The Dakota chief. (Gann Valley, Buffalo County, S.D.) 18??-1913, 1896-08-20

ed. threw up her arms. and made a de-
spairing effort to scramble up the sand
bank. y great wave came rolling in. and
she was torn away from her foothold, and
washed. helpless as a dead leaf upon Il
rivers current. into the foamy rctluX Of
the hillow. No doubt she cried aloud,
but the harsh. complaining shrek Of the
lowering sea-gull. the how of the gale.
and the roar of the waves drowned her
feeble voice as she was swept away amid
the breakers.
CHAPTER II.
'Northward no. Ilurrah. Drink
about. mates. Here's luck" bawled out n
rough voice. a. a rough man half rose TO
his sca-hootcd feet, and flourished aloft
ii tin pannikin. And here's to the cap
tain. with three times three and II cheer
over"
Hank to Lincolnshire Bill" echoed
half a dozen more. Captain Obadiah
Jedson and his luck
And up went six, or more than six. mug
and tin pannikins TO the lips of their re-
spective owners: but there was no cheer
ing, perhaps because in deeper and more
ringing tones. a powerful voice struck in:
1'IlIA my Hfd!lu, Illus anu liSSeS, II
We think fit. only be sober and sparing in
your cups, since We have a long march
before us. and work on the morrow. But
drink not to luck. if you love me. as cou-
Piled with my name. How often am / to
tell you that luck. as You ignorantly call
it. is of another world. moi thiS:-that it
is lent a> a loan. not given a. Il gift-and
that. if rashly boosted of or unthank4ully
taken. il is rs the fairy gold we've most of
us heard tell of when We We're BARNS in
the inglc-nook, and. like fairy gold, will
turn To- dust and wilhercd ivy leaves on
our hands,
The spoaker-a man Of almost gigantic
height, but gaunt and lcan-was standing
erect bcsid" the cracking fire of thorns
and wrcck-wood. and thus formed the
central figure IF as strange a group as
ever Salvador Rosa drew. There were
sixteen or seventeen of them in all, men
and women. scattered in attitudes more or
less picturesque among a cluster Of dry
sal hills. overgrown with reeds. Just
above high-watcr mark. and a little 10
the northward Of a hcadland of weed
draped rocks that thrust itself boldly for
ward into the sea, quite in~terccpting any
prospect of the shore that lay beyond.
In some parts of England such a set Of
wayfarerS would have been a living puZ-
zle, liable to the gravest suspicious: but
from Tweed to Lowcstoft. coas,--uards-
men and police knew them for nothing
worse than Obadiah Jclson's gang of let
hunters.
No gang on the Yorkshire coast was
quite so famous or So prosperous as that
which hailed Obadiah .JeIson as its cap
tain; and, indeed. It's prosperity was large
i due TO his extraordinary skill. or, as
was generally averrcd. to his remarkable
good fortune.
wv ny. whatever now How came il
mere mates: And all alone, too"
Just As i! dropped frae the NOON
I4e oljrcI Of these comments was a
tiny. a very tiny boy. richly dressed. who
stood AT The edge Of the natural circle. or
hollow, within which the jet hunters held
their wild b~ivOuac, and cazed with great
solemn eyes at the strange group below.
Seldom. perhaps. has there been a more
beautiful child than this, as he stood Won
dcringly. with his dark brown hair falling
in heavy curl>, and with such a face as
Is more often seen on a painters can
vas than in real life.
Its just a fairy elf muttered a
Northnmbrian. VIII" had not shaken off
the Border superstitions of his infancy.
More like one IF the angels out of
heaven" Indignantly rojoineI the woman
with the yellow turban knottcd around
her sleek dark hair. saw ever any one
a fairor bit Of a BARN thing: and what
brings the pretty darling here alone. 50
near the cruel sea. and a storm coming
Oh. too:"
Peace all" said the captain Of the
gang. and, stalking slowly to the highest
par of the ridge. shaded his keen ewes
ana Took a long survey of the sands. and
Of a NARROW and difficult path thar led in
zigzag fashion up to the cliff. No sign.
of human presence could be detected any
where.
Nothing coul! he more utterly piteou>ly
alone than the child seemed 70 be. Yo,
he showed no sign Of fear. High abov,
him stoou the towering form of the car,
tain of the jet hunters, looking down. will
unusual sOftneS> in his lark eyes, at ia.
little intruder on his h|ivouac. Unusually
soft. TOO, was Obadiah Jrl,on', deep vote,
a he said gently, "IouAg maStpr-my
dear-will you come with mo-awav out
of the rain"
The child looked up l|oubtfully. and foI
a moment seemed about To- cry. Bnr
Obadiah, gaunt and wild to look upon.
had Yet one Of those faces that chilire,
instinctive!y contide in, 50 the boy clasp
ed his tiny white fingers around the lear
brown one and permitted himself to l.,
led unreSisting to the neighborhood Of til,
fire. where all the members of the banc
gathered round him in a ring.