The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-10-22


: I went to my bed early that night,
| but l could not sleep, although it was
so much cooler. The wind rose and
| blew straight in at the harbor mouth,
| bringing great rollers that pounded the
rocks under my window, and then flew
up in spray to spatter upon the glass
| The sea moaned restlessly in the dark
ness and the wind shook my balcony
and made wild cries along the bastion-
L lay and thought of 'Cenzini and
wondered whether the boatman's soul
was on the wing. When l dropped off
into doZe at last. / woke again with
a start and jumped up in my bed,
thinking that I heard voice at my
window But there was nothing to be
heard besides the wind and the sea,
and nothing to be seen, SO l fell asleep
again and did not wake until dawn.
The light that stole in between the
bars of my green wooden shutters Was
enough for me to see my watch by,
and decide that l could not yet go AID
ask FOR 'Cenzini, No one would be
about yet but it was never too early tor
a swim. The wind had died down, the
sea still called to me from below BAG
bastion and slipped down the shad
owy stairs in answer to its voice.
There was point of rock thnp arose
almost to the level of the bastion. sheer
from the deep water. 1t was there that
1 loved to take my plunge, rushing
down from the hot SUM- with the air
whistling about me. suddenly to cleaVe
GOODNESS and clear green depths.
There climbed now, and stood draw
ing deep breaths that might be able
to float up again lazily, and slowly,
witho1J movement
The morning was yet full Of shad-
ows that would not stay more than a
few minutes longer. At such times I
M gad "a 1te1, 90,
er was still given over to the night and
the creatures Of the night; and that I,
shooting into it unforeseen, might
chance upon deep secrets. Now, rock
ing at the waters edge, great wsreaths
of foam still cleaned born Of the wind
and the sea. One, far below me, took
fantastic shapes, and seemed to fling
out reckoning white arm as watched
it. Then, suddenly. the sun came to
show ME what it was. | drew long
shuddering breath and swung down,
through the air, to clutch and drag
ashore the poor pale body of little Tao
lima.
There was a cave near, and there
left her, while l swan with quick
strokes and short sobbing gasps to
fetch the green boat from it's mornings.
had seen death before, and knew that
no OilS GOufu DTlIiB DdGh IlLLIS GSaOH1ld-
My only thought was to get her ACROSS
the bay before any one else came to
wonder and talk. So presently before
the world awoke, the green boat stole
over the water with something lying
covered and disguised in it, from which
could hardly take my eyes as / Iowed.
But ADDED to my cargoe before / had
gone far; for | came across a sodden
bundle of girls clothes, in which poor
little Paolina was reVerently if oiuTns-
lily clad before I reused her folk at the
House Of the Bay.
They never knew where | had found
her and SO never knew, as 1 do, that
she died in swimming across, with the
mad hope of getting a glimpse, under
cover of the night and the storni OF
'Cenzini of the green boat.
When | got back to my side Of the
water, the restless day had begun, but
Cenzini now lay quiet and called no
more for anything or any one to. whom
he would not give a name. Benigro the
pilot had prophesied rightly, for Cen
zini had died before the wind fell
But the evening of the next day my
poor little hero and her Leander lay
buried in graves that had the width
of the harbor between them. But the
jessamine wreaths that have sometimes
lain on their graves came from the
when ] hear:
Sweetheart, I am going away,
sigh that take you not with, nae.S
Ricardo Stephens in the New York
Evening Post.