The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1905-01-13
.. B o S S


q
ward He was evidently old, anC
he was SCARED by many fights, bu'
his sunkcn mouth, from which h,
had lost many teeth, showed that h,
would not fight again VIGOROUSLY.
Sometimes he turned from hi:
gaze at sea and glanced behind him
at a child who was sitting in a
wheelbarrow a few feet away. Every
time he glanced thus he slightly
wagged his stump Of tail. and the
child smiled, or she said in a soft
voice:
Good Boss"
And then Boss wagged harder,
but he could not give much atten-
ton TO his companion, for has 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
al low tide the woman could gather
ii. 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 a mans straw hat fasten-
ell by a small rope tightly under her
chin. Her face looked 100 years
old-it was in truth seventy-old,
scanned and leathery, and il 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
good" she would say aloud. I'm
awful glad | wheeled her down. |
wish now Id brought her down
oftener this summer
Twice as she looked shoreward
she called out shrilly:
Boss, you take care 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 git along first rate"
Were used 10 it, amt We,
Boss Z"
When she SAID this, the dog got
up, came TO her side. gave her a
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
Never mind, old fellow
But when the woman houndered
to her feet again and cried "All
right" the dog sat down.
The child shifted the bracing
odor and stretched out her hands,
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 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 we're 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, On
| guess s longs we got anything to
eat Boss II have some Of it. En-,
old feller?"
Molly sank back on her pillow
in the barrow. She amused herself
by almost closing her eyes 50 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
flash blindingly on her vision. She
played at this for 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