The Utah County Democrat. [volume] (Provo City, Utah) 1898-1909, 1908-12-19

man was saving. slowly lowering NJ.
glass as Marie came up TO tho e. us
OF people who we're stralning
eyes seward Her anchors arc o,,,
he continued, but she cannot l,vo
such a gale under that strain. ana !,
she parts her cable she will % ~
| pieces on the rocks"
His words were scarcely aud,,,.
above the shrieking of the wind L'',
Marie heard, and there. amoug no,
rough fishermen, she kDelt and n7Ht.st
over and over again out of the choL'
ing fullness Of her heart, Holy Mother
save my Leon" The awful solemnitv
OF the scene touched their ropvh
hearts. and hats were dotted. ana
heads bowed, as the young wife prsved
to her God in that living gale.
And then, as II in mockery OF ali
things human. a mighty wave. might
Ter than any Of it's fellows, and fol.
lowing I'm the wake of two scarcelv
less mighty, broke over the Bretagne
and buried her beneath It's many ions
of foam-lashed water The vessel
swayed, trembled and disappeared be.
fore their very eyes
Two men were holding Marie now
II will 90 to him, He is calling met
she shrieked. 20, God. will no one
save hfm?"
The bronzed faces of the fisher.folk
were turned away each from the other
The salt spray was on their boards
but in their eyes was that Of which
they were ashamed.
Then they led her back TO the house
the little house that Leon had taken
her to only a few weeks ago. And
two of them watched into the gray Of
the morning. for meath oil skins the
fishers hearts are warm.
That was the third night. and stnl
she slept not The storm was diving
now. and moaning, together they
passed away-the fury Of grief and The
rage of the storm And for that day.
and for many days the great grief had
broken her mind
Storm and sunshine, day in and
day out, she sat down on the beach
and questioned the passers as 10 how
many days TO Christmas till her Leon
would come home; for had he not
said that he would come al Christ.
mas, at the glad time of the year, and
was not his word as the law among
the fisher.folk. II was so true? And
did she not pray every night TO the
Holy Mother to intercede for her, and
bring her Leon home? And the
masses that had been said for Leon.
were they not to bring him home.
too?
Poor little Marie. her mind, which
was like unto a childs. could not I'm.
derstand that the mass which Father
Dupre had said, had been to take him
to that other home; for the good IA.
ther had said mass for the repose Of
the souls of the men lying out there
In lie Bretagne
And then wonderful thing hap.
pcned. Many days after at the time
of Christmas. again the cry of lie
Brctagne rang through the streets Of
Arichat; and again was there much Of
horror in the cry, for though the sea
was calm now, there was lie Bretagne
slowly sailing into port and was not
lie Bretagne at the bottom OF the sea,
and all hands drowned?
Small wonder that the Drowned
faces We're blanched now, as the
fsher-folk lined up on the sand as
they had on that day two moons be.
fore.
What sorcery is this?" they asked
each other II was La Bretagne. they
know her as they knew their own
houses. Spirit hands were sailing her,
for on her decks no one moved.
a solemn hush settled down upon
them; few spoke. and when they did
II was with bated breath. What evil
was this? for good It could not be.
Twas Marie who had first seen the
ship. Had her prayers worked This
magic?
Nearer and nearer the dread ship
came, until but a short way out from
the shore she stopped, and swung TO
an anchor Invisible hands had an
chored her. for there was the cable
right enough, running out from her
bow, as she lifted lazily TO the long
ground swell.
Take me TO my Leon" Marie plead
ed of the awe-struck fishermen. "he is
calling me. DO you not see that his
boats are washed away?"
Shamod by the presence of the WON
en-. four stout fishermen brought up a
boat, and, taking Marie with them,
rowed of to the ship that was like a
phantom
Stay with MS, ma petite annie the
iisherwomen pleaded with Marie, As
well had they striyen to check the
MaAs Of The wind.
How silent the ship was as the boat
glided under her stern Not sound,
not a voice; no movement, only the
lap, lap, lap of the waters against her
wooden sides
The men crossed themselves as Du'
mont, the bravest fisherman in all
Arichat, rose up, and, with blanched
checks, caught his boat hook In Le
Bretagne's rail,
How low she was In the water; as
they stood up In their boat they couln
see across her deck-not across dlu
they see, for half way they saw some
thing which caused them 10 shudder'
and beg of little Marie to stop in Inc
boat,
But Marie had risen and seen, TOO
aud with cry that rang in the ears
of those four men until their dying
day, she sprang up the side OF the
ship, and stood on the slippery Shiny