Tess of the Storm Country

t in their nets the previous night. When they glanced up from their work, and looked beyond the southern borders of the

rs, the humble shanties of the squatter fishermen, but their owners did all they could to drive the fishermen out of the land. None of the squatters were allowed to have the title of the property upon which their huts stood, yet they clung with death-like tenacity to their homes, holding them through the rights of the squatter-law, which conceded them the use of the land when once they raised a hut upon it. S

driven on by the vicissitudes of their unwholesome lives. Moving his crooked legs upon

e keeps on saying fishes can feel when th

his blade into its quivering body after removing the scales, "that it hurts

atched his he

to his scaly victims, "and they do say as how when she air in a tantrum she'll

humped. But you never hears as much as a grunt from him. He

a glance at the third man, who was industriously cleaning fish and had

industriou

time let me kill the man, and then ye won't be hittin' at her no more, 'cause there won't b

Ben Letts dro

ore wonder has been goin' on why ye a

te cleaner of fish; "had to get bread

nd the brat to the wo

n, as he was calle

o let it stay," wa

son Ezy asked Tessibel Skinner to marry him and as h

over his crossed eyes, suspending

in his bloody work and allowing his eyes to rest upon the magnificent buildings of the Un

upon the shore of the

igure clad in rags, with flying copper-colored hair and bare dirty f

fish?" s

see?" gr

swered; "just wondered

caught up two long fish, depositing one beside him

thout change of expression or color caught

d she, and with a pointed rock she expertly tapped the fish thre

Tessibel mollygrubs in her belly," grin

toad to-da

took from his pocket a huge hunk of tobacc

er with her eye, she sent a flat stone skipping across it. Then

er business how my t

bare elbow, "only I thought as how he might be dead."

r dead? Ye in't been a rubberin'

laughed

now glowering above the fishermen with eyes changing to th

pped it thrice into the fisherman's face. Turning she flashed away, her lo

ith her some of these here days. The devil's built his nest in her alright, and if he

eeve of his shirt, spitting out the scales and bl

to let her alone, I air a thinkin' that she wouldn't bother ye. Tess air a good gi

ke off warts afore she was knee high to a grasshopper, and so can Tess. Once she whispered

n' it so hard for us down here. He gets his bread on Sunday if any man does. But t

put in Longman with a chuckle, "he air lost the ten war

day last winter. She scooted by our hut and down dropped the yeast. Wouldn't as much as l

get back, Orn will. There ain't no man on the shores of this here lake that

n Longman touched his arm. For years it had been the custom of the fishermen to allow the subject of netting to remain undiscussed. They plied their trade, spent

expression upon his companion's face, "an

ut, Ben Letts," cautioned Longman, "netti

d, pointing lakeward to a bobbing bo

ait cars a floatin' to blind the eyes of some guy that might be a rub

vigorously away at the oars. Orn Skinner was called the "Giant Fisherman," because even in his bare feet he was seven inches above every other man in the settlement. Two enormous humps stood side by side on his shoulders, and a grizzled head lifted and sank with each sweep of the oars. Glancing aroun