Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1920-07-14
THE WHITE CANOE
BY DORA NOLAN.
=. 6y Mcclure Nswspapsr syndicate. J

| "" uie oanks OF the beautiful Sc
| gatchie river, has heard the tradition
of the white canoe.
Now the tradition runs that Snow
| bird. an Indian maiden. was murdered
| close by the shores of the river in
the moonlight, then set adrift In her
own canoe. long before the eye of a
white man first fell on the Segatehie.
Ever since her ghost has appeared.
from time TO time, 10 mortal eyes
50 goes the legend. And always has
me coming foretoid the sudden and
violent departure of another soul.
Cecil Horton was five when she
spent her first summer on the Sc
gatchie; she had passed her twentieth
birthday when the events here re-
corded took place.
IL was the tentlr of September. The
hortons were to return to the city
on the fifteenth. Cecil was planning
dance Tor the evening of the twelfth
the last Of series In the Horton boat.
house. Dick Harvey sat beside her on
the boathouse steps.
tue SIri thoughts were
nor bearing fruit for she turned TO
her companion. "oh. Dick" she
pleahed' do try and think up some.
thing unique for the feature of nv
last dance-something exciting; some.
thing thrillingl"
Dick seized hopefully upon his
opportunity "Yon might announce
our engagement" But the hopeful.
ness died a-bornine as he glimpsed
the quick frown above his compan.
IONS eyes and he continued, In tragic
moroSeness, "Or we might stage
murder; I'd be glad to help you GU,
in that"
u have II. Dick p she CALCULATED
the white canoe"
Fo'iowed nearly an hour of expla-
nations, pleadings and overriding of
Dicks objections by Cecil. and finally
a reluctant consent from Dick. But
he made IT conditional. "Now. re-
member. he stipulated. mot a single
ihnce with that Perrone crook while
I'm away pulling the fadeaway Indian
maiden stuff"
of course. Dick; promise. Bur
you've no business to speak of him
mat way just because you don't know
every bit of his past history. Why do
ynu?"
"Shlfty eyes" was Dicks laconic re.
'ninder.
The night of the dance came and.
all
eleven O'Clock. the time agreed upon
for him to absent himself and take
up the spectacular role of "Snowbird."
The full moon carried out its part
of the program. At half after eleven
Cecil, pleading fatigue, seated herself
ny the broad river-front doorway, pre-
pared to jump up at any instant and
announce to the guests, with becoming
dramatic effect, that the Indian maiden
was abroad in her canoe.
But she waited fruitlessly. The
minutes passed; no white canoe
appeared. Midnight and yet nothing
stirred on the broad bosom of the
Segatehie. Disappointed, little angry,
Cecil yielded at last to the pleading
Of the fascinating Perrone and danced
three times In succession with him.
DICK Harvey did not appear again
that night and next morning, when he
came over to the Horton place, he gave
most unsatisfactory answers to Cecirs
peremptory questions. Also he wore
IN inscrutable. self-satisfied expression
that enraged the young lady. She
LET him know II. Yet Dick went off
whistling. Which affected Miss Hor-
ton 50 extremely little that at mid.
night she was still awake.
Suddenly. as her distracted gaze
turned to the farther shore. a SILVER
ran through CecIl's frame. From ont
the shadows of the forested bank
gilded tenuous, filmy something tina,
while she strained Der eyes In awe.
took clearly Individually. as II crossed
The pathway Of the moon, the form Of
white canoe, silently padded by
girllsh figure in white, crowned by
snowy feathers
Cecil started from her seat. She
would call some member of the sleep.
ing household 10 witness this awesome
sight.
Then from the balcony roof out
side. close by her came a whisper II
was Dick Harvey's voice.
"There's burglar inside. Cecil The
officers have gone In. Keep still. don't
move. If he opens your door | can
soc him from here in this Hight.
Sh-sh-sh."
Slowly. without sound. the door
opened. A dark figure was vaguely
outlined on the threshold, Even In
the semi-dnrkness II looked strangely
familiar to Cecil. From the window
Dick Harvey's stacatto baritone
snapped: That's far enough. you
stand stint"
There was a CLINT of steel as the In
'ruder flung back. Hold up your
hands and keep"
In the open window a shot flashed