The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1904-07-27
b o S S
Observation-Disclosures

& rough brown dog sat at the
very edge Of the tumble down break
water. He was looking steadily sea-
ward. lie was evidently old, and
he was SCARED by many fights, but
bis sunken mouth, from which he
had lost many teeth, showed that he
would not fight again 7ictoriously.
( Sometimes he turned from his
gaze at sea and glanced behind him
at child who was sitting in e
wheelbarrow 9 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 Boss"
And then Boss wagged harder,
but he could not give much atten-
tion 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 It was
there that the Irish moss grew, and
at low tide the woman could gather
it. She thrust her arm down to the
shoulder each time for her handful
of moss. She was wet, sodden wet,
save for small place across her
back.
She had mans straw hat fasten-
ed by small rope tightly under her
chin. Her face looked 100 years
old-it was in truth seventy-old,
scanned and leathery, ard it was
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 wheelbaSrow always
waved her hat. Then q dim, beau
tiful smile would come in the faded
eyes.
'It's jest a-doin' Of her lots Of
good" she would say aloud. '1'm
awful glad I wheeled her down. I
wish now I'd brought her down
cAtener this summer"
Twice as she looked shoreward
ehe called out shrilly:
'Boss. you takef care Of her.
Won't you, BossT
Then Boss pricked up his ears
and shook his tail, and the girl
laughed and saidshe guessed she m
Boss could git along frst rate"
"We're used to 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 a piteous
quayer, and would not be comforted
even when the child said soothing
ly:
'Never mind, ,old fellowl"
But when the woman foundered
to her feet again and cried Cali
rightw the dog sat down.
The child sniffed the bracing
odor and stretched out her hands,
smiling happily.
To be sure, she could walk. but
i granny wheeled her TO the breakwa-
ter where she could see the moss
gathered
It was a low course of tides, and
now the water had gone fer 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 GONE
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 rnore money than her
grandmother, hut then she didn't
know much about money.
81 guess they don't know much
ebout dog" she told Molly, ON
! guess g longs ave got anything to
eat Boss IL have some of it. Ell,
old feller?"
Molly sank back ON her pillow
In the barrow. She amused herself
| by almost closing her eyes SO that
the sea seemed to come up nearer
| and crimple in sparks Of fire. Then
| she would open her lids wide, and
the great stretch Of water would
fash blindingly on her vision. She
played at this for a long time, and
| always in front Of her was the dog.
She had grown up in the conviction
that all was well If he was near.
i Soon everything grew delicionsly
dim and then clear, and the salt
smell was sweeter, and she was walk
/ ing over the hard sand as straight
as anybody, holding her head up
strongly. She did not know sha pzaa