Harbor Tales Down North / With an Appreciation by Wilfred T. Grenfell, M.D.

I

N OF SCA

devices to which pretty Peggy Lacey should have resorted without scruple in her own relief, were not unknown, you may be sure, to the wise, whispering maids of the place. It was too complacently agreed that the situation, being left to the direction and mastery of Time, would proceed to a happy conclusion as a matter of course. There would be a conjunction of the light of the moon, for example, with the soft, love-lorn weather of June-the shadows of the alders on

quid Cove road, found his father,

ipper John

s I,

aitin' for you. How'd y

long wel

did yer g

proce

did

Dickie rep

ou! Wh

nothin' much,

othin' much, eh! Was you with

Dickie replied.

id he. "An' you didn't do nothin' much! Well, well!

' no great len

leng

ickie dra

"What I wants t' know," said he, "i

M

ohn was d

aculated. "Th

said Dickie. "Th

e into peril

admitted, "I

ted. "You brooded on it, did

hesit

s cautious, wasn't it? A

willin' an' eager t' be wed. I jus' don't want t' make no mistake. That's all. Dang it, there's shoals o' maids hereabout

enty-one," Skip

ough yet. I'm

a man that's as slow as you at courtin'! No hurry,

I'll not be driven. I'll pick a

wasteful maid?" Sk

not a was

she

ous enoug

he he

h that anybody ever fetched t

she

'll

'm askin' you if she isn't the

ter o' tast

our taste-if

'd say that she might have a touch more o' col

delicate notion o' beauty!" Ski

osier maid

remedied t' suit you. Mm-mm! Well, well! An' is there anything else o

sted again. "I isn't de

; b

What's the harm in admirin' rosy cheeks? Isn't

fade,

tty while they last. An' I'd never be the man t' complain, sir, wh

omplain when

shame my

on enough; but that she'll never do, my son-she's too proud an' honest for that. Ay; that's it-too innocent t' conceal her feelin's an' too proud to ensnare you. You was always the lad, Dick, t' scorn what you could have an' crave that which was beyond your reach. Do you mind the time when you took over the little Robin's Wing from Trader Tom Jenkins for the Labrador fishin'? She was offered you on fair credit, an' you

isn

er repente

. Why sh

ower-man. If I was, I'd bring your chance into peril soon enough," said his father. "'Tis t' be a fair day for fishin'

were so many maids in the world! Dang it, it was confusing! There was Peggy Lacey. She was adorable. Nobody could deny it. Had she worn roses in her cheeks she would have been irresistible altogether. And there was the new schoolmistress from Grace Harbor. That superior maid had her points, too. She did not lack attractions. They were more intellectual than anything else. Still,

is stupidity at will, had she been maliciously inclined. Conceiving such practices to be both cheap and artful, however, and being, after all, of a pretty sturdy turn of character, she rejected the advantages of deceitful behavior, as she called it, and in consequence lived in a state of cruel uncertainty. Worse than that, she was no longer sought; and for this, too, she was wholly responsible. In a spirit of loyalty to Dickie Blue, who deserved nothing

," Dickie Blue had admonished. "

ft little Peggy p

Dickie Blue. He was in earn

Peggy began, "t

ot fit company for the likes o' you." It was true. "You must look upon me, Peggy, as an elder brot

d, flushed with pleasure in t

me," Dickie protested. "'T

ou," sai

the deceitful practice disclosed by Skipper John, whose sophistication she suspected and deplored. She had no notion at all, said she, that such evil as he described could walk abroad and unshamed in the good world, and she wondered what old mischief of his youth had informed him; and she would die a maid, loveless and childless, she declared, rather than have the guilt of a deception of such magnitude on her soul. Moreover, where were the means to be

enient to assist the expression

id he, "an' I'm not able t

y's help," Peggy

not,

pride t

ohn gravely, "you've also

ain it

hin, "you'd take my help in this an' in all things, wouldn't ye? You is jus' so

was

be glad. Whatever an' all about that, I'll have nobody's help in the

you the way

disho

, b

sham

l an'

