'Rainbow Mike.'

Auckland Star, Volume XXVIII, Issue 42, 20 February 1897, Page 3 (Supplement)

'Rainbow Mike.'

Peofle about Fa'c;»rragh said of ' Rainbow Mike,' in their quuinb, Scotch Irish way, ' He's no fair gone daft, d'ye tnind, but he's ayo a bib of a stranger '—which last is, in Donegal, a polibo way of saying an unpleasant thing. Mike had nob always been foolish. He had been one of the brightest boys in the National bchool, and his mother u«ed to smootho her apron complacently whon he waß meutioned. Indeed, the village clergyman had praised the lad's scholarship and lalked of getting him a lift toward going lo college, which made the mother clasp her hands in wonder that so great things should come out 6i the little Rathlin furin--8 leading. Then came thab day of black sorrow when tho boy fell and was brought home unconscious from a blow on tho boad—a day followed by days of despair, when it became certain that he wouid recover, bub with clouded mind. That was a year or two ago, and meantime things had been hard at Rathlin. The father was doud, the other two children were 100 young to help, and often, but for tho kindness of the herring fishermen, famine would have laid its hand on the dwellers in the little whitewashed cabin, built out of the rough elate atone from the quarry to the east of Muekish Mount. The fishermen thought well of Mike. • Lie has tho eight,' they said ; and indeed nature seemed to havo made up for the loss of common eenso with a gift that was uncommon. Ho could foretell changes of

weather. The weather is the problem of life for the Weeb Donegal herring fishermen, who muat row far out to uea in bheir frail canvas curraghs, toaeed by the rude tides of the North Atlantic. To ba able to foretell the coming of . the sudden eborma thai sweep the coasb ia <o have tho chance bo see the home shealing and bhe home faces once more. The anforsdeing—and there have beeu many such —are likely to Bleep far down among the koip and rockweod. Hence ie is that with weather-wise rulea and keen obaorvabion the fishermen shrewdly guess each promise of change and thioat of aborm. Bub the wisdom of Rainbow Mike was move than this, Ib was intuitive, based on no one knew whab, bub always bo be relied on. Ib was aa if the mind thab had been closed to ordinary influences was open to subtle impressions unfelb by ordinary mortals. Tho Donegal fishormen simply aaid, •He baa tho sight,' and hooded Im warnings. • ' This had been particularly true since the big aborm of a year before. The morning had dawned fair, with no breath of wind, and the little fleet had prepared to go far to sea, Aa Rainbow Mike strolled by m his dafb way, some one bad asked him, • Will it etorm the day V baU in jesb j bub Mike, had answered, •Aye, ib will thab, Don'b ye go yon—bhere'a a greab wwd coming and yell no come back.' Too few fishermen who believed bhiß had been laughed ab by the others, who rowed

away over a glassy sea and fished till midday. Then a nea frot on tho wings of a wailing wind blotted them from sight, and before night the great waves woro beating tho coast with tinvil clangour. Tho few boats that came SAfoly liomo, tos.ied on tho foamy front of tho giilo, brought tho old tale of comrades sunk in tho white spume drift of the storm. But Rainbow Mike wr.s in tho main strangoly foolish, m?d people who, day after day, caw him and Hirpia Tommy chuaing rainbows forgot Miko'.-s gift of weather wisdom, and declared him the greater gooso of the two. Hirplo Tommy was a lame gmndor that was oftener at AliUo's side than his shadow. He ' hirpled,' or walked with a limp, but ho was an strong of wing ad a cormorant, and cou'd fly n* far to eea. Tommy cared for nothing f,o niucli *ih for Mike, and where tho boy wont Tommy would go too. On day* when btorm nud kuii chafed one another across the moorland and rainbows smiled and beckoned, only to vanish in tho

glow of a sunburst or n sweep oF mountain mist, these two tramped peat-bog and heathery hill In untiring search for the vanishing radiance.

