The Saint Paul globe., 1904-10-23
THE LOVE OF THE MAID


Were it untouched by greed it had been
coy. She looked away. She smacked her
lips and spasmodically worked her jaws.
Then she looked him full In the face with
smile, which was half cunning, half-co-
quettish
s'Tis enough for two she said, signifi-
cantly.
q 'Tis, till the ice breaks up an the fish
strike-'tis more than enough" said Elii1u.
She laughed coyly. She flashed a glance
of invitation. Demurely, she dropped her
eyes. This was all instructive.
''They be enough for two she laughed.
Melia Mary" said Elihu, and now,
that the fear of loss had departed, voice
and eyes were tender, "will you wed me?"
'.They be noa parson t Ragged Harbor
in winter she said, flushing.
Sammy Arnold do be the oldest man t
Ragged 'Arbor,o he said. quickly. He do
be willin' t. wed us two"
do hep
.Iss, for fair-sized fish, well salted He
do be great on havin' his fish salted."
A ceremony, performed by the patriarch
of the community. was all that conven-
tion demanded
Wont you?" he pleaded. "Sure, Til
have the bishop t. do it over, when he do.
come this summer"
Still she hesitated
'sWoun't you, Melia Mary?9
Melia Mary's answer would not long
have been delayed had not young Jim
Rideout passed under the HILL singing as
he went.
For the song was an echo of lighted
eyes and dusk, when an arm encircling
her, had stirred sweet diSquietude with
in, and she had wondered and trembled
and rejoiced; and this first rupture is like
dream of heaven in that, though it van
ish in the press of life.T it never passes
out of memory, but returns again with
uplifting power. So the soul of Melia
Mary was taken up into the cloudy places
of sentiment and there it lowered, striv-
ing, striving with its crippled wings, to
mount to the glowing heights above, where
true love is; striving, striving, striving
with its poor crippled wings.
The hope of Elihu Gale was in deadly
peril; for on that glad night the arm
about the waist of the maid had not been
the arm of Elihu Gale, to be sure, but OF
young Jim Rideout. Now the song call
ed back the dusk and the light in the eye
and the encircling arm 1t was indeed as
though Love, all glorious. finding hut IN
a wilderness, knocked on the door, and
waited and waited and in compassion
knocked again, being loath to leave, thus
tufHe0 away. .ss.-t..as
1t came about, later in the day, that
'Melia Mary made some errand to the
Needle Rock, which Jim Rideout must
pass -on his -#ayshoAae from a search of
the ice for young seals; and when Jim
found her there he stopped to pass a
merry word or two; but she saw that the
hunt had once more been vain, and she
would not smile, for she could not.
do they be a west wind comm, Jim ~
she asked, anxiously.
Sure, doan't know, " said Jim.
'1s you sure?"
'sTher5 be none t. my mind.' he an
swered
-Is you fungry?9 she said, after 81
lence.
''Uh-huh Is you?"
.sUh-huh Barb'rous.''
Chilly Lun t. your house last eVen?'
he asked in a shamefaeed way
sIss,,
did un leave some something from
me?s She nodded.
s.'Capiin?''
i'Uh-huf Two,
1, did you eat uil 2,
.'sIssAal1, with a sigh.
ifi Was they geod r. he asked, grinning
; broad She nodded emphatically.
Wasn't they, thought Jim burst out.
His face shone with a smile. He smack
ed his lips as though he, too, had had a
part in the feast on those two little fish,
which, being young, were not much larger
than well grown sardines. Il found they