The Storyteller

New Zealand Tablet, 15 September 1910, Page 1471

The Storyteller

I THE BRIDGE BUILDERS It was Saturday, and as the town clock chimed the • hour the workmen streamed away from the huge iron bridge destined to span the swiftly-flowing river as it tore its B mighty Sto thG bearing Countless shi P s u P on wii^ft a » am of satisfaction in his deep-set, blue eyes, VVilhe Mac Andrew the head engineer, surveyed the mighty girders, and the light was still in his eyes as he turned away. «/«*«««* Willie Mac Andrew, a well-to-do bachelor, had fallen in love with the pretty daughter of his landlady, and his way of loving like everything else about him, was deep and strong and true. r At first the girl had been a little in awe of her big lover, but Willie had softened wonderfully under the new influence that surrounded him, and little by little she had yielded to his pleading, secretly flattered that she and she alone had conquered him. Now, as he strode homewards, the man's big heart was uplifted within him, life was full of sunshine, and God was very good. The week's toil was over, and Jessie would be waiting tor him, that they might go off together, wandering hand-ni-hand over the purple heather, the larks carolling blithely above them, the golden gorse like beacons about their way With eager eyes he looked towards the whitewashed doorway, and his pulses throbbed and tingled as he descried the ghnt of a blue-print gown, the sheen of golden hair, i A i ere ye,waiting for me, lassie?' he said, her two little hands within his. i. ' T «£« I m a ?'' she answ ered. <■ What a long time ye've been, Will; Ted Robertson and the rest went by a while since. , ™ l had to bide and write a letter,' he answered We re near through wi' it all now, ye ken, and I had to report to headquarters.' A few minutes later they were on their way, Jessie looking adorable in a big sun-bonnet to match her gown and more than one glance of admiration followed them as they passed up the street. ' She's a bonnie lass, she's a real bonnie lass,' muttered Tom Watson, the farrier, as he and his partner stood in the doorway of the smithy; ' but she's fickle as the wind that blows 'cross the moor! Mac Andrew will hae his work cut oot for him, he'll no find it sae easy to hold a lassie as it is to bild a brig, I'm thinking!' At that moment Ted Robertson, the foreman of the firm of whom Mac Andrew worked, sauntered by, his handsome head thrown back, his dark eyes fixed on the slender, blue-gowned figure that was fast vanishing from sight up the hill. , Old Tom shook his grizzled head. ■< 'I dinna like to look o' it!' he muttered. 'What way? Is Jessie getting tvva strings to her bow?' asked his companion, who took but little interest in the local love affairs being a stranger in the town. ' I doot you've hit it!' granted the farrier. 'And it'll no' do, it'll no' do. Mac Andrew's no' the chap to play with.' Meanwhile the lovers were strolling up the rough track leading on to the moor, and again and again Jessie's rippling laughter mingled with the singing of the birds, as, with flushed cheeks and sparkling eyes she hung lightly on her lover's arm, and from time to time Mac Andrew would look down at the lovely little face with a proud sense of proprietorship and things too deep for speech within his eyes. Let us sit here a while!' said the girl, when reaching the summit they paused a moment. The spot she indicated was a little hillock, all covered with sweet-scented thyme, and, flinging her bonnet down beside her, she let the summer breeze play with her deep golden hair. ' Weel,' she said, ' are ye no' going to sit by me, Willie? What is it that's making ye stand there sae serious like?' ' I'm thinking that the bridge will be feenished this day week,' answered the man, ' and then I'll hae to gang awa', lassie !' He broke off abruptly, and, sitting down beside her, he continued : ' I've made a gude bit o' silver over this job. I hae enough for you and me* lassie; will ye come wi' me when I gang? Will ye come, lassie?' His voice was hoarse with passion, and for a moment a scared look crept into the girl's eyes. 'I hadna thocht o' that!' she faltered. 'l sae sudden, Willie. It was the autumn I was thinking we would be getting marriet.' Never heed what ye thocht, lassie,' he pleaded, 'but say ye'll come wi' me! Dinna send me awa' by mysel' ! I want ye, dearie. I'm no' mysel' wi'oot ye!' 'l'll hae to think on it,' she said. 'l'll tell ye tomorrow, Willie. It's sic a big thing to decide all in a minute.'