Mike had his own ideas about rainbows. Tho beauty and richness ot the colour aetractod him, bub more than that, he believed what some one had told him, that bhey were ladders on which tho ange'.e wotib up and down between heaven and earth. Ifc ie a prebby fancy, and ono may do worao things fchan hunt for angele, aa Mike did. N

One morning Miko and Tommy had made an early etai-b, and did not know of the commotion into which the town was thrown, The * quality ' were making tboir brief summer visit to the '-greao houne,' and with them were a gentlemen and lady and their libble daughter, who were moat distinguished people from far-off America. Thab morning the lifebie girl had dieappaared.

She had been out aft play on the beach attended by a maid, who, true to instinct, had found tho one policeman in Falearragh, and fallen into conversation with him. Then after a brief interval she bad looked for tho libtlo girl in vftin. An alarm waa mounded, and soon all Palcarrogh wad off scouring moor and fen, unsuccessfully.

16 had boen a poor morning for rainbows. A mild land.wind, that did nob make the waves curl, even when ib had pushed them as far to sen, as Inninhbeg, had drivaa the mountain miata before it, and for all their tramping Mike and Tommy bad found bub an evanescent promise of colour that came and went iv tho slender thread of waterfall dowq the abrupt cliff of Muckieh, A ghosb of a rainbow ib waa, that smiled and vanished and smiled again a dozen times in the twinkling of an eye, and waa too small for even tho loasb of tho angels bo climb on.

So when the day waa yob young Mike cntne back to the village disconsolate, only to tind the ore of promise resting one base firmly on the rough, low cliff of innishbeg, a broad band of vivid colour springing high to heaven, sbrong enough to hold a procession of the heaveuly hosts. 'Sao, Tommy !' suid Mik«. 'There ib is, over on Innishbeg 1' and Tommy wagged his goo*o head very much on one eido, and soid, ' Wba ! wha 1' which was bis usual reply. But Tommy showed distinct disapproval when Mike pushed a email curragh from the /-eliore and started to embark in it. Tommy did not like fche sea, and he palled at Mike's coab and tried to prevent him from going ; but Mike did not heed, »s he often did at other timea. Then, a» the curragh moved away Tommy spread his win;.'*, and with a Bcroarn of disapproval, sailed nitor. Ili was but a ehort half-hour'a row, and as Mike looked over his shoulder ho caw the rainbow still there, but looming higher

from tho low cliff, and now and then seeming to loiip toward heaven in the clonds of mist that rolled back toward the land. The angels were taking in their ladder, thought Mike, and he did nob heed the rapid change of weather which he knew was oominr, Had one of the fishermen asked him, 'n would promptly have warned him of comi •■ i stum, bub he did not heed ib for himself.

The lazy sea swoll was swirling over < ho rough lodges and brown rockweod ab fcho baae of Innishbeg, but Mike knew well how to manage a curragh, and soon the Hghb boat slipped over a tangle of browo weed into a little cove. Here Tommy mot him «ik tho chore, and togobher they climbed a. grassy ritb tiowarda bhe bop of tha oliff.

Tommy picked here and there ab the graeH, whioh was fresh with recent) showers. So far aa he knew, that waa what they travelled for.

'Watch, Tommy J1 said Mike, 'Ib'sab the top of the cliff they'll be. Urand angels in white and goold, wi'bonnia blue sen and fjoolden h&ir.'

Tommy said, f Wha I wba !' to polite assent, The grass vraa long and fresh, and thab waa enough-fop him j yeb ib was Tommy who firafc saw the angel. Mike went on with rapt eyes fixed on the vanishing rain* bow, bub Tommy hobbled here and there as fanoy led him, Jeering over a little ledge of rocks, he drew back and fluttered his wings In Burpriaa; then, aa Mike did. nob heed tho gander, caught) lii« coftß in, his bill and drew him toward what he had seen.

' Whisht, Tommy !' said Mike, 'Why do you be bothering me ?' $sut) T/pramv waa bq pereiatenb that dafb. Mike, allowed himself to be ted to the ledge, Then he, too, gave a Bfcart of surprise, for there, sheltered in a nook from bhe rain which had fallen when Mike and Tommy saw bhe rainbow on Inniei-ibog, sat a slender maiden,.

