The San Francisco call., 1904-07-10

~M enviable achievement IN his
nGht was a Runwale load
matched from q loppy sea; he
had never heard OF pirate or a
clown or a motorman- From
the Beginning he was committed to
the ec0 OF the sea. for he was a New
foUnolGnoer OF the upper shore-the
child ef gray, solemn waste place;
a land OF artificial graveyards. The
lean rocks TO which the cottages OF
RAGEed Harbor cling like barnacles
lie. q thin, Jagged strip. between a
wilderness Of scrawny shrubs and the
seas fretful expanse. II chanced that
Joe was the issue Of springtime ar
rsngement-such as the gulls make
which, happily. had endured to the
coming OF e parson OF passage four
years later. He had been brought forth
like the young of the seal and the
white bear. and he was nurtured into
hardy childhood-into brown, 1.-THE,
quick strength-no more for love
than for the labor of his hands. OBJ
viously, then, he was committed to
the toll OF the sea
This was disclosed to him-this
and the seas enmity-while he was
still IN a pinafore Of hard-tack sack
ing. months distant from his heritage
OF old homespun clothes.
I low I cotches NOR fish n Job
Luff when I grows up" he boasted
TO Sammy Arnold, who had fished out
Of Ragged Harbor for sixty years, and
was then past his labor. I low L
salts un better, too"
Sammy chuckled.
4 low" the child pursued stead
lily, I cotches moare'n you done, IN
Gle Sammy
Hut by" the old man cried in
rage. They be moare quintals [ my
name on ManueTs books n they be
IN they be-folk in the-the
warldi"
They were on Lookout Head, waiting
for the feet 10 beat in from thicken-
ing night; from this vantage Uncle
Sammy swept his staff over the land.
north 70 south, to comprehend the
whole world.
"Iss?" said 10. doubtfully. It was
past his understanding. so he crept to
the edge Of the cliff TO watch the black
waves roll ponderously out Of the mist
and shatter and froth over the lower
rocks.
The say do be hungry for lives this
even Ancle sammy SlS1GQ-
For me?" the boy screamed "1ss
un7" He shrank from the abyss, quiv-
ering.
He DO be hungry this day."
10 strode forward. as in wrath; then
boldly he faced the sea, boarding it
Il with clinched hands and dilated nos
trils.
Its good for un." Uncle Sammy
laughed
The say woan't cotch mel" the boy
cried. Il woan't let un cotch mel"
"He've not cOtched me- Sammy said,
serenely. He peered seaward; and for
him Il was as though the mist were the
dust OF past years.
7 woan't let un cotch me-" the boy
cried again. He stumbled. In blind
fright, to Uncle Sammy. and took his
hand. 4 woan'ti" he sobbed. II
woan't I woan'tl"
It was the Mystery. Skipper 10.
by" the old man whispered, you be
one O. they poor folk that can't 'bide
the say. Little Skipper" he said
crooking his arm about the lads waist
never care. Iss, sure-you be one O.
they the say cotches-like your faw-
ther-iss, sure"
Thereafter 10 knew the sea for his
enemy
Thence, to his tenth year, when all
things were suddenly revealed, he won
dered concerning many things; and
chief among his perplexities was this:
Where did the tide go2 Where did the
waters bide until they ran back
through the tickle to cover again the
Shiny harbor bottom?
Hut, b'yi" said Uncle Sammy.
tffIneW he = hana n (T1rfnFfe fhfnCa
about the say. Sheer of from they.
Iss, sure. The tide DO goa In a hoale
in the bottom"
10 had abandoned that theory months
ago; and so he puzzled, until, one day,
when he and Ezekiel idled together,
the punt slipped, at the turn Of the
tide, from under the laden flake, where
the shadows are deep and cold, into
the fading sunshine Of the open harbor.
Her shadow Wriggled TO the dull, green
depths where the starfish and sea eggs
lay; and the wary dories darted, fash
Ing, into the security of the black
waters beyond. She tugged at her
painter like a dog at the leash-swing-
ing fretfully, reaching, clacking with
a petulant ripple; 1t was as though she
painted to join the waters in the race
through the tickle to the wide. free
open. Now, the sea was here restrained
from treacherous violence by encircling
rocks; so, with rocking and ripple and
smorous glitter, 10 was lured to a con-
temptation OF the mystery that lay be-
yond the placid harbor.
Now. by" 10 said. abruptly, 'I
knowsi"
'Iss, b'y?" little Ezekiel answered
from the bow.