Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1908-10-08

Mrs. Dowsett can get us some break
F, fast"
Eggs and bit of fish, sir, I've nc
doubt" the man replied.
They descended the steep bank,
which kept the waters of the creek
from overlooking the marshland, and
Mrs. Dowsett, after the situation was
explained to her, promised a substan-
tial meal in twenty minutes. She was
a lean, pale-faced woman, and her
body was bent with labour and the
damp Of the marshes. But there was
a kindly smile on her worn face. and
Laura felt that she would find all the
| sympathy of good heart under the
somewhat forbidding exterior.
| After an excellent breakfast, dur.
ing which the two lovers talked cheer
fully on the most commonplace sub
jects, John Shil lit a cigarette and,
thoughtfully.
1T will be no good my leaving
here for two hours, Laurie he said;
Il can't possibly row up the creek to
Black Hall till the tide begins to
| flow. Shall we have walk round the
| island?"
Yes" she answered in low voice.
81 should like it. The loneliness Of
this place fascinates me-
1t was an ordinary reply to an ordi-
nary question, but her voice trem-
bled. For she knew that the brief
period Of quiet friendship was over
ana that the hour had come in which
she was TO pit the strength of her love
against the honour of the man who
loved her.
This is wonderful said Laura, as
they walked along the high bank
which surrounded the island. 81 have
never seen anything like it before"
1T seems strange after Laverstone
and the Stonewold Hills," he replied,
''but one gets used to il in these parts.
AT first the fairness and desolation
depressed me, but now | am inclined
to think that it has charm of its
own"
''Yet it must be dreadful to live here
always she said Poor Mrs Dow
sett. no wonder she looks white and
ugly and old. Yet the man looks we'll
enough"
"Ah, that is the unfairness of life in
the Essex flats" he replied ''The men
go about their work on the water, and
fine healthy work ii is, TOO. This
chap works on the oyster beds farth-
er up the creek, and he IS sort OF
Waterman of the oyster fisheries. But
the women spend all their time OH the
land, and you can see the mark OF
the soil in their faces Ague, malaria,
rheumatism, these are the devils OF
the marshes, and it is the women who
writhe In their clutches. Yet they
bear it all patiently for their hus-
bands sakes."
Laura was silent, and looked out
across the lonely land TO the still
more lonely sea. Her life had been
full OF great tragedies, OF events which
had scared both heart and brain. Yet
she wondered as she looked at the
wide bank of glistening mud and the
brown sluicing tide. and the dull
stiffness which seemed the keynote
Of the place, whether after all there
was any tragedy to equal the monot-
ony of existence in land like this.
She, at least lived; she had been
iuoFeu ny StiouS pdSSiOuS, anu Deell
scorched by living flame. But Mrs.
Dowsett could never have known any
thing but the dreariness Of life.
Poor souls" she said, after
long pause, and there were tears in
her eyes.
ooh, they are quite content" Shil
replied, land they have what some of
us would give much to possess a
contented mind and a quiet sense of
duty. They make no fuss about it,
and if anyone were to suggest that
they were heroic, they would laugh.
They have their own ideas Of heroism.
Many of their husbands and their
brothers are heroes in their eyes =
men who have saved life at sea- and
who have been through hardships
which are never recounted in the daily
papers They do not realise that the
men are alive, and they are little bet
ter than dead"
Save that they do their duty"
Laura replied slowly, land surely that
is the highest life of ALL
''Shall we sit down." said John
Shil gently, 1.-The timbers Of that
wreck seem dry enough"
(To be Continued.)