Gilpin observer., 1913-02-20

locked you up agaip7"
mo, sir, she amt" replied Ryan.
"Laviny, she's sort of diff'rent lately.
She amt nigh $3.50 down on a fell
ler as she used to- be. l can get out
once in a while by myself nowadays.
when she wants to write letter or
somethin'. Writes one about every
once in week. don't know who
they're to, nuther. She's talkin' of
gsin up to Sandwich pretty soon"
She is? Alone?"
$50 she says"
ITO leave you herei Whyi we'll, I'm
surprised"
"Godfreys mighty! so be l. But she
says she blieves she needs a change
and there's church conference up
there, you know. and she figgers that
she amt been to conference she don't
know when. s'pose you'll go. won't
you, Mr.. Ellery?"
Probably"
Lavinia got herself elected q dele
gate and went, in company with Cap
tain Elkanah, Mrs. Mayo. and others,
to the conference. She was faithful
attendant at the meetings and seemed
to be having a very good time. She
introduced the minister to one Caleb
Pratt. resident Of Sandwich, whom
she said she had known ever since
she was girl.
"Mr. Pratt's cousin Of Thankful
Payne over to home" volunteered La
vinia. You know Thankful, Mr.. El-
lery."
Lavinia confided to her pastor that
Mr.. Pratt made the best shoes in Os-
table county. He could fit any kind Of
feet, she declared. and the minister
ought to try him sometime. She added
that be had money in the bank.
Spring once more; then summer.
And now people were again speaking
Of Captain Nat Hammond. His ship
was overdue, long overdue. Even in
those days, when there were no cables
and the telegraph was still something
of novelty, word of his arrival should
have reached Trumet months before
this. But 1t had not come, and did not.
Before the summer was over. the wise
heads of the retired shippers were
shaking dubiously. Something had
hoPPShSu " tuS 0cd mlSt
As the weeks and months went by
without news of the missing vessel.
this belief became almost certainty.
At the Come-Outer chapel. where Eze-
kiel Bassett now presided, prayers
were offered for the son of their for
mer leader.
One afternoon Keziah came into FL
lery's study. where he was laboring
with his next Sunday sermon. and sat
down in the rockingham. She had
been out and still wore her bonnet and
shawl
John" she said, "I ask your par
don for disturbin' you. l wanted to
ask If you knew Mrs. Prince was
sick?"
mo. Is she? I'm awfully sorry.
Nothing serious, hope?"
mo, l guess not. Only she's got a
cold and is kind of under the weather.
! thought p'r'aps you'd like to run up
and see her. She thinks the world
and all Of you, cause you was 80 good
when she was distressed about her
son. Poor old thing! she's had q
hard time Of it. just heard that she
was ailin' from Didama Rogers. d.
DANA said she was all but dyin', SO
knew she prob1y had little cold. or
somethin'. II she was really very bad.
Di would have had her buried by this
time. SOS" 10 be sure her news was
ahead Of anybody else's. amt been
up there, but l met her t'other morn
in"
"Didama?"
mo; Mrs. Prince. Shed come down
to see Grace"
"Oh."
YES The old lady's been awful
kind and sympathizin' since-since
this new trouble. 1t reminds her Of
the loss of her own boy. l presume
likely, and SO she feels for Grace.
John. what do they say around town
about-about him?"
Captain Hammond? Why, II you
mean that they've all given up hope.
l should hardly say that. Captain
Mayo and Captain Daniels were speak
Ing OF 1t in my hearing the other day
and they agreed that there was still
a chance"
pretty OuCs thoo6hs thcy
callated. didn't they?
well, they were-were doubtful, Of
course. There was the possibility that
he had been wrecked somewhere and
hadn't been picked up. They cited
several such cases. The South Pa
cific is full Of islands where vessels
seldom touch. and he and his crew
may be on one Of these"
".John," she answered. with a sigh.
sometimes think you'd better get
another housekeeper."
What? Are you going to leave
me? You?"
"Oh, 'twouldn't be because I wanted
to. But 1t seems almost as II there
was kind of fate hangin' over me
and that" she smiled family. "as II
twas sort Of catchin', as you might
say. Everybody l ever cared for has