The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1912-11-07
By Coningsby Dawson
copyrighted 1911 by Harper & Bros


line To the lcit Of the trees lowered the broken
Jagged walls of what appeared be . ruine'l church
lie gazcd at puzzled gropug after the associations
which it suggested Like blurred ghosts they raced
through his mind refusing TO concentrate and avoiding
capture. lie moved reluctantly toward the town
At the inn he asked mechanically for accommodation
Like slcep-waller, he noticed nrehng now hnton
Strawcss, unlike the open country. aroused no memo
rcs His thoughts wandered back along the ribbon 81
white road TO where it vanished III the clump OF trees
on the hillside Only once, as he was falling OH 10
sleep did his reason Itself asking why and how
He thrust aside irraby he had returned to the home
of his ancestors.
He awoke late He did not rise at once; he was re-
mcmbering He had been somewhere IN his dreams
but where? He felt happier than ever before never
theless on cool reflection his recent sensations made
him nervous His unaccountabie exa1auon mg1 he the
symptom OF a disordered mnd-a warning OF his Old
sickness returning He determined to take things
quietly that day And yet these experiences were not
like those OF his former attacks in them he had for
gotten utterly in this he remembered acutey Still he
must take
He dressed leisurely breaking of continually to gaze
out Of the window The inn stood at the cliff foot
within sight of the surf Sky and sea were SO intensely
blue that it was difficult make out where the one lett
off and the other began
The cliffs were divided from tie shore by narrow
stretch OF turf Here broad-hpped hsher-girls we're
spreading nets calling to another in the sunshine
By upturned boats sailors we're at work calkng the
seams Some Of them singing in chorus He
opened the window and leaned far out TO catch the
words OF what ;hey sang.
"Far Dunwod town, the sea came down
In the year OF fourteen-flve
And all thy citizens did drown
Till none LETT alive, q.
~Thv lord did sin. the rushed in
To wash away his crime, O:
The higher land no man could win,
God did not give them time, o.
The song wandered on through many stanzas He
hung there listening in an ecstasy Of childish wonder
nent the warm breeze ruf1ng his hair. The mingled
fragrance Of WALTZ the cliff, pitch from the
boats salt from the sea- him dreaming OF the passions
Of romance.
After breakfast he came the innkeeper, re-
tired seacaptan seated wooden bench at the door
way He asked him whether he had heard Of the
Breydons Of Knkton Strawless.
"Naw lad" he said thar warn't never no Breydons
at Kinkton Strawless as l ever heerd Of. Thar war
Breydons at Dunwod though I've hecrd o them least
wise O. one O them He's famed throughout all this
countryside 1t war through him mat the town war
drowned"
When Breydon questioned him closely as to what the
man had done to such catastrophe the old tel
low shook his head, repeating over and over that he
didn't rightly know; he'd Just heerd it. When asked
where Dunwold was he pointed out to sea
"Out thar lad" he said "'Undreds o years agone
the waves went over it. But its still standin. Thar
be some as ave seen the church steepes through the
water an some as ave heerd the church bells
Later in the day, thumbing the pages OF county his
tory for records of his family Breydon found this con-
hrmed Five centuries ago Dunwold had been one OF
the chief ports of East Anglia 1t had gained It's first
charter by the assistance gave King John in his wars
against the barons and in Edward the Frsts reign had
risen TO such eninencc seaport that It was able 10
furnish eleven ships Of war with men and muntion TO
serve against the French Then, without warning for
some forgotten reason, perhaps because dixie had
burst the sea had rolled it, For many years at
low tide the seepes Of churches and tops OF houses had
appeared above the surface In day this had ceased
to happen.
He also learned that the ruins he had the night
before were those OF Hickleswck Priory. lhe road
he had Travelled was Roman, and formerly, when Alnk-
ton Strawless was an inland town, had led on through
the gap to lunwod. In walking on the denes between
cliff and shore he discovered that its direction running
down into the sea- could still be clearly oscernea ny e
different color OF the tart
He was fascinated by this that he had learned 1t
pleased him to think that the wicked Lord Breydon,
whose sin was supposed have caused the drowning OF
the CITY, might have been his ancestor 1t would make
fine tale 10 tell when he got back to New ork
In the afternoon he traced the road across the urf 70
the point where it lost beneath the sand 1ere ne
stretched himself out He felt very lazy. The sea
sparled and danced before him. his eyes were dazzed
Far out he watched the ships, creeping like flies along
the skyline TILL losing their balance they topped over
the edge He told himself fairytales they haa e''ea
beneath the waves to Dunwold town The tra~ers ana
sr,acks setting sail for the North really oldme
men-o-war and merchantmen disgused-spes on the
living out Of Dunwold town Perhaps the mhaD-
itants Of Knkton Strawess knew this and consplred
with the vanished world that was why they closed 'eF
mouths so tightly and gave such short answers TO ms
onestiore his eychds lowered and he drowsed
Ja., as consciousness returning he was aware
of the f,r-of rina.ag of the bells He raised himself
,n r cn a. listened For the FIRST few seconds
lie a hear Lie bells; then they grew iain'er ana
gradually became merged in the tapping OF the waves
sgainst ore until they were ndistingwshable He
eszed ind .teaI,hly 10 If anyone was near nm