HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1941-05-29, Page 6PAGE SIX
THE SEAFORTH NEWS
THURSDAY, MAY 29, 1941
"It is known. (because their trail
was found next day !hy the Serpent,
card it was that of e military hoot and
r.recca sit.. One of our hunters;
moreover, saw the canoe crocsine to-
w'ards Fa'ontenac next morring.
"Dict the trail lead near the ;>arris-
an, 'taster " Pathfinder asked in a
manner so meek and subdued that it
ac e: ihlt the tone of a re'beked
.:l;i oleay. 'Did the ..a.. :lead .:ear to
'l f...i elet not: :!Bing),, course
a.:at:.. . gross the ..ver. I, was f,. -
rte -.. t:. to the eastern point, at
al•e eller'• Ti I. 'A''1 re what '.vas
-, t1 .c. .seen; ^•et ..
.1c eel crese tte ratel ev r'
'::11 e 'sea- didn't yam 'get ender
ecigli. Master jasper," ea, detnand-
ed, "ar.d give chase? On Tnesday
morning it:elm- a good breeze; cane
r. which this cutter might have run.
rineknees."
"That may do on the ocean, Ma-
ir Cap." put in Pathfinder. "but it
wattle not do here. Water leaves no
trial. and a 'Mimeo and a Frenchman
are a match for the devil in a pur-
sate. '
-Who warts trail- when the chase
len lee Seen frim the deck, ee jasper
here said was the case with this in. if he had a temptation to deceive
yomm. 1Cheatiee seems to Ibe their gift,
and I sometimes think they ought to
be pitied for it, rather than persecut-
ed."
"Then why not believe that this
gasper may have the same weakness?
A man is a man, and lunnan nature
is sometimes shut a poor concern. as
I know by experience."
This was the opening of another
long and desultory conversation, in
which the probability of Jasper's
guilt or innocence was argued pro
and con. until both the Sergeant and
his brother-in-law had nearly reason-
ed themselves into settled convic-
tions in favour of the first, ,while
their companion grew sturdier and
sturdier in his defence of the arms-
ed. and still more fixed in his sepia -
ion of his (being unjustly charged
with treachery. In ,this there was no-
thing out of the common course of
things: for there is no more certain
way of arriving at any ,particular .nu -
tion. than by undertaking to defend
it; and among the most Obstinate of
our opinions may be classed . those
which are derived from discussions
in which we affect to search for
truth, while in reality we are only
fortifyimug prejudice.
Sy this time the Sergeant had
reached a state :of mind that disposed
him to view every act of the young
sailor with distrust, and he soon got
to coincide with hie relative in deem-
ing the peculiar knowledge of jasper,
in reference to the spies, a (branch of
information that certainly did not
come within the circle of his regular
duties, as 'la circumstance."
While this matter was thus dis-
cussed near the taffrail, 'Mabel sat si-
lently Iby the companion -way, IMr.
Muir having gone below to look aft-
er his personal comforts, and Jasper
standing a little aloof, with his arms
crossed, and his eyes wandering
from the sails to the clouds, from the
clouds to the dusky outline of the
shore, from the shore to the lake,
and from the lake back again to the
sails. Our heroine, .too, !began to
commune with her own .thoughts
The excitement of the late journey,
the incidents which marked the day
of her arrival at the fort, the meet-
ing with a (farther who was ;virtually a
stranger to 'ter, the novelty of her
late situation itt the garrison, and e'er
present 'voyage, keened a vista for
the mind's eye to look back ,thnou2h,
and seemed lengthened into months.
She could with difficulty believe that
she bad so recently left the town,
with all the usages of civilized life;
and she wondered in particular that
the incidents which 'had occurred
daring the descent of the Oswego
had ncade so little impression on her
mind, TDO inexperienced to know
-
that events, wears crowded, have the
effect of thee, for that the quick sac -
cession of novelties that pass before
atiti *availing 'e1evlates objects, in
visit. Pathfinder viewed the matter
differently. ,'With Ile 'halbitual diffid-
ence, he reproache.l himself with a
neglect ,of duty. end that ,knowledge,
of which the want struck him as a
fault in one whose business it was to
possess it, appeared a merit in the
young man. He saw nothing extra-
ordinary in Jasper knowing the facto
be had related; .vhile he did feel it
,vas tor. tali:. not to soy di..,racefu',
eat '1e eintscl: new heard of them for
t::e first time..
