The Lakeland evening telegram., 1917-07-31
ner husband laughed indn,.o,.,-

"ats IKE you, Sally. The o.h.,
uAS you complained because she to,, .uei
soul" eneer1ul little
.,s a. 'aat moment Tabby looked anr
tning but cheerful as she sat NJ ~ any
Dack doorstep sewing Onco IN VI nei
her gaze shifted from her work ri a"a,lt !" M
quiet bay which Tapped the sono ~ ,ne
yono tne back fence. On the sand ~" NC
rowboat tied to a stake "u was
Out ON the bay motorboat c,,,,
slowly from shore to shore Win sseu s
eyes closed Tabby could have to,d AID ,aa nei
tnat 1t was David Martins boat SDS sOS
tnat ne was in it, perhaps going ora- @
to the village for supplies and ',ea tsa
mail, for David's place was on . non'. sne
OF land jutting into the harbor ona
the shortest way to the village was hu
water rather than by the hlebroad
The boat vanished around n no,..
OF land, and Tabby's needle stonnoa
nying to and fro. A tear dropped, and
then another, and another fell upbead
ed on the white seam.
The chickens that loved the sopnd :,
Tabby's voice stood aloof, WONDERING .
Her black cat purred questions that
remained unanswered.
A saucy catbird In the blackhorr,,
bushes that was wont to hold an;mot
ed conversations with little Miss Trot.
ter challenged her in vain while he
tilted to and fro on q twig.
"Tabby Trotter cryingY thev ar,
seemed to ask. why, she is the most
cheerful friend we have hereabouts
Tabby never cries"
After that every one noticed great
change in Tabby Trotter. She became
very silent. She rarely spoke exoept
in monosyllables, and her friends won.
dered what had happened.
They missed the pleasant cheeriness
OF her voice. AS Mrs. Berry remarked
one day at Farther Lights meeting.
I'D rather hear Tabitha talk too much
than not at all l miss her merry
tongue. l hope no one has been SO
unkind as to repeat what Mrs. Ames
said about her"
Sally Ames looked uncomfortable
and Fanny Bond blushed fiery red
But no one answered the remark.
"Its Fanny Bonds work." thought
the minister's wife resentfully.
A few weeks later there came a
fierce summer storm that lashed the
harbor into fury Of whitecapped
waves and bent the trees to the
ground.
AS darkness came on TaDitha lighted
many lamps to make her rooms cheer
full. and, opening her old piano, she
poured out her long repressed feelings
in song after song
Once as she paused to turn over the
sheets Of music the storm beat in
greater fury against the glass doors
The waves thundered on the beach.
"My tongue won't trouble any one
tonight" she thought bitterly. nc
one can hear me above the storm"
But Tabitha was mistaken. Out or
the bay motorboat battled helplessly
with the waves. The engine had beer
flooded and was quite useless. Davit
Martin grasped the spare oar, and
with one hand, he tried tC
bale out the boat with the other, al
the while keeping an anxious eye OIL
the pail of darkness.
But no answering CLEAN Of light re
warded his watchfulness. Blackness
all around, overhead and beneath.
Back of him somewhere was the
narrow channel that led into the
sound The tide was pulling hin
Death awaited him on the
jagged rocks, where the water swept
like a millrace.
"If I could make out Trotter's point
and get in the lee Of it would be al
right" he painted, for, strong man thai
be was, David was feeling the strain.
Suddenly there was lull in the
storm, and on the silence floated wo
mans voice singing "Nancy Lee" in
wild abandon that seemed to defy the
storm.
"Tabitha's blessed voice!' muttered
David, bringing the boat about SO thai
he voice was on his starboard quar-
.er. "There! Lights! They must be
her house. She will not mind If l land
here. even If she doesn't want to
marry mel"
Again the storm broke over him, and
darkness blotted out the lights, but
,nly momentarily. Every now ano
hen he glimpsed the lights In Ia
,i4ha,s windows until at last spent