The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1898-02-20
SAND WAL ER Of ABBLES


otory of dark sandstone against which
the sea frets itself whatever the state
Of the tide; but southwark from the
little harbor the cliffs are low and the
beach fiat, and 'at low tide a vast bare
waste Of sand and shingle stretches
away as far as the eye can reach.
That beach has always been and Will
always be desert No man cares TO
enter upon it, save for very strong
cause. Ugly mud banks spread over
it in some places, and in Others there
are even quicksands Long. deep water
pools, known to the fishermen as
"gyles," reveal themselves unexpected
~ between high banks of sand, which
when the tide is rising may prove
death traps for the lonely wanderer.
Yet there was one man who from
choice spent nearly the whole of hts
life amid this desolation, until he be-
came as savage and desolate as the
waste over which he walked. This man
was Conger, the sandwalker, a man
at whom all the good folk of Abble-
sey looked askance. He was not d
native of Abblesey. Whence he came
no one knew; it was only known that
for The last thirty years or more he had
iiNCd III tHS CuuOy VI oil oio uiiIldiilito
fishing boat which was drawn up above
high water mark just beyond the viii
lage, and that during all that time he
had gone in all weathers twice each
day along the south shore, searching
among the unwholesome leavings of the
ebb tide there.
If you had listened to the converse
ton of little knot of fishermen as they
lN.%N l. III
sey life boat house one stormy day in
the autumn, you would have learned
something about this man and his ways
and would have understood better why
people disliked and stunned him. They
were watching his movements on the
beach away in the distance, and max
ing comments upon them.
Sure enough he has," said one
broadchested fellow to the others.
He'd never come straight for the town
like that if he hadn't, and that devils
whelp Of his would never stick so close
to his HEELS
You're right Jim," remarked an
other, after a careful scrutiny of the
distant figure. He's turning aside Cor
nough., and that isn't his usual way
when he's out yonder. / wonder who
the chap III be-"
How many II that make?" asked a
third.
over a score odd ones to my knowl-.
edge, answered the first speaker And
I'll warrant there's been many another
that l haven't kept reckon on. And.
besides that. he got thirty or forty all
to himself when the great passenger
boat was sunk off the Dollies.''
Curious how he snuffs 'em out, him
and his dog" remarked another.
Meanwhile the object of their con-
versation had nearly reached the town
Aye, no doubt of it now said Jim.
He's passed the Sar' and Ann, and s
going straight for the coast guard sta
ton. No installing what that MEANS"
The mans road lay close past the life
boat house. AS he approached it, the
fishermen withdrew awkwardly to the
furtherest corner of the building and
We're suddenly all intent on scanning
the horizon. Not one of them cared to
face the old man or meet his eye. He,
on his part, noticed the movement, and
grinned maliciously, as if he found some
savage amusement in their behavior,
. but The poor mongrel which followed
him drew up sideways still closer un-
der the she Ter of it's masters legs as
they passed.
They We're indeed a miserable pair,
this dog and man. There was some-
thing so unclean and repulsive about
them that the feeling of pity which
one should have felt for such wretched-
ness was choked. The man looked less
than human, and the brute looked more
than dog. If he had stood upright, the
man would have been tall, but his back
was so arched that the line of his Shout
ders ran quite horizontal. Yet this
stoop seemed to be the result of habit
and not CT actual deformity, and you
felt in looking down on him that he
might at any moment suddenly rise up
quite above you. In walking his face
with its long griZZled beard hung YER
! ticaliy at right angles to his shoulders.
His dull, glaring eyes and long, sharp
nose were almost the only features not
hidden under the tangle of his hair and
beard AS he moved stealthily forward
with head well in advance, you saw at
once why the Abblesey folk finding him
nameless had given him the name of
the most evil-loolling of fishes. AS for
the dog, it had ''mongrel'' written large
in every feature, from the halo of hair
round its shapeless black muzzle to the
bald tip of its thin, bare tail. But, I'M
like its master there was no ferceness
about it, nothing to be afraid Of It
had that look of depressed endurance
of hopeless fate which tempts the
evil-minded to the throwing of stones.
Men who were afraid of the master
revenged themselves upon the dog.
Such was the pair that went past the
life boat house and made their way to
the coast-guard station. What their
business there was. the fishermen had
we'll OWNED. They had found one more
dead body on the shore. and the Conger
had gone to report it and lay claim 10
the reward of five shllings which was
paid on such occasions. 1t was bust
ness they had become well accustom-
ed to, and no wonder the fishermen
should hate the sight of them.
Yet. in spite of ALL this miserable
man was not entirely friendless. There
was one woman in the town to whom he
could turn without being rebuffed, ana
to whom he could also safely look both
for food and protection.
And it was fortunate for him that
the influence of this, his one friend, was
great among her nighhors, for through
her intervention he was saved from
more serious persecution than that he
already underwent. If it had been any
one else except Mother Harmby, tne
neighbors would doubtless have resent
ed the kindness shown to him as per-
sonal insult TO them all But every
one knew that Mother Har1nby could
no more help beang kind, even to this
most wretched being, than she could
helm living She WAS one of those