The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1906-07-26

Whether she returned his love OF ~,
was the thing he was worrying owe
Harry Stevens was New York scull
tor, aud hc had desired 10 bring out
marble bust OF Miss Rascomb and ais
had fallen Ia love with her. As /
whether she would consent 10 b
"sculped" and marry him was ma
ter that gave him headaches. Both th
artist and the sculptor had sisters thu
vese friendly with Ruth Bascomb, an
this was the general situation for Ia
playwright 10 build on
The present situation was that Rutl
Bascomb's mother. who was faIrl,
wealthy widow, had become posscsse,
OF n house boat and had determined /,
tioat around Princess bay and up th,
Shrewsbury river for month or so
Her guests were 10 be the artist ans
his sister and the sculptor and his sis
ter and two or three other persons
A day was appointed tug engaged
to tow the house boat down New Yorl
bay and leave her at her first anchor
age, and all was going merrily when
the villain hidden In the thIcket show.
ed his hand.
Ii always has been suspected that he
was villain belonging TO the same
club as the artist and sculptor He
became aware Of the house boat party,
and out Of pure deviltry and from no
desire to see the sculptor get ahead Of
the game he worked his little trick.
The day before the boat was TO sail
he fixed up a telegram calling Harold
Strong to Philadelphia TO see about
painting the portrait OF millionaire
The artists return was indefinite
He knew that he was leaving a rival
behind him, and he knew that the Co
lonial Dame, as the craft was called,
would scarcely have come 10 anchor In
the bay and the moon risen above the
waters when that cheeky sculptor
would be talking soft nonsense to Ruth
Bascomb, but the artistic spirit was
strong within him.
He arranged with his sister to inter.
rupt IL the sculptor tried to take adyan-
tage OF the occasion. Feeling himself
rs secure as any man ever can feel
where a woman Is concerned, he de-
parted on his mission, and the stately
Colonial Dame also departed on hers.
Sometimes millionaire can be found
sitting on his front steps and smoking
fairly good cigar and waiting to be
interviewed. Again he Is as elusive as
the midnight mosquito. The one the
artist sought was elusive. 1t took a
whole day to run him down. and when
be was finally brought to bay his reply
was:
Young man, don't try any OF your
games on me II you want
don't like the look OF you. II you are
honest, then some one has made fool
Of you; IL you are confidence man,
then try the first corner grocery"
Harold Strong had been bunkoed. II
was only natural that he should believe
the game had been played by his rival.
He didn't wait to devour even sand
wich before catching train for New
York. For three hours he sat In a
chair car and murdered the sculptor.
lie killed him in seven different ways
and was planning the eighth when he
arrived nt a good sized town In Penn
sylvania and was asked by the porter
II he wished to stop there. He had got
into car that had been switched of
ut a junction on to another road while
be was doing the numbering act
II was noon when the artist reached
New York. II was o'clock before
be began his hunt for some craft TO
take him down TO Princess bay and lay
him alongside the house boat. The
sculptor had had one moonlight night
In which to weave his net OF romance
around the victim, but he should not
have another. The artist tried TO char
ter all sorts Of crafts from an Albany
day boat to a sand barge, but the after
noon wore away and night was coming
on before he landed at the foot Of
street, Brooklyn. and In
Captain Jlnks Of the Merry
Sal.
"Can you charter me TO find house
boat In Princess bay tonightr repeat
ed Captain Jlnks as he bent his head
to scratch the back OF his neck. "Yes,
sir, reckon you can II you've got a
twenty dollar bill about you. You've
got a schooner right here which Is not
much to look at compared with some
but II there Is anything on
land or water that she can't pick up
I'd like TO see It. That's her great holt
young man--picklng up things. There's
goin' to be fog tonight as sures you
live, but " don't bit that house boat
plumb center before midnight then I'll
never sing gospel hymns OF Cape Hat
teras ag'in."
Harold Strong closed with the offer
The crew OF the Merry Sal consisted
OF the captain and lunkhead OF a
young man and boy OF ten who had
run away from home and was trying
a life on the pillows. The captain look
ed upon the artist as a husband pursu-
Ing an eIopIng wife; the lunkhead look.
ed upon him as an idiot for giving up
e20 when the captain would have tax
EN- $40. and the runaway boy figured
II out that he was some sort OF CRATER
escaping from the police.
The opinion Of tie crew did not affect
Mr.. Strong, however. lie helped 10 cast
OF the schooner and cant her head the
right way and hoist the mainsnll, and
presently she was careering down the
bay and avoiding as many statues OF
Liberty. mcn.of.war and Staten Island
docks as she conveniently could. What
she couldn't avoid she crawied over
until she struck deep water on the
other side. She STRUCK the fog Mt Fort
Hamilton, and then the anxious artist
asked:
Captain. isn't this going 10 make u
difficult for us 10 find the house boaiT'
AS0t al all. my son-not III ALL" was
the confident reply u told you we
should have q fog. but that II would
make no difference The Merry sal Is
q -sallIn' Of herself. She's a-follerin' OF
her own nose. I've told her that
want her 10 hit house boat called ths
Colony Damned. and she'll DO II or