Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1902-10-17
Tb e WrOnG
Tfdo Hosc II Affected
BY JOHN FLEMING WILSON.

ii net-racks of Kinney's cannery
and watched his boat-puller in the
boat below. To his eyes, the young
man was more than ordinarily deft
and neat-handed. To be sure, he
never had had one who was not quite
up to the standard; for he, Jan
| Nragnizan, was noted on the Column
bia for his success in fishing, and he
had always had his pick of men. In
a dull way he somehow resented this
effective activity on the part of Draw.
han, ard he raised his eyes to view
the sky. The Washington hills were
stepped in low-lying cloud. and the
gray reflection in the water was rue
fled by gusty south wind. His
| glance ran down past Desdemona
Sands and Scarborough Head to the
Bar, which. under the ftful after
! noon sun, cleaned into momentary
visibility and then disappeared as
though it had fallen back over the
edge of the world.
"A bad night, Dravhan," he rum.
bled, hoarsely.
The hoat-puller Strengthened him
self up and glanced seward. "Ay,
sir: wind" he responded, slowly.
His captain strobe heavily forward
to the edge of the wooden platform.
His great leathern boot-tops wag-
| gled about his massive thighs, and
across mis- bulging middle the narrow
belt sank as he breathed deeply. "Ef
more's boats are out" he said. "Get
started
Again the boat-puller looked up
and there was a frown on his face
GLOW long do we stay out?" he in
| quired. shortly.
Morning tide" was the gruff an
swer
Dravham seemed to figure, for his
lips moved and he crossed the fingers
of his right hand successfully with
his left forefnger. "Tomorrow
noon?" he finally asked.
Vragr;zan's face clouded. when
ever | please" he answered, CURLY
Then he descended with deliberate
steps the swayipg ladder, and dropped
upon the tarpaulin that covered the
neatly slowed net. Without further
|
err, stepped the mast, and rugged the
sail. With powerful sweep of an
oar the boats head was turned out
toward the channel, and the sail eX-
banded in the wind.
Leave the sprite out" said the
captain. and Dravhan sat quietly
down on the weather thwart. AS
,,,tA ha 1,nr o1 a
| iolting river waves caught at them,
and now and again a spray of icy
water dashed across the boat. On
they ran athwart the wide Columbia
till the Sands were behind and the
deep middle channel was reached.
Here the sail was taken in; the mast
wabbled as the surge caught boat
w SOB full in the swelling tide. Jan
Vragnizan threw off the tarpaulin.
and began that wearisome back
breaking toll of throwing out the net
the while Dravhan pulled slowly
away.
When all was out, and SOB rode at
the end of the seemingly intermina-
BILE net. the two men slowed the mast
and oars. Then they fell upon their
coarse supper, gazing, between huge
mouthfuls, at the fiery setting sun.
The chill wind of evening freshened,
and as night fell over them there
famed out, as stars into the sky, the
faring coffee lights of thousand
boats riding to a thousand nets.
After the meal they lit their pipes
and sat brooding, wordless, beaten by
the shrewd wind, showered upon by
the endless fux of waves, stirred
ceaselessly by the fecund river. And
as their slow eyes opened over the
shadows about them, they thought Ia
boriously, jealousy, yet slumberous-
": weaving into coarse web OF
clotted reverie the bare facts of life.
And while they meditated, they for
got the 1000 fishers who rose and fell
in the boats that slept uneasily' upon
this same expanse of sea tainted Wa
ter.
Dravhan figured again the tide for
. the next day, striving to shorten the
frigid hours that must elapse before
he could once more see Helma Nrag-
nizan. the shapely daughter of his
I captain. He had much to solve; prob
, lens lay like tangled seaweed over his
cumbrous, rocklike purpose. He knew.
as a man knows where a blow strikes
him, that her father grudged him pos
session. He felt blindly that he was
contending with some unseen passion
in Jan Vragnizan's breast; yet through
all OVERLAPPING Of circumstance he felt
an elemental. moving, impregnable
emotion. He had never defined it clear
ly. succinctly, till that day on which an
unknown spirit had prompted him to
say to Helma: 81 love you" And the
more he unused upon that expression
the more Justify he felt that she would
have to teach him. as a child is taught
to put the sounds of letters int words
what that meant. Opposite him, his