Canyon City news. (Canyon City, Tex.) 1903-1908, 1904-07-22
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ward. He was evidently old, and
he was SCARED by many fights, but
his sunken mouth, from which he
had lost many teeth, showed that he
would not fight again victoriously.
Sometimes he turned from his
gaze at sea and glanced behind him
at child who was sitting in a
whcelbarrow a few feet away. Every
time he glanced thus he slightly
wagged his stump of a tail, and the
child smiled, or she said in soft
voice:
Good Boss"
And then Boss waggcd 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
it. She thrust her arm down to the
shoulder each time for her handful
of moss. She was wet, sodden wet,
save for a small place across her
back.
She had a mans straw hat fastcn-
ed by small rope tightly under her
chin. Her face looked 100 years
old-it was in truth scventy-old,
scanned and leathcry, and it 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
dazzlcd by the glare Of the water.
When she looked up thus, the little
girl in the whccIbarrow always
waved her hat. Then a dim, beau
tiful smile would come in the faded
eyes.
Its jest a-doin' of her lots of
good" she would say aloud. I'm
awful glad wheeled her down. |
wish now Id brought her down
oftcncr this summer"
Twice as she looked shorcward
she called out shrilly:
Boss, YOU take care of her.
Won't you, Boss ?"
Then Boss prickcd up his cars
and shook his tail, and the girl
laughed and said she "gucssed She N
Boss could git along first rate"
Were used TO it, amt we,
Boss
When she SAID this, the dog got
up, came to her side, gave her
swift lick across the check, 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
quavcr. and would not be comfortcd
even when the child said soothing
y:
Never mind, old fcllow.'
But when the woman iloundcrcd
to her feet again and cried All
rightw the dog sat down.
The child smiled the bracing
odor and stretched out her hands,
happily.
10 be sure, she could walk, but |
granny wheeled her to the brcakwa-
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 10 boat, as most of |
the mosscrs had-thcrc 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 her
grandmother, but then she didn't
know much about money.
Il guess they don't know much
about a dog" she told Molly, "'n'
| guess S longs we got anything TO
eat Boss II have some of it. Eth,
old fcllcr :"
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 crimplc in sparks of fire. Then
she would open her lids wide, and J
the great stretch of water would
flash 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.
Soon everything grew deliciously
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 /