The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1916-09-11
CHAPTER I.
A BOatnnan's Fee.


tie flows a river.
In a clumsy boat upon this
river a young man was gazing up
ward, in a rapturous study OF the
castle towers.
These castle towers, gray with
age, rose high above the river
! bank.
The boat, a flat-bottomed thing
! too wide and far too heavy for a
/ single pair of oars, would have
! smiled at thoughts of speed. It's
1 usual function was that of ferry
to and fro across the river. But
the ferryman was now at his
noonday dinner, and the present
! occupant for the idle hour had
borrowed his craft. To mistake
! him for the usual navigator would
be a pardonable error. The brim
of a soft felt hat of a common
type was lowered to shade his
eyes, and his shirt of faded blue
flannel, rolled up to the elbows,
/ showed arms brown and muscu-
/ lar.
From his day dreams this pres
: ent occupant was awakened, gent
I lily, by voices behind him on the
rivers bank. Turning he saw an
open carriage coming from the
village, a driver and footman on
the box. In the carriage were
two ladies, one an elderly woman
with white hair. recognized by
the dreamer as the Duchess of
Linsmere. She had been pointed
out to him on the previous day. as
she was driving to church. And
close beside the carriage, on a
] chestnut hunter, rode the duch-
ess' son, Lord Hepsford. The
! other woman, whom the dreamer
had never seen before. was
younger.
AS the carriage stopped. the
footman jumped to the ground.
opened the door. and the younger
woman descended. After few
words with the duchess hand
some parsonage with benevolent
aspect-the younger woman, with
Lord Hepsford beside her, came
through the little gateway, down
the grassy path toward the river.
Bending slightly toward her, the
young man was speaking with
some earnestness.
Do come tomorrow. Please do.
will call for you at any hour you
say"
mo; not tomorrow"
] Thursday, them"
81 shall be too busy Thursday"
Friday"
mo; Friday I must work"
Work! Oh, say! What are
you going to work at?"
"At finding an excuse for not
going Saturday"
Come Saturday" he persisted.
"Why be SO horribly exasperat-
ing? am getting 1t up wholly on
your account"
With the hand that was not
holding the parasol she made a
gesture, quietly. but with author
lily, for the boatman to approach.
Then the dreamer remembered
what for moment he had for
gotten, that he had borrowed the
ferryman's craft. Quickly he
picked up the oars and obeyed
the summons. AS the boat touch
ed the shore the gentleman was
still protesting.
ii Out into the stream, toward the
castle. the boatman pulled. With
furtive glances he drank in this
welcome passenger-this dainty,
radiant, unexpected thing. By her
placid consciousness of superior
lily, by her superlatively patrician
air. he was subdued, discounted
and bewitched. AS to her identi-
lty he had little doubt. She was
the Daughter of the Castle = the
fairy princess. A stranger in this
southwest OF England. having
! come from London only three
days before, he had never seen
the Lady Octavia Henriette Lou
Use, only child of Lord Aylesden,
the son of the Earl of Drumworth,
but he knew she was that exalted
lperson. He found pleasant study
! in the graceful head and slender,
girlish neck, the hands carelessly
crossed upon the folded sunshade
in her lap, the eyes half closed in
thought-and her thoughts, ap-
parently were up the river, far
{laway.
When he had brought his boat
alongside the landing the Daugh-
ter of the Castle stood up and
held forth a hand as fit seemed
Ito the ferryman-she wished as
distance in stepping ashore.
/ But. in another instant, briefer
than sudden death-and sharper
he and his ambition were flung
to fathomless obscurity. Into
his extended palm coin was
dropped. For moment the young
man held forth his hand with its
shilling. Then his cheeks grew
hotter still as he rememberedthe
regular price was sixpence and
she had given him an extra six
pence for himselfl
Pulling the brim OF his hat still
further over his eyes, he again sal
down. took up the oars and rowed
= out upon the river.
= This adventure OF the shilling
! disturbed the boatman. For sew.
eral hours 1t supplied him with q
variety of emotions. His efforts
IN daanfaa the lady for har lack m,