Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-10-15
DAILY STORY
A BOATMAN'S STORY.
TOriSinal.1

| leaving the dock a woman not quite
| arrived at middle age came down lead
| ing a little boy and had some private
| conversation with my sailor. / noticed
that he spoke TO her very gently. even
| affectionately, and patted her son OIL
| his curly head. There was something
| in the appearance of the woman thai
interested me. Either she had expert
enced some deep grief or had commit
| ted some sin for which she could not
1 forgive herself. But of all this my
| conceptions were vague. While talk
| ing TO the old man there was shad-
ow on her face but on turning away
her lips parted in happy smile.
Once on the water, after much plead
ing and many promises, | got story
| from my navigator:
Il knew Annie Miller when she was
| slender little thing OF fifteen. AT
| her people were fisher folks. as every
| body in this place is. Her father had
bad luck and got very poor Al Bar
ker, a Teller about thirty-tive who'd
gone To sea and come back with some
prize money for town in a deserted
vessel. befriended him. and the two
made 1t up between 'em that Al was
TO marry Annie. Meanwhile Annie
had grown TO be twenty and as pretty
a craft as you ever saw. Shed lover
on the water. but he made long vOy-
ages, so her father and Al had a good
chance to bring her round. They soon
got her before the wind and sailed
her into the port of matrlmony. But
when they got her there she was all
stove in and ready TO sink.
"AI spent a few months at home,
then went on a long cruise. He'd been
gone year when in comes Jack Tuck
er. Annies old lover, and when he
finds Annie married he sinks right
down on the beach. covers his face
with his hands and shakes like ship
buckin' up against waves driven by
a hurricane. Then without goin' to
see even his old mother he lights out
and doesn't show up again for another
two years.
"One day a body of a man was found
up in the inlet. There were certain
marks about it that led some people 10
think it might be Al Barker. who'd been
to sea for long cruise without being
heard from. They called for Annie to
decide the matter. and she decided that
it was, so they buried it, and n head
stone was put up over the grave, sacred
to the memory of Alfred Barker. The
widow put on mournin', but there was
not much grief. and when Jack Tucker
came in again she picked up mighty
quick. Jack wanted her to marry him
right off. but she said she feared she
might have been mistaken about her
husband bein' dead and put him off.
He went on another cruise, and when
he came back. no change havin' taken
place as regards AL Annie married
Jack. He left cruisin. turned fisher
man and settled down right here. In
time the little Teller you saw with her
at the dock came along. and the Tucker
family was happy. only l noticed that
Annie was kind of worried and always
seemed to be lookin' out for somethn'
or some one.
1T was five years ago comm No
vember The Tucker kid was about
six months old. his father and mother
havin' been married n year and half.
That was the fall we had the big storm
that swept the coast from Nantucket to
Hatteras. In the middle of the night
heard a boom out at sea. Then the
life savers went by in a hurry. l got
up. dressed myself and went out \
ship was driftin' in. draggin' her an
Choir. She stuck on the bar and went
TO pieces in an hour. Then wreckage
and bodies came in. strewin' the beach
"Just as it was comm light / turned
and saw Annie Tucker just behind me-
She was white as a corpse. Takin' me
by the sleeve. she led me. without a
word, to a little cove between two |
rocks. There lay n dead body. At |
once 1 recognized Al Barker.
II took in the situation at once. Shed |
been Twin with Jack while another |
mans wife.
II stood lookin' from the body TO her |
and from her TO the body. She was a
picture of despair. Then an idea oc-
cured to me. Coin up beyond high |
tide and takin' bit of board that had
been washed ashore, began to dig in
the sand.
"'What you goin' to do? Annie
asked
g Bury him. Nobody but you and me
Knows that he hain't been dead all this l.
line, and don't propose they shall
Il dug n shallow grave, put the body l
n it and covered it over with sand. /
Then I took Annie by the hand and /
;aid to her:
If you value the peace and comfort
IF your husband and son. keep this a
secret
''She jist threw her arms about my |,
leck and cried.
Il sent her home and watched the II
rave all day to see that the tide didn't
20 high enough to wash out the body. II
nd that night 1 uncovered It. put it X
n my boat, and, sailin' out into deep II
water, dropped it. loaded, into the
cean."
The old man paused, pulled the main
beet In little. then finished: II