The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-10-23

III,
be fish" he went on, acenting each
item of the list, half Quintal O.
fish two smoked salmon, quarter
barr'l o. flour an three bushel o po-
tatoes. They be all t. my hoame,' he
said. with his face close to hers. Fish
an salmon an flour an potatoes an
tea"
She started from him. "'Tis a
shame"
Ills noa shame!" he cried. "They
be mine. / cotched un, an L groWed
IN. I saved un. / went hungry t
keep un t. this day. They be noa one
has a right to un. They be mine. IT'S
noa shame"
Suddenly she became quiet, and her
silence was tragically significant. Then
she spoke in a low. eager voice.
Smoked salmon?" she said, while
her eyes glistened. "'Tis t my taste ;,
"An' tea" she continued. under her
breath.
''Iss, an tea"
The maid gave him sidelong glance.
Were it untouched by greed 1t 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-ocquet-
, fish.
Ills enough for two" she said,
significantly.
"'Tis. till the ice breaks up an
the fish strike-'tis more than
enough" said Elihu.
She LAUGHED coyly. She flashed a
glance of invitation. Demurely, she
dropped her eyes. This was all in
stinctive.
They be enough for two" she
lanohp6
"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,' he said,
quickly. He do be willin t wed us
two
"Do he?"
'Iss, for fair-sized fish, we'll salt
ed. He do be great on havin' his fish
sailed"
A ceremony performed by the pa
triarch of the community was all that
convention demanded.
Wont you?" he pleaded. Sure,
I'll have the Bishop t. do it over, when
he do come this summer"
Still she hesitated.
"Woan't you, 'Melia Mary?"
'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 light
ed eyes and dusk. when an arm, en-
circling her, had stirred a sweet dis
quietude within. and she had Won
dered and trembled and rejoiced: and
this first rapture is like a dream Of
heaven in that, though it vanish in the
press of life, it never passes out of
memory, but returns again with up
lifting power. So the soul of Melia
Mary was taken up into the cloudy
places of sentiment, and there it HOY
cred, striving, striving with its Grip
pied wings. to mount to the glowing
heights above, where true love is:
striving, striving, striving with it's Door
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 called back the dusk
and the light in the eye and the en-
circling arm. 1t was, indeed, as
THOUGH Love, all-glorious. finding a
hut in a wilderness, Knocked on the
door, and waited and waited and in
compassion knocked again, being loath
TO iedNe, tnuS turned away.
1t came about. later in the day, that
'Melia Mary made some errand to the
Needle Rock, which Jim Rideout must
pass on his way home 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 I doan't know" said Jim.
us you Sure?'
'They be none t my mind" he an
swered.
us you hungry" she said. after d
silence.
''Uh-huh. Is you?"
''Uh-huh. Barb'rous."
"Billy Luff t. your house last even?"
he asked in a shamefaced way.
"Iss"
did un leave some--something-
from me?' She nodded.
''Caplin? ''
''Uh-huh. Two"
''Did you eat un?''
''Iss-all.' with a sign.
''Was they good?" he asked. grin
ming broadly. She nodded emphati
cally.
out. His face shone with a smile. He
smacked 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. 81 found they two caplin
t Aunt Phoebe's stage loft. They
wasn't noa moare."
'They be fish t. Ragged Harbor,'
she said, abruptly.
Who has un? he demanded.
"An' flour, an potatoes. an'-an-
tea"
"Who has un?" he cried. "Surc,
an I'll get you"
"Elihu Gale" she said, quietly.
"They be enough for two"
Jim's grasp of the situation was not
slow to come. He perceived that
Elihu had made offer to sell for the
maid herself.
BE you goain' t. wed un, 'Melia?"
he asked.
VI,