The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-02-06

upon him that whereas he had only
paid for ten acres, yet twice in the day
he was the poSsesSor of forty. Quimby
had never before owned a foot of
ground. wet or dry, rock. clay or sand
Solitary dollars had made short visits
of coincidence to his tlaccid pockets, but
never to stay, till one day by rare
stroke of good fortune two hundred of
Uncle Sans promises to pay had tum-
bled into his hands.
At that the suppressed longing of his
lifetime found expression. He has
tened by the most direct route to the
wonderful promised land of all his un-
realized dreams-the sea. Arriving at
that Mecca, he satisfied his souls cray
ing for breath and light and the tang
of salt air. till the tavern keeper at
Taggert's Station. who had guided him
over the beach. discovered in him an
easy prey and sold him the Neck for
eighty dollars, which was about forty
dollars more than 1t was worth Thus
Quimby became the proprietor of an es-
tate that was mostly atmosphere and
blue cloud shadows.
As he stood under the already men,
toned crooked tree. with his legs wide
apart and his hands clasped behind
him. his lungs inflated with oxygen and
his heart with pride. he was already
drawing big interest on his Investment.
II feel kind of as If I had been lost
for forty years and just found my way
home" pondered Nathaniel.
At this crisis in his history, for so it
was. he turned to enjoy a wider view OF
his domain. and discovered the pres
ence of an intruder down by the beach.
The newcomer was lank, but with a
suggestion Of great strength in his eX-
traordinary frame. He stood slight
ly and shambled In his gait. so that the
sprawling shadow that twitched at his
heels danced grotesquely over the
sands. Smooth shaven, blue eyed. with
garments that seemed a unique collec-
tion of patches. the stranger finally
halted within conversational distance
of the fascinated prospector.
80 long. capn. hear up to the viii
lage that you bought the Neck. n I
come over thinkin p'rhaps you might
want to hire q man.
Captain! Nathaniel's stature in
creased and he held himself with added
dignity. Want mani" He became
suddenly aware of another unrealiZed
wish of lifetime He. who had never
once in all his days said to a servant
come" or go" who had himself obed-
iently harkened to the word of COM
mand. did he want man? He was SO
elated that for a moment he forgot to
reply and the applicant stood before
him without a shadow of impatience or
anxiety and waited his pleasure.
"Why-good morning. What did you
say-a man? Why the fact is-what is
your name?'
Moses. Moses Larkin. been fol-
lerin' gardenin' an wood sawin' mostly
Sence left the sea. But en- turn my
hand to anything"
Then you have been sailor?" asked
Quimby.
sure. Follered tn sea twenty years.
man an boy.till got wrecked Where'd
I get wrecked? why,right here onto the
Neck-I was part owner in the Phoebe
an she bumped there ON tn pint an
natchully fell to pieces, reason O her
bein' thirtv-four years old an not u
sound plank er nail into her s. you
might say. l hadn't no chice but to
stay ashore fer spell" After mo-
ment he added: Shouldn't wonder If
ther was some o. her punity ole timber
stickin' in the sand down there yet
Yes, there We're. Quimby had seen a
few worm eaten sticks that looked like
the partly decayed skeleton of some
huge animal imbeddcd In the sand of
the point. But the immediate matter
of consideration was not the wreck.
but the applicant for a job. Nathaniel
knew that the little hoard of money
with which he had already made such
heavy inroads would not last long, even
with strict economy. and that before
long he must himself be seeking work
pgain: that his dream of dwelling on
the Neck was a long way from its full
!llment. Evidently his display of ready
cash had given the impression that he
was capitalist, He hated to dispel
this notion. He looked at Moses Lar
kin and tempOrized
I don't know as want many yet"