The little whale WAS pathetically gen
lie and confiding and SO hlindly affection
ate that Lahradora took him to her heart
at once. She would caress his great
cheek with her snowy hand and the baby
whale would make Il sluggish movement
of content and feebly wabble his tail. He
accepted his small mistress as his pro-
tcctor and friend.
Papa norman was lucky enough 10
find large, mothery whale, strong and
healthy. who had no objection to caring
for The orphan whaleling. The norman
would bring her 10 certain point in
the sea and then Labradora would take
her pet whale there TO be nourished.
Il don't want great, big, strange
whale about the place. said papa mer-
man 10 his wife. They are thoughtless
aud, OF course, are not accustomed to as
SociatlnG SO familiarly with our class"
The pet whale thrived admirably and
grew 10 be the delight OF the house
hold and Labradora was the apple OF hls
eye. He became thoroughly house
trained and would not lie on the sea-
weed OIL brush against the sea anemones,
or obstruct the hooks in the cave. Lab
radora used 10 ride him every day. The
faithful creature would come to the
mouth of the cave and wait there, float
ing sideways, looking at her with his
small eye and Goa Xingly flapping his
broad fin. Then when the agile little sea
child would swim like an arrow 10 lin
and settle lightly on his great back, lie
would dart off with Il rush and hcr'goldcn
hair would stream out behind her Ike
the yellow flame OF n wind-blown torch.
Sometimes he would go so fast that the
small mermaid had 10 keep her mouth tight
shut for fear the sea would rush in too
fast for her 10 use her breathing appa-
ratus properly.
When the pet whale would come to the
top to breathe, the child, looking like
jewel, perched on his huge black back,
would watch eagerly to see the feathery
stream of sea water he would throw high
into the air, like some stately geyser. She
would burst into ripple OF laughter as
the crystal drops showered down upon her.
The pet whale got to realize how much
She enjoyed his spouting, and would spout
two or three times more than was neces-
sary for his own comfort or health just
TO please his little mistress.
1t may be imagined how devoted they
were to each other. When the norman
would come into the the cave and say:
Where's Labradora?'' his wife would
answer: "0h, she's out with the whale,'
and he felt perfectly satisfied in his own
mind.
This pleasant companionship went on
without a flaw for three years. By that
time Labradora was beautifully formed
mermaid and as fair a one as every played
on a conch or summed herself on rock.
And the pet whale, why, he was that big
by this time that it seemed simply ridlcu-
lous to call him a pet whale.
For three years their faithful cOmpan-
ionship was unbrOken and unmarried. Then
came an awful change. One enchanting
summer day, crisp and bright, the pet
whale came rushing to the top to blow.
AS luck would have it, there was whaler
only q short distance away. The sailors
saw this bright pink and white and gold
object perched on the whales gllstening
back. A boat put off at once and the row.
ers pulled softly up to the whale from be-
hind. Labradora turned her golden head to
watch them. withoutany apprehension, but
with intense curiosity. They were not
pretty. but they were novel, these strange
creatures.
Even when one of them stood up in the
Prov with coil of rope ground his arm, the
guileless mermaiden felt no solicitude. But
when s ne saw something like a long writhing
snake coming through the air and loop
descending on herself, she had an instructive
sense that danger threatened, and she gave
a sharp stroke with her clenched hand to
the pet whale. This was the signal for him
to sink, which the faithful creature at once
did.
But alasi Labradora felt herself pulled
rudely from his back and dra wn through the
water by something tight and painful about
her body, from which she could not escape.
She was often wont to suddenly slip from
the whales back in order to go and disport
herself on some hard bit of sandy shore or
to climb the rocks and look at herself in
pool of still water. Consequently the pet
whale pursued his course without the faint
est inkling OF what had befallen his adored
mistress. Poor, tender r-hearted whale! He
had no reason to love whalers. They had
killed his mother and now they had stolen
his dear Labradora, though he knew it not.
Concluded next Sunday.