Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-11-10
CHAPTER XVII.
Polly Speaks.

CHAPTER XVII.
Polly Speaks.
The winter closed in early, an old
fashioned New England winter. Tre-
mendous storms swept the coast.
Night after night lay in my cham
Der at Cats Tavern, and heard the
rafters rock and the old windows
shake with the violence Of the gales.
Blackport harbor was locked in ice,
vessels went by sheathed in rattling
mail. Snow covered the marshes, and
spread a white desolation over the
town, which had grown very dull and
silent after the flight of its summer
population.
In fair weather and foul DR.. Vandine
was abroad. His practice had rapidly
increased. Throughout Blackport and
in adjacent towns also, he was con-
stantly in demand. We saw but little
of him at the inn, and even when there
he was always shut up with his books,
always absorbed and silent. Perhaps
It was this continual labor which made
him look so grave and changed. In
deed, he began to seem like stranger
! to me.
The hurts that I had received from
Regnault's knife at the pits still
troubled me. I did not gain flesh or
strength, and was often weary and
depressed.
One day while toiling up the inn
stairs with basket Of fuel for one of
! the guests chambers, I was overtaken
suddenly by DR.. Vandine. He snatch
ed the burden from my hand and car
ried it himself to the room above.
mo more of this, Polly" he said,
sternly. do you want the wound In
your side to reopen? You must do
no hard work at present. Mercy Poole
assured me she would not require 1t
of you."
And she does not" I answered.
But cannot receive full wages at the
inn and not work"
You see, Mercy Poole had paid me
for all the time Of my absence at Grey
lock Woods-not a cent had she de-
Quoted from my weekly dues, and 1
thought 1t wonderful generosity, for
Mercy Poole loved money, and though
kind to her help, she exacted from
them all that was her lawful right.
Never mind that" said the doctor.
"I shall not allow you to kill your
self before my eyes. 1 have settled
your affairs with Mercy Poole-that
is," hastily, "she knows that you must
rest until you have regained your
strength. If you go about, getting
knife wounds intended for other peo-
pie and losing in consequence, the
| wages of two or three months. how
will you ever accumulate money
enough to begin the search for your
lost sister-the Nan Of whom, blythe
way, I have not heard you speak of
late. Are the distractions Of Black
port driving her, at last, from your
memory, Polly?"
Ny heart thumped violently.
NO" l faltered: "oh, no."
And you haven't abandoned your
original design of finding her, eh?" he
urged.
| I did not answer. I was thinking OF
what he had said about my wages.
Suddenly it burst upon me that he was
at the bottom of Mercy Poole's gen.
erosity, and that from his pocket, and
not hers, my full pay for the last two
months had come! Besides all this,
he had absolutely refused to accept
anything from me for professional
services.
You always called me sharp, DR..
Vandine," 1 flashed out, "and so I am
at least, sharp enough to see what
you have done. And do not like it
oh, cannot bear it,"
He put on a highly aggrieved air.
| Look here, Polly-no nonsense!
For years have regarded you as
something belonging to myself. Have
1 not tried again and again to keep
you out of an untimely grave? Didn't
consign you to that mob Of Stecles
who drudged you nearly to death? and
wasn't it I who brought you down
here to Blackport, where the knife OF
a ruffian all but made an end of you
at once? Are these the favors you
cannot bear, Polly? Poor, deluded
child. I never did a decent thing for
you in my life! You are under no
more obligations to me than to the
man in the moon: but watt" His
brown face lighted up with some OF
its old, gay glow. Heaven knows,
Polly. would fain have helped you to
better fortune long ago; but the fact
is. I never at one time. possessed five
dollars that l could honestly call my
own. Impecuniosity has ever been my
besetting trouble. OF late, however
the wheel of fortune has taken a new
turn with Dick Vandine. The freak
ish. tickle goddess is smiling, where
formerly she frowned. My prospects
grow brilliant. l now have a plan for
YOU. Polly. After the holidays, which
are. as you know, close at hand, am
going to take you away from Cats
Tavern and send you to school-in
fact 1 have already engaged board and
tuition for you at the best young
ladies' seminary in the state"
1 was speechless. He did not wait
for an answer, but added, simply:
mind, but could never execute it till