Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1913-09-23
|Noah's S Ark
1t Needed a Mrs. Noah
By CLARISSA MACKIE

Dlunt n0SeQ, DarBellKe cralt, lCS upper
deck gay with red striped awnings
and boxes Of scarlet geraniums. A hat
less young man garbed in white with
his shirt sleeves rolled above brown
arms was peeling potatoes in the door
way Of the galley.
Every now and then the man lifted
q pair of fine brown eyes and scanned
the red bridge that crossed the river a
hundred yards above the houseboat
Occasionally q farm wagon creaked
across or a touring motorcar flashed by
The river was uneasy these days.
Successive spring rains had swelled II
until 1t was now rising beyond Its
highest water mark. Almost imper
ceptibly the brown waters crept to the
level Of the banks. and the old bridge
was alarmingly close to the surface OF
the stream.
But the country folk were slow going
and not given to borrowing trouble
The Willow never had overflOwed its
banks, and 1t never would. Often II
had reached the floor Of the bridge
only to subside when Its tributary
springs and streams had spilled out
their surplus share Of the spring rains
It had rained for weeks during this
Troa o~I u,hap fhn hnnuahnnf rrnpt
up the stream and cast anchor under
the willows the weatherwise predicted
wet vacation for the lucklcss voy
ager. They had watched the young
man spread his easel on the shady
deck and paint the slanting rain OH the
wheatfelds or the sun peeping through
the dripping willows or the boggy cool
ness of the farther shore.
Noah Parker was enjoying this va
cation as he had never enjoyed one
before. But there was feeling Of un
easiness In the gradual rising Of tn,
river, together with the newspaper ac
counts Of the devasta ting floods In the
adjacent states.
"Hey. therew called voice from tn.
bank. And Noah set down his pota
toes and went to the rail
"Hello, Simonw he called to the tow
headed farm lad, who held forth bas
ket of eggs "Come aboard"
Simon timorously set one bare foot
on the narrow landing plank. placed
the other before 1t and finally reached
the deck. where Noah promptly yank
ed him aboard. skillfully relieving HIN
Of the basket ut the same instant
1.-Two dozen for 80 cents. Simon.
feel like a robber." said Noah. diving
into his pocket and bringing up nifty
cent piece. Take this and keep the
change II there is any way of spending
20 cents In this benighted hamlet
Simon caught the coin. grinned de
lightedly and took the empty basket
"I'm going to treat Miss Molly to Ice
cream" be confided bushingly.
"Ah, ha! Who is Miss Mollyr
"Schoolteacher. She's going to stay
all summer and teach again in Septem
Der. She ain't got any folks to &c
home to, and she's boarding at oui
house. wanted to treat her to some
thing all winter. but. gosh hang 1t all
I couldn't seem to save enough When
Ice cream sody was 5 cents a glass
got 10 cents all to once. and on my
way hon. to ask her ! saw sign In
the store sayiN0 1t had gone up to lC
cents. So ! Jest gao 1t up. Rut hy
cricky. If you wait long enough you
can get hold Of anythingr
"You like your teacher. ehT' asked
Noah.
Simon's eyes shone "fou hetchel
life. Why. what do you think she's
doing, misterr
"Give 1t up"
"Why, Jest because me and Lem Pc
ters and Susie Anderson couldn't sense
fractions and didn't pass our zamlna
tons last week, she's fixed up the ole
boathouse yonder for schoolroom
and she helps us every afternoon witt
them fractions. She wants to help u'
on grammar, but tell her l don't neec
It Grammar don't bother me none
do you think so, misterT
Noah suppressed smile.
"It doesn't seem to. sonny"
"Ill tell her that, by gum. There
she Is now! TT! going to ask her righ
off. / wonder what kind she'll take
what sayT Simon paused on th'
plank and looked anxiOusly through
the torn brim of his hat Mt Noah
Probably she'll choose strawberry.
responded Noah Gravely. rs man t.
man, and Simon nodded solemnly ant
capered away toward the bridge where
slender. blue gowned figure was
crossing toward the town.
Noah saw her stop and wait for th'
lad. and he noted even from that dis
tance that her hair was dark beneath
her white hat and that her face wa!
softly oval She put one hand on 81
mons shoulder and swung her paraso
to the other side Together they wen
away. Once they paused, and Simol
pointed hack Mt the houseboat, bu
Noah ducked into the kitchen. wher'
he proceeded to put the neglected 20
tatoes to boil
"she must be q nice GIRL" he said t
himself as he washed up his dishe
after the meal. and then he realized
with a hot blush, that unconsciousl!
he had been thinking Of Miss Mol!
for an hour and half.
That night It rained heavily after
severe thunderstorm. and as morning
aawned Noah. lying wide awake, real
lied that the Ark, as be had named hl
pleasure boat. was scraping bottom
He tossed on some clothes and In tn
pale gray light found that the rive
had risen until the hull Of the Ark wa
resting on the muddy bank. He eS
amined the motor and found 1t In orde
for an early start II 1t should be mex
essary.
It seemed vastly important that b
should get the Ark out OF the mai
current and into some safe inlet beror
the red bridge broke away. as 1t mus
under the pressure Of the swollen ri'
ar. Even now he could hear the du
roar Of water against the tmbers.
But daylight brought a gathering q
skeptical farmers. who reluctantly la
tened the shaking bridge to the wi
lows by heavy logging chains at tn
four corners of Its thirty foot span.
She'll stand all right now. We'V
seen II worse'n this" grunted Ell
Bead. with a quizzical squint at Moan
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