Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1917-08-03
CHAPTER l.
"a Person Named Elisha Warren"

ASlAAN NhC olahC
man, opening the car door and
yelling his loudest, so as to be
heard above the rattle of the train and
the shrek of the wind. "Ostable !"
The Trademarks cap was soaked
through, his hair was plastered down
on his forehead, and in the yellow light
from the car lamps his wet nose glis-
tened as If Vanished. The windows
streamed as each succeeding gust flung
its miniature freshet against them.
The passengers in the car did not
seem greatly interested In the brake
mans announcement. The red faced
person in the seat nearest the rear
slept soundly, as he had done for the
last hour and a half. He had boarded
the train at Brockton and after re-
questing the conductor not to femme
git by BaypoEt, Bill" at first favored
his fellow travellers with a song and
then sank into slumber.
Mr. Atwood Graves, Junior partner
In the New York firm OF Sylvester,
Kuhn & Graves, lawyers, stirred un-
easily on the lumpy plush cushion, look
cd at his watch, then at the time table
IN his hand, noted that the train was
now seventy-two minutes late and for
at least the fifteenth time mentally
cursed the Railway company, TIE whole
OF Cape Cod from Sandwich to Prov
tncetown and the fates which had
brought him there.
The train slowed down In a jerky,
hiccupy sort of way and crept on till
the car In which Mr.. Graves was seat
ed was abreast the lighted windows Of
o small station, where 1t stopped. Peer
ing through the water streaked pane
at the end Of his seat, the lawyer saw
dim silhouettes OF uncertain outline
moving about. They moved with pro-
voking slowness.
Then, behind the door which the
brakeman, after announcing the sta
ton, had closed again, sounded a big
laugh. The heartiness of 1t grated ON
Mr.. Graves nerves. What idiot could
laugh ON such a night as this aboard q
train over an hour later
The laugh was repeated. Then the
door was flung briskly open, and a
man entered the car. He was a big
man, broad shou1dered, inclined to
~stoutness, wearing a cloth cap with a
visor and q heavy ulster, the collar of
which was turned up. Through the
gap between the open ends Of the coll
lar brlstled a short grayish beard. The
face above the beard and below the
visor was sunburned, with little wrin-
kles about the eyes and curving lines
from the nostrils 10 the corners of the
mouth. The upper lip was shaved, and
the eyebrows were heavy and grayish
ping with water.
"Well, l tell you, Ezra" he called
over his shoulder, '1f it's too deep to
wade maybe l can swim. Fat floats,
they tell me, and Abbie says I'm get
tin feshier every day. So long"
He closed the door and, smiling
broadly, swung down the aisle.
Hello, cap'n!" cried u passenger.
whats the south shore dom over
here in this foodT
whats the matter, cap'nT demand
ed another. Broke loose from your
moortn's, have your Did you ever zee
such a night In your Dfef"
The nan in the ulster shook hands
with each of his questioners, removing
a pair of wet, heavy leather gloves as
he did so.
Don't knows / ever did, DAN" he
answered. Couldn't see much OF this
one but it's color, and that's black /
come over this mornin' to attend to
some business at the courthouse
deeds 10 some cranberry bog property
! just bought-and Judge Baxter made
me go home with him to dinner. Stay
ed at his house all the afternoon, and
then his man, Ezra Hallet, undertook
TO drive me up here to the depot. Talk
about blind pllotin'! Whew! The
Judges horse was a new one, not used
to the roads; Ezra's nearsighted, and L
couldn't use~my glasses count of the
rain. Let alone that, twas darker'n
the fore hold of Noah's ark. Ho, hoi
Sometimes we was In the ruts, and
sometimes we was In the bushes, !
told Ez we'd ought TO hava fetched
along q dipsy lead, then maybe we
coaA got ons beariDS by soundin'A