The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1904-07-29

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water. He was looking steadily sea
ward He was evidently old, and
he was SCARED by many fights, but
his sunken mouth, from which he
had lost many teeth, showed .hat he
would not fight again VIGOROUSLY.
Sometimes he turned from his
gaze at sea and glanced behind him
at a child who was sitting in a
wheelbarrow few feet away Every
time he glanced thus he slightly
wagged his stump of tail, and the
child smiled, or she said in soft
voice:
Good Bossw
And then Boss wagged harder,
but he could not give much atten-
ton to his companion, for his whole
heart was with that bent old woman
who was up to her waist in the wa
ter by the outermost ledge 1t was
there that the Irish moss grew, and
at low tide the woman could gather
III. She thrust her arm down 10 the
shoulder each time for her handful
of moss. She was wet, sodden wet,
save for a small place across her
back.
She had mans straw hat fasten-
ed by a small rope tightly under her
chin. Her face looked 100 years
old-it was in truth seyenty-old,
scanned and leathery, and 1t was a
face YOU loved to look at.
Every few moments she raised her
head and put her dripping hand
up over her eyes as she turned to-
ward the land. She was at first
dazzled by the glare of the water.
When she looked up thus, the little
girl in the wheelbarrow always
waved her hat. Then a dim, beau
tiful smile would come in the faded
}. eyes.
: Its Jest a-doin' Of her lots of
e good" she would say aloud. I'm
awful glad / wheeled her down. l
Q wish now I'd brought her down
s oftener this summer"
Twice as she looked shoreward
she called out shrilly:
''Boss, you take ere of her.
Won't you, Boss !"
Then Boss pricked up his ears
and shook his tail, and the girl
laughed and said she guessed she n
Boss could cit along first rate
r "We're used 10 it, amt we,
Boss?'
When she said this, the dog got
up, came to her side, gave her q
. swift lick across the cheek, then
) hurried back and sat down on the
edge of the planks again.
Once the woman out in the water
slipped and fell splashing, and Boss
jumped up, whining in piteous
u quayer, and would not be comforted
]! even when the child said soothing
q y:
r 'Neyer mind, old fellow"
=. But when the woman houndered
q to her feet again and cried "AIl
y right~ the dog sat down.
= The child shifted the bracing
:; odor and stretched out her hands,
Il smiling happily.
To be sure, she could walk, but
: granny wheeled her to the breakwa-
ter where she could see the moss
gathered.
1t was a low course of tides, and
now the water had gone far out so
that one could get TO one of the
lodges where the moss grew.
Granny had no boat, as most OF
the mossers had-there were some
boats now farther along, and little
Molly could see the men put their
long handled ropes down and draw
them up full. She knew that those
men made more money than hei
grandmother, but then she didn't
know much about money.
81 guess they don't know much
about a dog" she told Molly, n
| guess : longs we got anything (
: eat Boss II have some of it. Eth
old Teller ?"
, Molly sank back on her pillow
{ in the barrow. She amused herselt
by almost closing her eyes so tina
! the sea seemed to come up nearer
| and crimple in sparks Of fire. Their
a she would open her lids wide, an'
I. the great stretch Of water woulC
5 fash bIindingIy on her vision. Sh'
? PLAYED at this for long time, an'
n always in front Of her was the dog
{ She had grown up in the conviction
n that all was well if he was near.
: Soon everything grew deliciousl.
!. dim and then clear, and the sal
!. smell was sweeter, and she was walk
!, ing over the hard sand as straigh
y as anybody, holding her head u
4 strongly. She did not know she wa