clad in white, wibh bohnia blue eyes and golden hair, weaving a wreath of fcvluebolis • for the hat which lay in her lap. She looked up quite composedly a* eight of Mike, and rose, saying, 'So you bavo come for me, have you ?' Miko foil on one knee, half in surprise of the dainty vision, half in reverence. 1 Are ye an angel ?' he said. The little maid laughed—a Boffc little laugh like the tinkle of the rainbow frfcroam down Muckish. ' Papa gays I am on© — sometime?,' eho said. ' Have you ccmo bo bake me home?' Mike felb a suddon confusion, a sfcranpe,, eurging ucho in his head, aa if something were moving there after years of slumber. In a moment a blur seemed to lift from his (jonses, and he found bimeoif a rough, uncouth lad standing on the rough side of a low island cliff, with a pretty child beside him, who had a wreath of bluebells on her hut. From over the cliff to seaward camo a scurry of mist und the moau of a rising storm wind ; then he was once moro daft Mike, oub hunting rainbows with Hirple Tommy, and nob at ali surprised ao having found an angel on bhe rough cliff of Innishbeg. ' I catrb bB taking ye up tha rainbow,' he replied : * ifc's gone.' The li&tlo eiri laughed again. ' Oh, I don't go that way ?' she said, ' but you can take me back in your boat if you will. I didn't) mean to couse over here, bui) the litr.le boat I whs playing in slipped away and no one heard mo when I called. Then it blew over here, and whon I got oub it sailed away again. I realiy must go back now.'

Tho touch of haughtiness in this last was entirely lost on Mike, for as ghe spoke a gust of wind swept down on them and snatched the flower-crowned hat from tho little maid's grasp, whirling it away on a rush of ruin.

Fora momenfa again he realised that ha was on Inniahbeg in the coming of one of (hose Biidden storms the fishermen know ho well, with on'y the frail curragh in which bo take bho little girl to safety on the beach at Falcarragh, The gleam of eensa that made tho child seom lestuui angel gave him an impulse to haste which was well for both oi them. • Come,' he said ; ' I'll take ye back to Falcarragh,' The libble maid put her hand confidingly in hia. The rough wind ewepb the yellow hair about her cheeks, and swayed her as eho walked, but thtjio was no tear in the bonnio blue ay as. • you're a funny boy,1 she, eaid,' bub I like you,' The rising tide was Jappieg tha eidea of the ourragh ea they came to it, but the sea-' swell was no lonerer lazy, Instead, It swepb sullenly over the outer ledges with aa angry roar coming from between the rook teeth that showed in its white face, Outside, the. wind about the corner of the. cliff brought curling breakers with it, and A cold hsz§ hat} blotted the, land, from eight, ' Why, when? has the, beach grow bo. ¥ asked the. little girL 'Ib'a cover YQWi WU ko be afraid; the cum'gh. mjghtifiiukbut m^U dgn/bdrpan, dQ they V

!b waa attrely Rainbow Mike, wqq apeak/ing naw t and |h.e. eloade h^d doped jn again about) hte mind even as they^ were ewoopSnj* over the top of Jttnishbeg in the gusts of the storm which w^e now on them. Ye^once euabarkod, hehaqtjled fiie carragti Wfi-U, ftfid rowe4 dcggeidly aad. akjUully in bbc, direction of the beach, whore both tfould be safe. "

The littla maid sab curled in Hie Btern with her blue eyes open vf ide and the red lips set a little, spoiling: Hie dainty curve of tho mouth. Yot plie showed no fo&r of tho

rough sea.. Once whetr a great wbto broka just) astern with' savage hiae, taxing all Mike'a skill fco avoid it, a he straightened up, but though the red cheek waa white for « moment.'shesaid steadily, ' lam nob afraid. Innishbeg had slipped into the base astern, bub there was as yab no pign of the land ahead. Mid the swirl, of the current and the changing rush of the wind any but daft Mike mighb well havo keen confnaed ac to the direction, but ithe strange ihstincb which the fishermen called * the eight' was hia aid now, and he rowed sbeadiiy in the right direction wibhoufc knowing why. Bat even Mike's strange inßbiucb could nob.help the cruel sweep of bhe incoming tide which was carrying them ,by the candy beach toward the dangerous rocke. He-might keep the curragh from swamp" ing by hia utmost skill, and what the vrorW calls ' Fool's luck '—bub could he esoapr the rocks:

The beach att Falcarragh was coverec with folk now. The search of town and moor had been regarded with no trace o; the little girl before tho curragh bad bee^ missed. Then ib seemed probable that six had drifted to sea in the frail boab and, ir. spite of the coming atorm, several ofchert wera rowed to sea only to be driven back disappointed. i

With the increase of bhe galo and the shutting down of the mlyt to seaward alhope for her seemed lost, .and sorrow wa» in every heart. Some of the old wives had covered their heads with their aprons? and began the wild, mournful dry of sorrow— the ' keening ' which the beach had heard so often—when oub of bha mist came flying a great bird. Ib beat the etorm with strong winga and circled about tho heads of the villagers with cries ;■, then, breae&ing tho gale back again toward the Bea, ib disappeared in tho face of tht\ storm toward the point of rocks. But again it came, flying low and crying in tones now plaintive, now hureh. 'It's dafti Mike's goose! Ifc'a Hirple Tommy—l can see the bad leg.of him,' the people cried. Again the goose circled about called, and again disappeared toward the poinb of rocks. ' He's calling us awa'! TiWo'll bo something yon,' one said, in tones of awe. ' Ay, there'll be something yon,' assented another, sorrowfully, and they hastened toward the point where tho rush of Vhe incoming tide mot tho waves in a wildNcommotion. There was indeed 'something yon,''bub not in fche way they had expected. J'tiat) outside the point, fighting to keep t'\hs curragh off the cruel ronks thab showed between the great seas, lighting to avoid the curling breakers thab threatened to overwhelm, wich eeb lips and a gleam on his face that was almost intelligence, waa Rainbow Mike. In the stern of the curragh, safe aa yet), was 6ho missing maid, while round their heads circled Hirple Tommy, as if seeking in vain to Hfb them to safety on hia strong wings. A gre»s shoub went up from the'crowd, and words of encouragement wera-thiown in the oeeth of the wind. 1 Well dune, Mike !' 'Mind the rock, man !' ' See the big one coming! Pinna leb i& swamp ye.' They crowded the poinb now, the strongest men well out on the rocks whore they might risk their lives for the bwo in, the boat if ib became necessary. Ib seemed aa if Mike would win around the point) yen and beach the curragh safely on the sand ; bub a thole-pin broke, and a groan went up ac, wibh one oar useless, the fruit - UI II swung broadside ho the on-comi»tf waves.

Two thing* happened in the sains , second. With the overturning of the Mike caught bbc little maid in his arms, and a ball, sinewy man came swinging down the point with a coil of rope in his hand. 'Take this !' he said, imperiously. He handed one end of the rope to willing hands, then sprang determinedly down tha rods into the fierce roar of the curt, 16 was-bhe little maid'B father, who had como from, an unavailing search of the moor in time '.to learn what was feared at the point.

Thay drew the three to land—the father, exhauster! and bruised from his struggle with ro,cks and surf; the little maid, white and morionless, still clasped in bhe arms of unconscious Rainbow Mike, whose head was bleeding from a crusl blow against tho rocks. The fir At; thing Mike's Angel asked when t)iey brouftht her to consciousness was, 'Is myfunny hoy hurt?' Alivo, bub still unconscious, Mike lay mobionleMß until the arrival of tho surgeon from Dairry, for whom the little girl's father, with American promptitude, bad telegraphed aa soon as he knew the nature of the lud's butt.

1 Can we eavo him ?' asked the American nnxiously., The bu fceon ftenb over the boy long before repaying. 'Itis a singular case,' he i Eaid ; ' die boy .has been hurb before in, such a wny as would, L think, afFecb his1 intellect.' He looked at the American questioning!)/, and tha latter nodded. Then tho surgeon went on. • The second blow has fallen io almost exactly the same place aa tbo first. I shall perform an operation, no-fc a difficult one, and if ho survives that,, as I think he will, we shall have saved nou only his life but his wits.' < And that was juab what happened. After many wd eks Rainbow Mike was well again physically, and, beab of all, with his wits fully restored. The strange ! parb of it was that ho remembered nothing between the receiving of the first blow \and the eecond, greatly to the sorrow of tha little maid, who thought ib, most unfair (Jihab he should ignore his adventure with hit. WINTHKOP PAOKAKD.