LITERATURE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 4593, 15 March 1893, Page 1

LITERATURE.

: - ./.., :; '/V A«BL€SEY. ■ '•<; - ; ! \ .<;.• : ■;:■'/■ '" ' 'ckiwtalli. ; ■•"■ v; ' ' ' \' f '.'ss», 'liiprt of thos* .*who epenli. much time 1 ; "Tbeddeit, thetfl'd Band-w^er h>d Jwne to, rogatldt the aeaas a ihrmg thing endowed wilii moods end -caprices. But he knew that it had no feeling. , : Ho often; talked to himaejf aboutit; or "her "ac . -with deep tcomprebetadon of its sature, he called ' rife But it was«Wpays to hkbielf, or >to his <dog that' Jhe 9p*ke and HB^'or 1 'direct to the -sea.^ His atm of hdr was too great for. f --"'tlWifc; •" : ; :. ;' . ' ' \., ' ' '.; '' l H^-jiw"bkeone ■night towerfis' the close «F the :year^and sat upnght on hisbsap of rags/ listen, ing, tho wavea, on the beaoh . huniiaedthrougii'the utter 'darkness, of his den, - „-j JgJne jtffdewfyfd > itaa wdU as if they, spoke in V§htf»<lmtkau4rwJirfly,'' he mut^rod. ru'^^filaw*»ftaiichisfxkofi)» ifcwg^&hen he ' listened again. Bhe'*4ie^g!lßommer*ocka.on ( •yon Bide, and jusb running into "'iFTJpng^ gjie " J f * '"Tho dog rtfered silently round flia kbees, and 1 tho manroae up. Drawing baoktne .'slide above him, he Ihrirtt his head through the hatchway. .' The wind blew, keen aad steady from the sea with < a salt taste. A low hanging curtain of level fast- , moving clouds covered -4ho sky, shutting out the' -direct rays of the moon,, but still permitting a wan : .illumination of the earth and air. In this light the surface ofthe sea- shone with an oily shimmer > «nd • was crossed with long moving stripes of • shadow, "which deepened arid then burst into white lipes-aa they neered the shore. 'The little ■motionless town seemed tdbreathe heavily in its > deep underthe bitingwirid and rapid sky. The rumble of the ,br«akere ceased now. and again for >an instant, and; a atarange quietness .settled down upon everything, until -it was broken by a single crash of startling "distinctness, and then; the, murmur and confusion ran on again ; signs, these, of heayy.vweather to come. : The old man's head moved round above the hatoh in noiseleis. survey .of the scene., "Light enew without the htntern," he said, preparing to 4baw himself upward' through the opening. At • , that moment there camie a faint.' low cry from the > ( sea, so low and earned seemingly so far that it - -seemed to belong to the air • more than to the' ■^■«a>fli. ; .'^ i .a-..-v-v :; -.ii .<_ j" . • " •'■'*" Shi 1 '; ,ola ihoin nparaely, : cheoking the 'meyement of'hjs dog. .'.** Sh ! ' T^ero it v \ agam^V-jj'^^ TJbe , intensity of his r . features as he liat«aedwaß terrible; his whole, soul seemed strained^tothii! endeavour. " Sh ! Again!, Wo more! •Three times, foij a sign, man, bird, or ;4evil! iQnick/,dog,,out! rSomff luok is coming I'^-td-night!^ (;:•<. ■■{'.•■■.>■); a- .:Jv«iiov' -:■•;■■. • There was Something 'uncanny in the agility '■* '' j^]^^^^'M^ol.^a». '• "•''■ [ <i>6&. ' ! 'Bis;iii^ • Je^iwaikcd; ; ';-nt^i;.^tn'%ng..s^6s^ The '^ayei' craßned, and roared/. Bendjng long Bhuddering tongues of white water ,over the wet sand on •either side, of him, but never touching him as ' he stalked on, with, eyes bent v.upon the rim of the -eea. The <lpg '.ran to and ■fro hunting with fererish activity over all the dark piles- of seaweed which the tide had leftr Suddenly it stopped with ' head uplifted and paw in air, 0 aid at' the same moment its masted stopped alio.' ' ' ; ■' '"Tonder it is!" He said ?n' a that: /-:.^ui^m6^;kiß^ißki "'see it, dfjgf, .^Floating •ut yonder, and, coming ' this'; way! , It's _. .anoiier^dojg.; ;it's,an9the>'i". .. . j'.