Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1901-12-25
Joan nodded at this very excellent rea

4
Hope | shan't miss it this time"
"Noww she said.
"Ahem! Good morning, Miss Joanw
They had both been so wrapped up il
their fishing that they had entirely failed
to notice the approach of Captain Suite.
| bury in the second punt, and at the very
moment that he sent the nose of bis punt
into theirs Maynard had the tail of the
fish in the net At the sound of his voice,
rasping and irritated, Joan started and
| for the first time let the rod down. 1t
was the pixies opportunity, and he took
| 1t. With swish of the tail he Ieaped
| away, and the line snapped short.
Bother said Joan.
| She stood there, facing him, with a ris-
| ing color. Any one less fatuous than
| Captain Suttlebury would have foreseen
/ danger in provoking her further. But be
was wrapped up in his own conceit and
annoyed besides. He had seen her change
craft from afar, he had watched the
/ whole business, and he meant TO put a
! stop TO It. Accordingly he also stepped
over from the punt in which be had come,
pole in hand, and took up pompous at
titude.
"Well?" said Joan coldly.
Maynard had relieved her of the rod
and was reeling up the slack of the line
His own irritation was greater than the
others, for all his previous trouble came
back. Here was the beast again. aSnoy-
ing beauty, and he, as a mere outsider
not even guest on equal terms-did not
see what to do. She was vexed-that
was clear enough. The man seemed to
claim her as his property already by his
look and manner. For all Maynard knew
TO the contrary, there might be grounds
for 1t.
'Well?" repeated Joan, tapping her
foot.
"Er-I supposed I'd find you on the
lake." said Captain Suttlebury.
you were looking for me"
"Of course. 1t was just as well /
found you"
"Perhaps," said Joan. at made me
lose rather large pike"
Captain Suttcbury was dimly con-
scious from her pout that he was expect
ed to apologize. But that was not his
way. On the contary, he felt that he had
a right to demand an apology.
II do not imagine" he said in his POM
pous manner, that your mother would
approve of this sort of thing"
"What sort of thingT'
fISnlnS Win one OF tue -
He had meant to say servants, but
caught Maynard's eye. Something warn
ed him to break off suddenly Maynard
unclinched his fingers and went on reel
ing up with what he supposed was the
best policy. that of neutrality. Yet the
little captain, standing there, struck him
as incredibly vulgar almost beneath con-
tempt He wondered how Mrs. Rye
oo,,lJ hoyo tho idao of cuch
a son-in-law Then he shrugged his
shoulders. for Joan had only smiled
little. as if he amused her tolerably.
Perhaps" she said meekly, you are
right. You are SO often right, Captain
Suttlebury, aren't you? And in any
case | ougst to consider it luck in way
that you came, oughtn't I? Because my
canoe has drifted off, and Mr.. Maynard
has lost his pole. and we might have been
left here in the middle of the lake for
hours and hours"
| Maynard froze up. Nothing would have
! been more lucky, to his way of thinking,
than the contingency mentioned, but he
| imagined Joan was making her submits
sion. So did Captain Suttlebury, and he
assumed conquering pose.
| Lost his pole, has he?" he inquired
! Ioftily.
Eyes" said Joan. at stuck in the
| reeds. You can almost see it from here"
'Then. Mfr. Whats -his-name," said the
! captain. turning toward Maynard, "you
/ can take my punt and fetch the pole back
here After that you can GO Miss Rye
/ and I shan'tneed you. d'you seeY'
1 He held ont the pole belonging to his
own punt as he spoke, and for a moment
his fate hung in the balance. Then May
! nard put his hands in his pockets and
! turned to Joan.
"Am to understand that is what you
| wish?" he asked stifly.
please do" she said.
| Because she wished it he stepped
across on the other punt, disregarding
! even the supercilious smile with which
/ Captain Suttlebury handed him the pole.
/ Then. without a word. he pushed off.
As the gap between the two punts wild
ened to a yard, before either of the two
was aware of it, Joan had taken a rum
ming leap from one to the other. She
was beside Maynard now, and the gap
had grown a gulf of a dozen yards, and
the captains smile turned to stare of
dismay.
What thp-what are you doing?" he
suffered angnly.
Joan settled herself composedly down
among the cushions.
Narrowing you." she said.
"Maroo-maroo-what do you mean?"
For bad manners on the high seas"
Joan explained affably. 81 am the pirate
queen of the lake this morning, and any
one displeasing me has to suffer. Your
punishment is to swim ashore or else
wait until some one comes for you. The
pole is in the reeds, remember, in case
you want it. and don't forget lunch is at
2. Goodby. Captain Suttlebury!"
She waved her hand at him mischiev-
ously and beckoned Maynard to pole on.
Later in the day Captain Suttlebury
was observed by the waterman and res
cued, but that was not until after lunch,
and every one was curious to know what
had become of him. Not having the spirit
to confess his discontinue, he decided to
leave by the next train, which he did,
much to Mrs. Rye's grief. Later in the
wear muph m her mother's horror loan