'As .,,r neweasains. \baster Cap,'
said e, when 5. short pause invited
hen to speak. "they may la worn by
pale fact: es tell a by red -skins, it
is true, :hough they never leave the
-ante tree 00 the foe t of one as on the
foot of the other. Ally one who is
used to the woods can tell the -foot-
step of an Indian from the footstep
of a white man,whether it be made
by a !hoot or a moccasin. It ,will need
better evidence than this to persuade
me into the belief that jasper is
false.'
'You will allow. Pathfinder, thai
there are such things in the world as
traitors?" ,put in Cap logically.
"I never knew an honest -minded
dinga,—one that you could put faith
tante? and it mattered nothing if
there were twenty of your Mingo.
and Frenchmen with a goad British
built bottom in their wake. 1'11 en-
gage. Master Eau-douce, had you.
given me a call that said Tuesday
morning. that we could atolls over -
heeled the blackguards."
daresay, :Master Cap, that the
advice of as old a seamant, as you
;might have done no harm to as young
a sailor as myself, rout it is a long and
e. hopeless „chase that has a bark
canoe in it."
'You would have had only to (tress
it hard. to drive it ashore."
"Ashore, Master Capl You do not
understand our lake navigation at all,
:5 you suppose it an easy matter to
icrcc a bark canoe ashore. As soon
et they find themselves pressed, these
babbles paddle right into the wind's
eye. and :beforeyouknow it, you find
yourself a mile ar :wo dead under
their ice..'
5"Yeu don't wish me es believe.
Master Jasper. that any one is so
r:eediess c,r Brow-ine as to .put off in-
to this lake in one of them eggshells
when there i. any :rind?"
'1 have often crossed Ontario in a
Sark canoe. even when there itas been
a good deal of sea an. (Well managed,
they are the driest boat of which we
flees any knowledge.'
Gap now led his brother-in-law and
Pathfinder aside when he assured him
that the admission of Jasper concern -
ng the spies was "a circumstance,"
and "a strung circumstance," and as
such it deserved his deliberate invest-
igatior.; while his account o f the can-
oes awns so inmeo!babie as to wear the
appearance of browbeating the list-
eners. Jasper suoke confidently of the
character of the two individuals who
had landed, and this Cap deemed
pretty strong proof that he knew
more about them than would be gath-
ered from a mere trail. As for mocas-
sins, he said that they were worn in
that Dart of the world Iby white men
as -well as by ,Indians; he had pur-
chased a pair himself; and boots, it
was notorious, did not ,particularly
;make a soldier. Although anuch of
this logic was thrown away on the
sergeant, still it produced some effect.
He thought it a little singular himself,
that there should have !been some
tapies detected so near the fort and he
knew nothing of it; nor 'did be be-
lieve that this was a branch Of know-
ledge that fold'peak:tIarly within the
sphere of Jasper. It writs thane that the
Scud had, once or twice, been sent
across the lake to land risen of this
character, or twice to tbring :off; bet
then the part played :by Jasper. to his
own certain knowledge, was ve-y sec-
ondary, the master of the .tatter re•
maining as ignorant <as any one else
-. of the purport, of the .visits Of those.
whom be had carried to and ere; nor
clad he see why he alone, of all pres-
ent, should know anything of the late
a measure to the dignity of events,
she drew et'pon her memory for days
and dates, in ,order to make certain
that she had known ;jasper, and the
Pathtidrder, and her own father,. but
little' more than a ,fortnight. L'ulalfiel
was a ,girl of beam rather than of
imagination, though by no means de:
ficient 'in the last, and she could nc,t
e6<ily accsurtt for the e;reaagth of her
feelings in - connection with those
who ter: .0 lately strangers to her;
?or. she -.vas 501 sal):featly <.cetr-
ntcd anelyae eta sensetiems i.,
1, 5;551:; h, theme: ,f the t.l..r•:;_
c!, Lo'tc cr, isle ;,ort n1i1:-1 ..+as
.ter ....v1 '1a eeeet '.f aistrest, ,::t,1
1 :10 ;t;c ;e1) ei t1e views
..r •i leen stet ,,,,,,, r11 o ee of , is
r .,,,ick. that 5:,,01 !mare 1 1)01-
tarily disterhed her - confidence
-vo:tld have been to .suppose it p .'
able either of her cornpanione was 0
traitor to his king and country.