^.. ■^-'— -r r -^ '" " ( ' ,'^ot'j, moment ho seemed to lose his self* control, in the excess of his joy, but* immediately checked himself and began ; to mutter a rapid calculation. •" Say four hundred yards ; ebb-tide, .springs, but wind tin-shore. Yes, it's bound to -come, and that quickly; -say "half-way between here and Short Grip." ' ; ! ' He walked slowly on for a ' little distance further, muttering and watching the water all the while, and then took up a position close to the edge ofthe sea^and waited. The floating: ' thing was easily visible now, and as it rose and jell on the billows, just beyond the breaking . waves, tyou.might have fancied it had life. "He'sits straight lip, and rides high. That ' means he has a belt -round 'him. Aha, my lad, _you're not the first that's come to me that way either ! Much good your belt's done you, eh ? Brought you to me a bit quicker, that's all !" It rose on the crest of a toppling wave and lushed forward among ,the broken water straight -.for the place where the man and his dog were ■■; • waiting. ' He could have fetched it ashore at that '■■ instant had he" cared to wade in to his knees. But it seemed to please him better to see it roll to his •'feet on bis-own accord, and he watched it tumble • about grotesqudly in the shallows for a moment ' '' ibtiger, until a sudden retreat of the flood left it ■ 'fairly stranded. Then he pouueed upon it like a «pider upon a fly, and tugged and struggled with - might and main, till he had dragged it up out of reach of the .returning wave. He knelt ibesido it and scrutinised it carefully. - 1 -" Thought as much— sailor withlife-ibelt! Fell ♦verboard, I expect, ehf Flung you a belt, and left you to take your ohanoo, eh? Can't afford to stop a big steamer for the sake ,of a man like you, eh P Get another in your place, next port; that's the way nowadays, and a very good way too ! Elderly man, nice and sound; swum himself out, and not long dead; better than a soft two month's old 'on, that ! Come, now, old fellow, let's see what you're goiii"- to give me for my trouble. You're not so mean as to cut me down to bare body-pay, are you ? " He chuckled grimly at these pleasantries as he j passed his hands over the body. He unloosed the life-belt and pinched the soaking raiment beneath it here and there to discover where the pockets lay. These he ransacked, carefully examining ' every article he found in them. None of their contents wore ot much value; a sailor's knife, a tobacco-box and pipe and other similar odds and ends, all of which he carefully replaced. He drew a big silver watch from the fob with a bundle of ; dangling seals attached. This he handled covetously, and meditated over it for a few seconds, but finally returned it to its place, muttering to himself, v They'd miss it if they know him." Then he passed his hands under the bottom of the jersey and felt the waistband. Ah ! His face grew radiant ; there was a belt there, and a pouch that promised well. He unbuckled the belt, and emptied the • pouch, into the hollow of his hand. There was quite a little heap of money, some gold and still more silver and copper. Carefully he picked out all: the gold and about half the silver, and put back the remainder into the pouch. Then he knelt : down to re-buckio the belt on the body; but as he twitched the strap* something happened that startled him, violently, and he sprang to his /eet. He bant down again and pressed one hand .cautiously .upon its breast, the other still clutching the cpiqa. . Was it a flicker of life that he felt there? At that moment the moon shone' , through a rift in the clouds and brought out the scene distinctly. Conger gazed intently into the drowned man's rface; he saw the lips tremble and •draw further apart, as a gasping sigh passed through them.; then the eyelids quivered and ■slowly lifted, and the man's eyes moved dreamily round .till they met his with a sad, appealing gaze. There .was evea a faint attempt at motion in oneof the arms. The Sand-walker was intenoely agitated, but he clutched the pieces of monej with steady determination, and his face grew fierco and wicked.. "Plague take y«n!" he muttered, " but you're not goi^g to have it back! " ' He itoodnp, aaii latfked cautiously npound. . Th ®.^*M*& •'^9f''^.iffisk^-,put-j»»fl£>th ! «nd ehnrn^jftfnflk fcb^iky.mtUputa.flpwli oj^hi.

