The Salt Lake herald-Republican. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1909-1918, 1909-08-29

or enemies of the elements according TO
his skill, were the halcyon days of the
sea, and had looked back to them with
| an almost tender regret. Now for the
first time ne found a responsive listener.
q fellow believer rather, who shared his
| longing for the vanished romance and
sentiment, and under the encourage
ment Of her quick sympathy and under
standing he talked with a simple elo-
1uence which was more effective than
either OF them guessed.
Then was the time for a Watchful aunt
| to have looked to windward and have
put q dragon uncle on sentry-go. for the
step to more personal things was easy.
almost inevitable John was soon talk
I ing, with the same simple eloquence OF
deep enthusiasm and love of his own
people, and through his eyes Helen
Minturn saw the sleepy town on the
shore of Cape Cod bay, with the tidal
creek bUbbling in the marshes and the
ole square white house Jn the hill above
them from which so many generations
Of Griersons have gone down to the sea
land where so many GriersOn women
and children have waited. with the pa
thetic patience of sea-bOrn folk, for the
return of q ship. or for the news which
makes a blank of life at first.
AND so at last. one afternoon, Miss
Minturn heard how something had
called John GTiersOn Gom the easy path
of college and profession which had
been marked out for him, and had made
"a sailor of him, too. Somehow or other,
John said. he thought it was the memo
ry OF all those GriersOns whohad been
walters on the sea which had summoned
him.
His tongue was stumbling enough
TT-f7 he I'D 70 e 10
unspeakable things as his own emotions.
and in the midst OF his self-analysis nc
broke off short. q don't know why I'm
telling you all this" he said.
Because I'd rather hear it than any
thing else any one could say" said the
girl gently. You just had to go, didn't
you?"
Yes" John answered simply. q had
to go"
viously. so many Of us can't puzzle
out our place I'm life at all. and you
found yours without a struggle"
Except for my mother" John cor
rected. "She had lost her father and
her brother and my father at sea al
ready"
Il know" said the girl, and was silent
for a little do you know" she said
at last, Il think i'm spite of that she'd
rather you'd be where you belong And
you. you don't regret it, do you?"
No" John muttered. THAT is, only
sometimes" he added honestly. His
eyes caught hers, and hung there, and
there was a longing in them which
brought the blood to the girls cheek.
Sometimes" he said earnestly. as if the
words came from him without his viii.
when ] think that I can never hope for
the things other men take as a matter
Of course, home, and-and-" John
glancing sideways at his companions
Glowing face, realized that he was talk
another world. and became speechelss
once more. Partly for shame's sake.
partly for something else All at once
he knew how sorry he was that this
Girl with the prettily commanding WAYS
did belong to a world so far from his
And Miss Minturn, infected by his awlz-
wardness perhaps, was silent too.
That night-it was the sixth out from
yokohama. and the HankOw was labor
ing in the trough of a heavy swell
swell that makes down from the north
ward along there-John sat I'm the smol-
ing room after all the other men had
dropped away to bed. deep in his own
uneasy thoughts. At last he knew what
q scurvy trick fate had played him IN
that week which he was to remember
regretfully ali his life. If only ne had
not been a sailor, or if the girl had
come Of seafaring folk-JOhn in his
mOdesty felt that he had nothing to
offer which could tempt her, and I'm his
honesty he knew that nothing one could
offer would make it right for man to
let a tenderly nurtured woman share