The St. Mary banner., 1920-07-31

explained.
The man on the schooner dropped
his newspaper, stood up, spat over the
rail. and remarked that it was Sun
day. From the fishing g-soop the crew.
John Hansen, now resting on his ell
bows half out of the cabin. grinned
under his thin, corn-Silk mustache.
The man on the schooner dropped
below to look In his stores, and the
skipper waited, putting on his pipe
The man on the schooner came on
deck again, shaking his head, ana
tossed the skipper a handful OF tan
gled cord.
They got no spun yarn, John
hailed the skipper. "Will marine
dO?"
"Ee-yah." returned John.
"Thank ye," grunted the skipper to
the schooner's man. Sorry We amt
got any spun yarn
"All right" mumbled the other. re-
suming colored supplement where
| he had left off.
The skipper returned to his SlOop.
| John Hansen did the repairing, ana
the skipper assisted. Before long the
iron was rewound. the ropes strength
ened, and the halyards rebent.
"Now." said the skipper, ''ye can
go ashore. Wen sail airly in the
mornin' so We better sleep aboard. le
goin up to see Christina this after
noon"
John grlnned.
"Ee-yah," he drawled. 81 tank ]
60 see her.
"She's a mighty stanch gal, Chris
tina" admired the skipper You an
she goin' ter git spliced soon!
The crew blushed.
Il amt asked her yet, but tank
That's right" approved the skip
per. Don't ask her till ye're sure
right an tight"
"Ee-yah," corrected John. II tank
one ting can break 1t. Suppose the
girl go awayT
what dye mean?"
II tank I got promised to marry q
girl once myself. ] went on a fishing
trip, and when l come back the gir
ban gone away"
"a gal at homer?
mo, girl named Fannie, here
when l first came to HardypOrt. She
went away. l tank / amt promised
to her longer eh?'
The skipper thought rapidly. Fol
two years John Hansen had served
as lone hand on the shore fishing-bOat
Working on shares, his portion Of thu
proceeds had given him good bal
ance in the savings bank uptown, bu
the skipper knew that the balance
should have been many dollars more
John had trusted the skipper
arithmetic Snd without question takei
what was given him each settling day
A watchful wife would end this. HI
would encourage anything that nigh
delay this marriage.
"Ye sartain got ter marry Fannie
If We said We would" he began.
John looked perplexed.
II don't tank So" he considered
!; slowly. "She ban gone to New YOrl
J her cousins they told me. What maxi
1t she don't write me letter IL sh
want me?"
"Oh, We never can tell about won
en- folks" generalized the skippe
easily. "She may be breakin' her lii
tie heart waitin', fur all ye know"
With troubled face, John washe'
his hands and face and changed hi
clothes in the cabin. Then. going oil
deck, he combed his hair before
fragment of mirror stuck in a mast
hoop.
II tank" he announced finally, II g
up an see the parson at the Bethe
!. got to be honest, an If l ban foo
to get promised to little Fannie lon
time before l saw Christina, mayb
; I have to pay for It, Only l hope,
he added brokenly-"I hope Christin'
she don't care-much
! That's right" approved the skip
} per.
That afternoon, when the meeting
at the Fishermen's Bethel was over
John Hansen did go to the parsOn, ant
the parson. having untangled from
J Johns broken English what seemed t
be a straight version of the story, di'
! tell the tall, light-haired fisherman t
J wait.
John did not 60 to see Christina tina
evening.