Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1905-01-04
AfleI The SloIIll.


The storm had lulled. The sea,
churned up the night before into a
seething, heavy caldron of pitch-black
waters, had subsided now into a rest
less, uneasy swell, rising and falling
like a woman's bosom after storm
of sobs. The wind, too, had fallen
light. At midnight 1t had come with
q sudden roar out Of the north, bear
ing on Its back scud Of sleet and
spray, and driving helpless ships be-
fore 1t on pitiless shores.
The fishing boats had been out all
night in the storm and stress. and
now they were struggling back into
harbor, blowing over the bar in the
wake Of laboring steam tugs. or conf
dent in their knowledge of things nau-
teal, making their slow way in UNI
aided. Not a few bore marks of bat
tie, here torn sail. there rent cord
age. or spar snapped of, or bit of
the bulwark torn away. A little
crowd stood ON the pierhead watching
them, townsfolk, keeply interested in
the sight all too familiar; fishermen,
calm, phlegmatic, silently critical;
strangers, verbose, excited.
Foremost OF all was a group of wo-
men, fish graters from the denes on
the other side of the river, where
their work was to clean herring all
day at long, low fish-f1lled troughs.
They could not work that morning,
anO;akxy nod fora oryyn1lv
es0-Goes.skkaJss ~ s.serc wnst ND KNOW
ing whether they had come safe and
sound out of last nights hell of wind
driven rain squalls, Of foam, and spray
and raging, turbulent waters. So,
leaving the troughs, the women tied
their shawls tight over their heads,
and. in their working dress Of rough
serge, water boots and briny oilskin
aprons, came to the harbor's mouth
to watch and wait and perhaps to
welcome home their men.
That's hard work a-waitin'," MUIR
INJURED one Of them, slight, delicate
looking girl. to her neighbor, who was
the keen wind.
Don't you worrit, gal Liz" said
the other conso1ingly; ''the Valiant'll
be in afore you knows where We are,
see II she amt.
Liz shook her head and the tears
welled up into plaintive gray eyes. II
wish I wor like you, Marthy," she
said, "brace an heartsome; allus
fare SO timid when Jem's at sea, an
today I'm muss'n ever. Did We hear
the wind in the night?" she went on,
her voice low and terrorful, that
Jared ter grip hold O. the house. an
worry 1t like cat VII mouse;
right shook in my bed, did, athinkin'
o. Jem out in it, an at last couldn't
STAN 1t no longer. just slipped out,
too. an walked up an down the beach
30 as to be bit higher to him.
wish there warn't no sea-" she said,
shivering, "ter part people an scare
them wot's ashore"
Marthy looked down at her tender
ly. IVY, that wouldn't do nohow,
Liz" she said; you an Jem wouldn't
never ha' come acrost each other if
there hadn't ha' been no sea, nor no
smackin' nor nothin'."
But Liz had knowledge of which
Marthy, with all her sympathy, knew
nothing. ivy, yes we should, Mar
thy" she said quietly. "Nothin'
couldn't ha' kept us two apart; we
was forced ter come together we
was"
Moo n Uhi1a tho of
fishing boats struggled by, and the
crowd watched them. Presently
steam tug neared the harbor's mouth,
towing some half-frozen tawny-sailed
smacks, two abreast. The smacks
waved this way and that, and the tug
looked like a mother with a troop of
overgrown daughters, little inclined
to get out of hand.
The Perry ha' got her work cut
out this time" some one said.
The smacks came into full view
round the bend.
Halo. what's up WI that there
hindermost one, han't she got ner flag
half-mast?"
A score of eager, incredulous faces
craned and peered. 1t was true:
there hung the tell-tale flag, pregnant
signal of death and disaster. The
faces fell
Must ha' lost hand last night"
A woman pressed forward to the
very edge of the pier, pale and agon-
lied.
Whats wrong wi Liz?" cried some
one.
Hold yer noise" with an angry
nudge. that there boats the Valiant
wot her man Jem Wacey's aboard
on"
Every heart went out to Liz in her
anxiety, every eye scanned the Va
liant's deck wnere the crew were
gathered, eager to recognize Jem.
An ominuus silence fell. Two men
were missing-Jem and the smacks
master. The rest of them stood there,
a detected, crest-fallen little group.
A cry of agony broke from LIS