St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1897-05-08

ten your promise? l am safe: do not
fear. II there il danger will come to
you."
"There might not be time" he an
swered, in a voice almost womanly in its
tremor; land, oh, Ben, could not die
without you!"
'Hush, little fool!" but the words,
though harsh, were spoken in a tone SO
tender they could not wound.
1T is strange friendship" 1 thought
to myself. 'Some day must ferret it
cut"
All: the day and the hour were in
other hands than mine-even in those
which Mt last commanded the waves to
be still and brought us out of our peril
uninjured and without the loss of a
single life. We had just had prayers
and Thanksgiving, in which all, from
captain to cabin boy. had joined most
heartily, assembling together as one
man before Gods footstool, and had
scattered again to our different posts,
where the storm had left as much to do.
when 1 again noticed Archer and Will
liams standing together, the latter's
hand resting almost caressingly upon
Archcr's shoulder.
One seemed so powerful, the other SO
weak, SO slight. that, incongruous as
their friendship appeared. it yet, after
all, was but following out the law OF
nature-the weak leaning upon the
strong.
just then an order came from some
one to go aloft and stow the forecyal,
as it was darkening to windward and
looked Us though We might have . light
squall.
Archer sprang forward to obey the
command, but somehow Williams got
ahead of him. He was SO very light
and had grown SO accustomed to the rig
ging that he was like squirrel. Archer
made a motion to detain him, but before
his hand could reach him he was far
beyond his grasp.
Higher and higher he went, my eyes
following him with a strange fascina-
tion for one accustomed to such sights,
until he reached the yard, laid himself
out upon it, seized hold of the canvas
when something came whirling through
the air; something struck with dull
thud the deck at our feet; the yardarm
was empty.
Great heaven! For one instant there
might have been heard a pin fall; then
the men came trooping forward. Archer
was the first to reach him, the first to
look into the white, still face, on which
death seemed already to have set its
seal. Then a groan burst from his lips
Of such mental agony as never before
had heard, and he fell forward in un-
consciousness by the boys side.
Motioning the men back, we carried
the poor body as tenderly as we might
and laid it on a vacant bed in the cabin.
There the doctor and myself permitted
no one else to enter. We threw open
the coat and unlaced the shirt, when the
mystery was explained.
Williams was a woman-a woman
who, for love of man, had done this
thing. Poor, suffering child! Had
she atoned with her life? There was
little hope, the doctor said, but such a
pity had risen in both our hearts that
we would not despair; and at last the
dark-brown eyes slowly opened, looking
around, as though seeking some one not
there.
1T is Archer" whispered, and, GO
ing forward, found he had recovered
from his swoon, and was as one frantic.
+ l,ado hin, fo11oxu mo
''You know all, captain?" he ques-
toned. "She is my wife. Poor little
girl; she ran away with me, and would
follow me everywhere. Will she live p
'sThere is little hope" answered.
Eve will do for her what we can"
Then we entered the cabin, and such
q look of rapture as crept into her eyes
as they rested on Archer's face 1 have
never seen before, and expect never to
see again. Then we went out, and left
them alone.
Fifteen minutes later I entered the
room. He was kneeling at her side, his
face buried in the pillow. while one
hand rested caressingly on her head.
Touching him on the shoulder, mo-
toned him out. A painful and a dam
gerous operation had to be performed.
which. if she survived. would permit
hope of recovery. kept the poor fellow
with me during that time, and he told
me the whole sad story.
"She loved me, Captain, but her pa
rents looked down on me and would
not let us meet. 1t was wrong, know,
but she was so young, and she said she
could not give me up, and I-ah! now
know what the world will be to me
without her; but we were married. l
have the certificate in my trunk. I left
her all comfortable in little room
had hired for her, and shipped with you.
had to do something, sir, and nothing
else offered. She-poor child, was SO
lonely, SO desolate, that the thought of
the weeks she would spend alone mad
cened her. She followed me, in dis
guise, as you know. and I-oh! Captain,
had not the heart to blame her, since
she did it for my sake. have protected
her from harm. from injury, until now,
when"
A groan finished his sentence, when
the door softly opened, and the surgeon
1T is better than I hoped for-she
may live"
The days which followed were full Of
anxious watching. but the young life
at last conquered; but not until our
ship had made its homeward voyage
was the poor girl able to raise her head
from the pillow on which we had lain
it as sadly as in its shroud.
But when, at last, with tears of graft
tude and broken words, she, leaning on
her husbands arm, passed from our
sight, the memory Of her heroism and
heart-devotion taught US forgetfulness
Of her faults, and the blessings which
followed them were in many cases
uttered, but in all heartfelt
n. Y. Ledger.
LooDhole Ter the Burglar.
Police Constable A3O3O-Here, your