The last thing that 'Mabel would
suspect of Jasper was the very crime
of which he new •stood secretly char-
ged; and if others near her endured
the spoilt,: of distrust, site at least was
tilled with generous confidence of a
woman. As yet no whisper had
reached her ear to distunh the feelin;g.•
of reliance -with which she had early
regarded the young sailor, and her
own mind would fame been the last
to suggest such a thought of itself.
The pictures esi the past and of the
present, therefore, that exhitiiterl
themselves so -rapidly to her active
iutagination, were tmcloutted .with
shade that might affect any in whom
she felt an interest; and+ere she had
mused. in the manner related, a quar-
ter of an hone the whole scene a-
round her was filled with unalloyed
satisfaction.
The season and the night. to rept,
seat them truly, were of a nature 1„
stimulate the sensations which
youth, health, and happiness are
wont to associate with novelty. The
weather was warm, as is teat alwaes
the.rase in the region even in sum-
mer. while the air that came off the
land, in breathing currents, lhroeght
with it the coolness and fragrance of
the forest. The wind was :far ,from
being -.fresh though there was Omagh
of at to drive the Scud merrily ('head.
and perhaps to keep attention alive,
in the uncertainty that more or les:
accompanies darkness. Jasper, how-
ever, appeared to regard it with com-
placency, as was .apparent by what
he said in a short dialogue that now
occurred Ibetweeat him and 'Malhel.
"At this rate, Eau -donee," --for so
Mabel had already learned to style
the yeun5g sail-ors—said our heroine,
"we cannot be long in 'reaching :our
place of destination,"
'•'1Has your father, then told you
what that is, Mabel?"
"He has told me nothing; my ,fa-
ther is too much of a soldier, and too
little used to have a ,fancily around
him, to talk of such matters. Is it
foribid•den to say whither we are
hound-?"
"It cannot be far, while we steer
in this direction, for sixty or seventy
miles will take ,us into the St. (Law-
rence, which the French might make
too hot for us; and no voyage on
this lake ,can be very long."
"So says my uncle Cap; bat to nee,
Jasper, Ontario and ,rhe ocean ap-
pear very much the same."
"You have then been on the ocean;
while I, who pretend to he a sailor,
have never yet seen salt water. You
mast have a great :contempt for
such a mariner as myself, in your
heart, !Mabel Dunham "
''Ther. i have no such thing, Pease
et Eau -deuce. 1 hat right have 1, a
sari ,without ,experience ar knnwled,ge
to despise any, much less .one like
you, who are trusted by the bfaj:or.
and .rho cm -amend a vessel like this
1 heti rover leen on t he ocean.
ghee :h l have seen rot, and, I repeat,
1 -es no i ffrteee :beeween this lake
lel 11,5 .Pantie"
'.Nor in abet, that saii ern 'tot'? 1
-yes airai,l, Meese, your :inele had
mach fresh -ovate:
that r ee i.begun te -eek
lase es es little 'teeter .Wan pretend-
ers "
,inive yourself no uneasiness oil
that aceaent, Jasper; for I .know
my emir, and he says as many
things against those who live ashore,
when at Work, as he now says a-
gainst those wee sail on fresh water.
No, no, neither my father nor my-
self think anything of such opinions.
My uncle. Cap, if 'he spoke openly.
would be •found to have even a 'worse
notion 'of a soldier than of a sailor
who never saw the sea."
"Rtmt ysnr father, Malbel, has a
;:tetter opinion ,of soldiers than ,of eny
ane else? he wishes you to the the wife
of a soldier?"
"jasper Eau-donee!—I the wife ,of
a soldier! My father w'is'hes -ill Why
,tr told he wish any smelt thing? What
soldier is there in the igarrienn that I
could marry—that he mild wish um
to marry?" -
'lOne may love a calling so well as
to fancy it will cover a thousand im-
perfections.'
"Rut one is net likely to love his
own calling so well as to cense hint
to overlook everything else, You say
me- lather wishes me to marry a sold-
ier; and yet there is no soldier at !Os-
wego -that he would be :likely to give
me to. I am in an awkward position;
for while I ant not good enough to the
tate ,wife of erne of the gentlemen of
the .garrison, 1 think even you will ad-
mit, Pieper, I am too gond to be the
wife of one of the common soldiers,"
As Mabel spoke thou frankly she
blushed. site 'knew not why, though
the obscurity concealed time fact .from
her companion; and she laughed fain-
tly, like one who ',felt that the suab-
ject, however enmlharrassing it .might
be, deserved to be treated •fairly. Jas-
per. it would seem, viewed her (posit-
ion differently from herself.
