The daily Alaskan., 1907-05-16
A BOatman'S Story
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! I hired @ Superabnualeu uSusIAaI' to
 sail me. One afternoon as We were leaving the dock a woman not quite
 arrived at middle age came down lead, l Ing a. little boy and had some private ! conversation with my sailor. uotica& that he spoke to her very gently, even anectlouately. and patted her son on 1 his curly head There was something
 in the appearance of the woman that
 Interested me Either she had expert
 euced some deep grief or had commit. ted some sin for which she could not ! forgive herself. But of all this my
 conceptions were vague. While talH ! Ing to the old man there was shad
 ow on her face, but on turning away 1 her lips parted in a happy smile.
 Once on the water, after much plead ] ing sud many promises, l got a story
 from my navigator:
 1 "I knew Annie Miller when she was
 A slender little thing of fifteen. All l her people were dshor folks, as every 1 body in this place is. Her father had l bad luck and got very poor Al Bar l ker. feIer about thirty-dve who'5 1 gone 10 seu and come back with sol9o ! prize money tor towin Iu a deserrea l vessel. berrieudej him. and the two made 1t up between 'em that Al was
 to marry Annie. Meanwhile Annie l had grown to be twenty and as pretty ! a craft as you ever saw. She'd a lover
 yR the water, but he made I0ug yoy. ages. so her father and Al had a good ! chance to bring her round. They soon got her before the wind and sailed i her into the port of matrimony. But when they got her there she was all
 stoye in and ready t0 sink. ] Al spent a few mouths at home. 1 then went on a long cruise. He'd been i gone a year when iu comes Jack Tuck | or. Auu.e.s o.d lover. and when he ! finds Auula married be sinks right
 down on the beach, covers his face . with his hands and shakes like ship buckiu, up against waves driven by hurricane. Then without goin' to ! see even his 0ld mother ho lights out and doesu'p show up again for another . two years
 "Oua day body ot a man was found up In the inlet There were certain marks abou, .t that led some people to rhiuk it might be Al Barker. who.tbeen
 Co sea for a long cruise without being heard from. They called for Annie to decide the matter and she decided that ] lt was. so they buried iL and head stone was put mp over the grave, sacred to the memory of Alfred Barker, The widow put on m0uru.n' but there was not much grief and when Jack Tucker came in again she picked up mighS quick. Jack wanted her to marry bin, right of. but she said she feared she might have been mistaken abOur ger husband baIu' dead ayi put him oE He went on another cruise, and wher
 he came back. no change barln' takeE place as re-ards -L. AEn!e married Jack TIa loft cru!sIG'. tr-az1. fisher man and s,r.ed down rigbs here h time the ur-.e Ie..a- you saw with her at ta. dock came along. and the Tucker
 family Was happy. only ' noticed that Annie was kind 5s worried and a.wayB seemed to be Iool,a. out for somethin' . pr some ouo.
 Tt was five years ago coulo' No vpmber. Tho Tucker kid N2s ab2ul six months old. bis fether and Wot1ef lav.n' been marrl.a a year and a halt That was tns glH sft bad the big storG 1 that swept the coast from Nantucket to Hgt-aras. In the middle of the night ! I heard a boom out at sea. Then the ] life savers went by ln a hury I got
 un dressed myself and went out. A . shin was dr.ttln' In. dTagg.n' her an . .,.ar. She stuck on the bar and vent . ,5 urpr,s in an hour Then wrecEagc ruI g3 lies came in. strewin the Oeaa Just as 1t was comin' light turned 1 and SAW Annie Tucker just behind me. She was white as a corpse. Takn' me 1 by the sleeve. she led me, without word. to a little cove between two ] rocks. There lay a. dead body. At ! once I recognized Al Barker.
 ..I took in the situation at once. She'd been Twin with Jack while another
 mans wife.
 "I stood ID5E.u from the body to her
 and from her to the body. She was picture Of despair. Then an idea oc.
 curred to me. GoIn' up beyond high
 sde and taklu' a bit of board that had
 been washed ashore, I began to dig In ! the sand.
 "'What you goIn to dor Annie
 asked.
 "'Bury btm. Nobody but you and me
 knows that he haiu.5 been dead all this ume. and ! don't propose they shalp
 "I dug a shallow grave, put the body , ln It and covered 1t over with sand.
 Then took Annie by the hand and , said to her.
 "If you value the peace uud comfort
 zs your husband and son, keep this a
 seTet'
 "She fist threw her arms about my neck aud cried
 .I sent her home and watched the
 grave all day to sec that the tide didnt } 1 go high enough to wash out the body, ? orf fHa+ night uncovered it put lt