'<it,wrl 'the moon sltsne over the bare and lonely ■ehcfti whereon nothing 'moved except the hissing' •Whitewaters. The'sea iras bebiad him plunging a*3 calling savagely, and he know what sho said. "' Kill him and k«ep fc ! What's he to you? " -*Sac . said it over and over again, and each time Unore distinctly. So the old man stooped down, and rolled over the hapless mortal upon his face. The sandbank was fretted with Innumerable little waterpooJs, and it was into atie of these pools that the face sank. As he heM it there firmly by the shoulder, ! he saw the pool bubble, and felt a sobbing shudder shake the frame, and that was all. It; was done in an instant, and so easily 1 He stowed the money among his rags feeling infinitely relieved to , think how surely be had made it his. Then he fixed the life- belt on the body again, and dragged the dead man by the ; shoulders oat of "reach of the tide. He! propped it up st' the foot of the cliff with its Tract ; against the afepe. The head rolled sideways upon ' the'- freest, ana the hands spread helplessly outwards, palms .upward. The SancUwalker chuckled to see it; "Sit there,; my lad," he said as he torned,away; "sit there and.waittiH lsend^em itofetcbyofe. ■ Don'fcydu'go»w*y adw, or you'll lose me a good five shillings l-"r „. Ho : harried off towards ' the town, heading straight for his den. There he sat to rest awhile and amuse himself by drainng ont the money and letting it slide rattling te'ati^ ; ftp from one hand to the other. Whea^red of thia amusement, be pulled, up the plank of iris cabin floor and dropped the coins ono bygone into the stagnant pool beneath, counting them as -with -a: sharp plop they struck the water. "Eleven, twelve, thirteen— all good gold! VJ9h,< that's grand! SJow for the silver! ■: Tie Jbig; crown first — eh, what a splash 1 Then - the restten,'twelve, thirteen, wky, thirteen shillings as well! Come, that's good to remember"! ; What luck! And like enough they'll give me the 'other seven and tuppence" if he isn't claimed. And then there's the five shillings. . What lluck! Now to report him, lest some one eke sees him and claims first." So he covered up the hole, and clambered out ; into the dreary night again. It wao not far to the coastguard station, and there, was a [light within. He pushed open the door and stood -on the threshold of the cosy little room. A drowsy officer who had been doeing on his dhsir near the fire started up at the sound,' and stared with dazed alarm at the gaunt apparition in ■the'doorway until he had time to gather 3us wits and j recognise -the Sand-walker, The old ■ man's shivering dog peeped timidly past hia master's legs into the warm interior, and eyed with envious hate the fat, comfortable eat on the ng near the .fire..: '•■ . .. :■:.',. "Hallo, Conger!" exclaimed the coastguard as soon as he had found his voice: " Whirt brings your ugly face here at this time of the morning ? You surely- haven't found another, have you? Yea? What'a; nose iyoti have ifor; thereto be pure! iriiferehavoyou^ej^ f r '"; ; 1 The old mau pointed to tie' sdiitii,; and muttered, "Two miles'," and the officer anderstood him. "All right: ■ I'll send a«oupleof men to, fetch it at once. We know your 'ways Conger! , There> I've seen enough of yon mow., so off you go and come down here after the in-: quest and I'll see that you get your money." : A<nd he »hut the door in the old man's face.' : • • (To be continued.) ■ ;