The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1900-03-23

about O'Clock, and the sky was
clouded up. The cold plunge gave me
shock, and as soon as my head was
out OF the water l let out a cry. |
will merely remark, gentlemen, that
to man in the middle of the Atlantic.
lifted every half minute so that he can
get good view of the appalling waste
OF waters, a winter in the Indian
country must assume the color OF an
Arcadian dream.
Palfrey nodded assent.
Il don't know exactly how long |
was in the water. | know, however,
that | fought against despair with
mental frenzy, and just as | was be-
coming incapacitated by the whirl of
my own brain and the ceaseless en-
deavor to keep ailoat, heard a call.
| 1t was Dick Pearce in the yawl.
| and he pulled me in, half-dead. He
told me that the bark had gone on.
| The captain refused to stop. We
were twenty-lour hours afloat and
were then picked up by one of the
| old Black Ball Tine of packets, and
came safely to New York.
Il lost track of Pearce, and Nere
was no probability that we would ever
come together on the ocean of life
again. But now, az | think back, it
all came near to being the regulation
Christmas story. Years slipped away.
1t was. think, in 70, when | was
coroner, and my professional single
was still up on the old rooms in Bond
street. The boys of the Phoenix club
in the Twentyfirst ward were going
to have a Christmas revel and
on Christmas eve young Dick Busted
cane down to my Office to fetch
me. We had started out together
to walk to the Fourth avenue
car, when a young girl with a shawl
over her head ran after us She
caught hold of my coat eagerly.
Would | come at once her father
was dead.
Something in her face toucheS me.
My child said, what can do if
your father is dead?' l could feel the
vibration of her eargerness, as she re-
! piled in paroXysmal appeal: oh,
please, come, it's only across to
Chrystie street
Dick said l, this will only take
me few miutes, and it's Christmas
eve. III feel better at the club if |
attend to this. You go on and I'll
| join you presently He was quite in
dignant but had my own way. The
girl walked by my side over to
tenement-house on the corner of
! Chrystie and Houston streets. | tried
to talk to her on the way, but her
eagerness to get back interfered with
her speech, which usually ended in
convulsive sobs. BY the time we
were landed in a room on the fourth
floor. where the whole family were
huddled in incoherent grief. had re-
covered some of my official dignity.
Well madam I said to the obvious
mother of the circle, here | am. What
do you expect me to do? Don't you
know better than to send for doctor
after death has taken place."
1t was pretty dark in there, but
she pulled the curtains up and there,
lying upon the bed, as you have al
ready suspected was Dick Pearce |
was so taken aback that | must have
acted very strangely. Who told you
to come for me?' | asked the girl, and
she Slipped away from me as if some
thing had frightened her. L don't
know, she said, what is it?' and ii
gave me a crawling feeling.
Go and get me lamp quick-do
you hear. and keep that door shut
Yes she said wonderingly, as she
slipped out
Il went to the window a moment
and looked out. could hear the
horns on the street Christmas was
close up with its merry clamor They
were waiting for me at the club. This
was a most annoying detention at
such time, and l might be wasting
labor on a corpse. Then | looked at
the white face in the dim light. 1t
seemed to be coming to me as it did
that night through the spume and the
darkness with a rigid, indomitable
purpose, when 1t looked to me as if
| had been forsaken even by God. I
put my head down close to his ear
and | said: Dick old fellow, don't
know if you can hear me or not. But
! stay with you to the end. I've got
the yawl this time, and so help me
heaven, I'll pull you out If | can So
brace up"
Here the doctor stopped and filled
a pipe and let Palfrey light it for
him with coal picked up by the
tongs, Gentlemen" he said, present
ly, 81 suppose you know by this time
how bad a story-teller l am, because
you can both of you finish it your
selves"
"Oh, don't cut it off that way" re-
marked Palfrey. Lets have the
round up,-happy family, Christmas
gathering. good angel, and all the
regular business. It's pleasant to
know that things turn out that way
sometimes in life"
81 don't mind telling you" said the
doctor, that let myself drift into the
fairy business while working over
that man. I conceived a very pretty
! dramatic climax. | would go into
that circle in the other room, when
Dick opened his eyes, and I'd take
that little bare-legged tot on my knee
and tell her a story about her father,
who had only gone away to get some
Christmas presents and was coming
back to join them, and this story
would break it all to them slowly and
nicely, and I would really revel in
something better than the club could
afford"
yes" said Palfrey, you made
them a Christmas present of their
own father-capital."
NO" replied the doctor; "unfortu.
nately, in my profession things do not
always come out in the story way.
Dick Pearee was dead."-New York
Evening Post
A Dfferen% Method.
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