not

d. "'Tis an old sayin'," he proteste

argued, "an I took your advice, an' done the schemin' w

u try it

er t' win the likes o' Dickie Blue. An' what would

er find o

yes t' see wit

tupid t' notice. An

a thing too

lad," said Skipper John, "y

t eyes cloud

he, "than he cares for me. My

no,

air against Skipper John's shoulder then. "I

could command. There were times, twilight falling on the world of sea and rock beyond the kitchen window, with the last fire of the sun failing in the west like a bright hope-there were hours when her fear of the issue was so poignant that her decision trembled. The weather mellowed; the temptation gathered strength and renewed itself persistently-the temptation discreetly to accept the aid of artifice. After all, what matter? 'Twas surely a thing o' small consequenc

per John, whom she found alone in

what's all this I sees goin' o

ced out of the wi

labor. He've selected that pretty spot an' i

s lumber?"

m-

' l-l-l

ss with the rest o' the dogs. Well,

s the

ai

haulin' l

same reason that any young fellow would h

ew house,

ld his house this long time, as you knows very we

ding it hard to command breath fo

articular tha

"'Tis the new schoolmistress fro

said Skip

er eyeglasses an' grammar. The false, simpe

he

do for un,

N

d to each other at all. H

John g

ckie!" h

was in tea

m stifled. My heart's like t' burst with pain." She paused-she turned to Skipper John, swaying where she stood, her hands pitifully reaching toward the old man, her face gray and d

n took her

so bad as all that. An' he's not

pushed Skipp

ion. Her red little lips curled and the nostrils of her saucy little nose contemptuously expande

" said Sk

wil

thout s

a twi

ave no

ot

encourage

aid Peggy, her soft, slender little body magnificently drawn up to the

kipper Joh

sir. 'Tis a ti

less 'n a fortnight." Skipper John broke into a wild guffaw of laugh

emained

"There's nothin' will stop me

er John, "I 'low 'tis al

the likes o' Dickie Blue. And I think so too. However, the affair was Peggy Lacey's. And

therefore, that he should be aware of the communication addressed to Miss Peggy Lacey of Scalawag Run; and acutely aware of it he was-the communication and the little box that seemed to accompany it. From Bottom Harbor to All-in-the-Way Island, he reflected occasionally upon the singular circumstance. Who had sent a gift t

communication; but he had no difficulty in surmis

ing," he

ng the lamps in the kitchens; and he fixed his eyes on Peggy Lacey's light, in the yellow glow of which, no doubt, pretty Peggy was daintily busied with making a supper of no dainty proportions; and he cocked his head and scowled in deliberation, and he stood irresolute on the brink of the cliff, playing with the temptation to descend and cross, as though a whiff from Peggy Lacey's kitchen stove had invited and challenged him over. I

' that'll settle her, ecod! I'll show her once an

the passage in contrast with the dry, lighted kitchens of Point-o'-Bay Cove, Dickie Blue crossed Scalawag Run that night notwithstanding; and the mere circumstance of the crossing, where was no haste that he knew of, indicated at least the perturbation of his emotions. Well, Peggy Lacey might wed whom

tered, Skipper John

the run this n

curtly, "t' solve that deep riddle for

John r

cey?" said he. "She've been eage

re w

' else,

. There wa

en fearin' an outcome o' that sort. An I was you, Dic

t my pur

wed the

ill

ye! Dang if I don't! Go to! Shift them wet clothes, sir, an

s stowing the clean dishes away. Yet his course was shaped-his reflections were determined; and whatever Peggy Lacey might think to the contrary, as he was no better, after all, than a great, blundering, obstinate young male creature, swayed by vanity and pi

ter an' her ring an' wed whom she pleased; an' as for tears at the weddin', they'd not fall from the eyes o' Dickie Blue, who would by that time, ecod, perhaps have consummated an affair with a maid of consequen

earn-in'. Moreover, she've high connections

, too, as everybody knows, has cast happiness to waste in

Dick?" says

odded an

lookin' for someb

Dic

gy Lacey was puzzled. Dickie Blue's

id Dicky,

' w

dy else t' come t' see you, I'd be glad t' have un d

lmost she protested that she would have a welcome fo

g the mail?"

