The Celina Democrat. (Celina, O. [Ohio]) 1895-1921, 1918-05-17
Copyright by Frank A. Munsey
Company
CHAPTER XIV.

warm and welcome reality.
went down to the cove. AS | had
rather expected, found Bill johnson
there with his motor scow, the Merry
Widow, with her nose driven up on the
beach.
Bills father was Danish, l believe.
and his mother was a French Cana
dian. His speech is a combination OF
patols that he heard at home.
"Quite a seq out there" l indicated
the lake.
"Shc shall run pretty high" replied
Bill, but not so high like she do
awhile ago"
"Just come out for the ride" !
queried
mo. The Merry Widow she bring
over a young man, a newspaper feller.
He says he give me three dollars or
wouldn't, by yimminy Christmas, do
It. No, sare, not for two-fifty even
shan't do It." Then he added, with a
slight wink, "The sea she amt so high
now as / make him think"
"Do you know where Huntingdon's
island is?" inquired, vague plan of
action forming itself in my brain.
"Sure l know him. She set over yon
bout three mile, maybe four or two
and half"
"Well, the young man you brought
over here has decided to stay for an
hour or so. While you are waiting
want you to take me over to Hunting
dOn's and get Mrs. Green"
"Mrs. Green! What she do by Hunt
ingdon's?"
"Tll tell you later after 1 think up
some interesting explanation. At pres
ent shouldn't be able to do the sub
ject justice How about it? viii you
take me over there?"
He hesitated.
Here's a dollar" 1 said. "The
storm is quieting down a good deal,
and, anyhow, you know the Merry
Widow is the best sea boat on the
lake"
The fattery won him. What owner,
even of the veriest motor monstrosity,
is not susceptible to praise bestowed
upon his darling.
Il guess she shall run all right. One
waive she shant work yust so good as
she ought, but 1 got some wire. 1 fix
him up"
helped him shove off, and Bill tin
kered with the one cylinder machine
gun which propelled the barge until he
induced ii to bark at irregular inter
vals.
Have forgotten to mention that the
Merry Widow is an open boat with no
superstructure or canopy of any sort?
II have, let me state here that her
lines are very decollete, and large
wave meets with little obstruction save
the passengers when it starts to travel
from the bow to the stern.
"She shall be, by yimminy Christ
mas, sure choppy," Bill commented.
THE wind she shall haul to the south
and make cross waves"
He was absolutely correct. AS soon
as we left the mouth Of the cove we
went through some evolutions which
would have said it was absolutely
impossible for a man Of my build to
perform. l was fayorably considering
the idea Of being seasick when
larger wave than usual washed over
and struck the engine. 1t expired
peacefully on the spot.
What has happened?' asked, with
a landsman's justified terror.
''The engine has stopped" Bills
calm statement of the obvious exas-
perated me.
"Of course it has stopped. Can we
ever start it again?"
"Sure. She shall run some more.
The wave, she short circuit the
spark. See," Bill pointed, "she all
wet" His enthusiasm as a lecturer
on the gasoline engine made him for
get the lake outside.
1t was brought to his attention by
a large wave which tipped US on our
beam ends and dropped Bill and my
self in an affectionate group into the
stern of the boat, where we were join
ed presently by a collection of oil
cans, wrenches, grease cans and other
marine impedimenta.
Bill removed his elbow from the pit
of my long since hopeless stomach and
scrambled to the engine.
"She hain't hurted a Bit" he an
nounced. Lend me your handker-
chief"
1 silently passed him the article he
desired. He carefully wiped off
large part of the engine with it be-
fore be offered it back to me. de-
clined and told him to consider it my
contribution to the equipment of the
boat.
Now, sare," he directed, ''yOu must
hold the coat over the spark so she
shall not get, by yee viz, again wet"
He showed me how to protect the
engine from the elements by interpos-
ing my coat and my shivering body
between it and the waves. This being
accomplished, he started the machin-
cry, and we lurched forth into the
night once more.
Bill split his time between steering
and mending the engine, keeping up a
running fire of conversation, not with |
me, but with the motor. When she'd |
cough weakly Bill would hit her in
some apparently tender spot with the
flat of a monkey wrench and say:
"Come on, Merry you shan't stop. I'll |
knock the carbon off your valves. Now
you 'el better"
Finally we reached the dock at
Huntingdon's island.
After l had filled my lungs with a
iitAln ,tnf.slir rlnlrnh mn n hc., ~.