'And so it is, lassie,' he said, yielding his will to hers, as he ever did. But you'll tell me to-morrow?'. " That evening Mac Andrew sought in vain for his little sweetheart. ' Is , Jessie no' in, Mrs. Fraser ?' he queried, coming into the low-ceiled kitchen, where the widow was busy at the ironing board. ' Jessie's awa' to Paiterson's wi' a message/ she answered. ' She'll no' be ower lang, so tak' your pipe and sit ye doon. Hoo's the bridge getting on the day? 'Fine,' he answered with pride. 'Fine, Missus Fraser. We'll be through with her next week if all goes weel!' ' I'm wanting Jessie to come awa' to Glasgie wi' me,' he added, after a few minutes' pause. ' Is that so ?' ' answered the woman, pausing with her iron in mid-air. ' She didna say anything to me, but she was that hurried like.' What is she doing at Paiterson's?' he asked. 'She didna tell me she was goin'.' ' I couldna tell you,' was the vague reply. * ' It's some message for Jeannie. She cried out summat at the door, but I didna rightly catch the words.' The engineer relapsed into silence, his eyes fixed on the deep red heart of the fire, while he pulled thoughtfully at his pipe, his brain busy weaving plans for the future, that golden future in which he and Jessie would be together always. ' • In _ the narrow ill-lit lane that led from the town to the river Jessie was standing, her hands held fast in those of Ted Robertson's, Willie Mac Andrew's trusted friend and colleague. 'What can I —oh, whatever can I do?' cried the girl, her eyes wide with distress. ' I'm feared to tell —and, oh, Ted, Ted, I canna marry him! I thocht I loved him—-ay, and I did. I loved him weel enough till you came into my hairt, and then I kent what real luve was —and he wantse to tak' me back wi' him. This very day he asked me, and to-morrow I hae to gie him my answer; I'm fair demented. I wish I was deid!' 'No, you don't!' answered the man, his brief English speech in strange contrast to hers. 'lt will be a bit of a blow at first, but he'll get over it, and it would be worse if you married him, dear, with your heart mine. Take your courage in your hands, little girl, and make a clean breast of it. It'll be all right. You won't be the first as has made a mistake, and Mac Andrew has sense in him — sound sense, and plenty of it. You just up and tell him straight how it is, and come to me after, for I want you, Jessie; I love you with every breath I draw —all along I loved you, only I was fool and didn't speak, and then when I heard as you'd taken Mac Andrew I thought it was all up for me. We've made a mess of it, little girl, but we're going to put it right before it is too late. Promise me that—promise me that you won't wreck the lives of three of us for want of a bit of courage.' He paused, and, drawing her under the solitary gaslamp, whose feeble ray shone fitfully in the darkness, he looked deep into her eyes. You'll break with him,' he said, for the sake of our love?' ' Yes' —the answer came at last —' I'll be telling him to-morrow.' • • • ■ • Willie Mac Andrew stared blankly into the face of the girl he loved, trying hard to get a grip on the thoughts that ran riot in his brain, thoughts that cut and seared. ' It was true, Willie, it was true, when I said I luved ye!' sobbed the girl. 'And I thocht I was to luve ye ever, till he came, and then—and then it all went agley.' She ceased speaking, and still remained silent, still the words eluded his grasp. ' Ye're no' angry?' she cried. 'I ken fine it's a meanlike way to treat ye, but I couldna marry ye, Willie, for I dinna luve ye weel enough. There's only one I luve that way.' Timidly she put out her hand and touched his, and as he felt her fingers light broke through the darkness that had engulfed Mac Andrew as he listened to her faltering confession. , ' It's a' richt, lassie,' he said slowly. ' I'm glad ye came to me, glad ye spok'; t' woul' hae been owful for you, for him, and for me if you hadna done it.' ' It doesna hurt ye sae terribly bad,' she whispered, her heart already relieved by his reassuring words. , For a minute he made no reply. 'I want happiness for ye, lassie,' he said at length. ' Nought else matters save that.' Three nights later Willie Mac Andrew and Ted Robertson stood together upon the newly-erected bridge. A high wind was blowing off the moor, driving the soft white clouds like feathers across the sky. 'From time to time the silver beams of the full moon rested on the grim black structure, and on the dark and turbid waters flowing below. ' I am a wee bit anxious aboot her,' said the engineer musingly. ' I'm thinking I'll walk across to the ither side. There's a day's work needed there yet.' In silence they made way, two lonely figures midway between river and sky as it were, and as they went MacAndrew stared hard before him. No doubt at that very minute as he strode beside him the foreman was building castles for the years to come when Jessie should be at his side, filling his home with the sunlight of her presence, the music of her voice, while he sat alonej. unloved.

. The thought acted like madness on his overwrought brain, and with it came the low, soft voice of the tempter. Why not? You are alone. One strong push is all that is needed, and the river will keep its counsel.' Beads of perspiration stood on his furrowed brow, his breath became hard and labored. - They were within a few yards.of the end of the bridge when Ted Robertson turned to him; 1.1. '?*'?« al l seen V. he said. 'lf she stands a gale life* this she stand ' i The sentence was never completed; with a hoarse cry he fell headlong to the river. He had stepped into an unfinished gap, falling down, down towards the angry water. Fate had made matters very simple for Willie Mac Andrew. For the fraction of a second the engineer hesitated: then, with a shout, he swung himself to the rescue by means a stout rope hanging from the upper part of the bridge. I here was but one thought in his brain. Ted Robertson must be saved at all costs, and he must save him, thus redeeming the black temptation that had stained his honor. Hold on, hold on!' he cried, as he reached the struggling man. ° By this time their cries had roused the watchman, and before many minutes had elapsed a boat was launched. Supporting his friend with one arm, Mac Andrew struck out for the bank, but, strong swimmer as he was, he was no match for the swirling current. 'Look to yourself! Save yourself, man!' gasped the foreman; never mind me!' But Mac Andrew's eyes were fixed on the advancing boat. a 'We'll do it, lad!' he said. 'Hold on a wee bit longer! We maun do it,' he added fiercely, 'for Jessie's sake!' Two minutes longer of the grim battle, and then the rescuers were within reach, and strong hands pulled Ted Robertson into the boat. Utterly exhausted, Mac Andrew was hurled against one of the iron pillars supporting the bridge, striking his head against a projecting bar. A groan of dismay broke from those watching, but the river, seeming to repent its recent harshness, brought them within reach once again, and after a hard struggle Mac Andrew was hauled into the boat. The news of the accident had spread like wildfire through the town, and a crowd stood on the bank. Shaken and exhausted, Ted Robertson was helped ashore, and then a strange hush fell on the spectators as the body of Willie Mac Andrew was raised from the bottom of the boat, a hush which remained unbroken as the doctor knelt down by the inanimate form. ■ At that moment the clouds passed from the face of the moon, the silver radiance falling on the quiet face of the engineer and on the dull bruise upon the temple. The eyes were closed, and a rare.smile played about the grim, set mouth. Willie Mac Andrew would never be alone or unloved again. - , With bared head the doctor rose to his feet, facing the scared faces gathered round. ' Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friend,' he said softly. Antigonish Casket.