d

e nothin'

re w

let

A

proposed, she was shocked. She concealed her agitation, however, an

else?"

ere was

small p

I 'low you been expectin' som

s it from

A

erly admitted. "Where is it, Dickie?

the package w

uess the contents of a wee box like

y st

ulated. "You know the

ents. I could guess them,

nd of a man t' fathom such a thing as that

s a

You'd not care, Dickie Blue,

ningly to its mark. Pride flashed to the rescue of

ung out. "I'll weather it,

poor Peggy, in a f

not h

you d

sit down.

ommanded. "I'll read my letter an' open my pac

fear of the consequences of that wicked deceit to the immediate practice of which she had committed herself. And as for Dickie Blue,

aising the generous interest, the discretion and exuberant experience of the gay widow of the late Cap'n Saul Nash o' the Royal Bloodhound, whose letter, dealing with the most satisfactory methods of application, as related to the materials aforesaid, whatever they were, and whose wisdom included a happy warning or two-I have no hesitation in admitting that the letter was completely sufficient to enlighten the ignorance of pretty Peggy Lacey, and to steel her resolution and to guide her unreluctan

o the balance," poor Peggy accused

! Ecod! Huh! 'Twas a poor match for a dear maid like she t' make. An' Dickie Blue would miss her sadly when she was wed away from his care an' affection. Affection? Ay; he was wonderful fond o' the pallid wee thing. 'Twas a pity she had no color-no blushes t' match an' assist the roguish loveliness o' the big eyes that was forever near trappin' the heart of a man. Dang it, she was f

, Dickie Blue was melancholy with the fea

!" he

! Dear Lord, what full-blown flowers they were! Dickie Blue went daft with love of

ggy defiantly. "You is s

e thrilled and troubled hi

ll, is you?"

r felt better in all my lif

re fl

ve a distaste for the color in my cheeks. I w

smi

re," said he. "You're jus' b

t shoulders, "mostly I'm not rosy at all, but there's days when I is. I'm sorry you're o

offende

Blue's voice to make Pe

says

fro

m s'p

' beautiful the

nig

was an' alwa

elieve ye

"Peggy," said he, "was there a ring in

, s

betrothe

was more afraid than ever. Yet she must list

ot," she

e Blue. "Ah, Peggy, Peggy,"

n't say i

t help

it in a flood of reproaches. There was no maid more fal

she bega

Peggy? I-I jus' crave it, Peggy

obbed. "Don't you budge a inch, D

n to contemplate; but something may be inferred from a significant confusion of sounds which the closed door failed altogether to conceal. There was clink of pitcher and basin; there was a great splash of water, as of water being poured with no caution to confine it to the receptacle provided to receive it; there was the thump of a pitcher on the floor; and there was more splashing, then a violent agitation, and the trickle and drip of water, and a second a

ickie Blue. She was reckless; she was d

me!" she

ling. "I'm lookin'," said he

lookin

o' your dear face. I'm blind with

s my ro

fled. Wha

d! An'

ame so prettily. 'Tis a lure o'

y ga

red. "Ah, where did they come

ickie replied, smiling indulgent explanation, "an' now

ened at all. Lo

est little knob

h care. C

nt w

hree freck

A

a h

it

truth. I'm pallid. I'm freckl

oves

ou're quite mistaken. You do

was bew

?" he pleaded. "I don't know w

id again,

ftly, as he advanced, glowing, upon the trembling little maid

there in peace. It was safe harbor, she knew; and

r," she

s the happiest maid in the world, which is somewhat surprising, I confess-never so happy as when, before she sought sleep to escape the sweet agony o