"Is it ammo. Mabel," said. he, "you
are not .what is called a lady, in the
rcnunon meaning of the word,
"Not in any meaning, gasper," the
generous girl eagerly interrupted: "on
that head, I have no vanities, •I hope.
Providence has made me the ,daatght-
er of a Sergeant, and I an, content to
remain in the station in which I was
born."
"But all do not remain in the stat-
ions in which they were (born, Mabel;
mer some rise above them, and some
fall below them, Many Sergeants
have (become officers --even generals;
and why may nM sergeant's daught-
ers !became officer's ladies?"
"In the case of Sergeant Dunbam's
daughter, 1 know no better reason
than the fact that no 'officer is likely
to 'wish to make her his wile," return-
ed Mabel, 'laughing.
'You may think so; 'but there are
some in the '515th that 'know abetter.
There is certainly one officer in that
regiment, IiYialbel, who does wish to
make you his wife,"
'Qnidk as the flashing lightning, the
rapid thoughts of 'Malbel IDerehem
glanced oleo' five or :six subalterns
of the corps, 'rho, by age and inclin-
ations, would be the most likely to
forth such a meth; and vee sbould elo
injustice to her habits, perhaps, were
we not to say that lively sensation
of pleasure rose momentarily in her
bosoms. at the thought of 'heing raised
athove a station which, whatever
might lee her pr,r,fes;tons of content-
ment, she telt th;,t =he haci ,been ;nn
;vc•Il ectttcateo to fill emotion ;vas
isfaction, But this emotion was as
transient as it was sudden; for Maid.
Dunham was a girl of ion much pure
womanly Feeling to view 'the marriage
tie through anything so worldly as
the mere advantages of elation. The
passing emotion was a thrill produced
by factitious 'habits, while the more
settled opinion which remained was
the offspring of nature and ,principles.
"I know no officer in the !Serb, or
any other regiment, who would be
likely to do so'foolish-a ,thing; nor dv
I think I myself would do so foolish
a thing as to ananry an officer,'
"Foolish, Weibel!"
"Yes, ,foolish, Jasper. You know, as
well itt I !can allow, what the world
weeld thine: of such matters; and I
should the sorry, very sorry, to find
that my husband ever regretted that
he had so fat' yielded to a fancy for a
face or a figure as to have married
the slaughter of one so mach ids infer-
ior as a sergeant.' -
"Your lu stbami, Mt,Ihe.l, will not :he
so likely lo think of rhe father as to
think •nf the daughter."
The girl was talking with spirit,
though feeling evirlently entered into
her part of the discourse; but she
paused for nearly a minute after jas-
per had made the last obscnvation be-
fore she tittered another word, Then
she :continued, in a manner less play-
inl, and ,one critically attentive might
hate fancied in a manner slightly mci-
anoholy,—
"Parent and child ought en .to live
05 5105 10 have two :hearts. or two
modes ,ef ,feeling and thinking. A com-
mon interest in all as (between he
other members of the same family.
Most of all ought neither the mean nor
the woman to have any emusual cause
for unhappiness, the world furnishing
so many of itself."
"Ain I to understand, then, Mabel.
you would refuse to .starry an officer,
merely ,hecauee he ,was art officer?"
"Have you a right to ask such a
question. Jasper?" said (Mabel, smil-
ing.
"'No other right than what a strong
desire to see you ,happy can give,
which, after all, may he very little-.
My anxiety has been increased, from
happening to knew- that it is your
father's intention to .persuade you to
starry Lieutenant Mair."
'1My dear, dear father can ,entertain
no notion so ridiculous -aha notion so
cruel!"
'l\Would it, then, be cruel ter wise'
you the wife of a quartermaster?"
"I told you 'what I think on that
subject, and cannot make my words
stronger. Having answered you so
frankly, Jasper, I have a right to ask
haw you knew that my lather thinks
of any such thing?"
"That he has chosen a husband for
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SEAFORTH, ONTARIO,
PROFESSIONAL CARDS
MEDICAL
SEAFORTH CLINIC
Dr. E. A. McMaster, M.B., Graduate
of University of Toronto.
Paul L. Brady, M.D„ Graduate of
University of Toronto.
The Clinic is fully equipped with
complete and modern x-ray and other
up-to-date diagnostic and thereuptfe
equipment,
Dr. F. J. R. Forster, Specialist in
Diseases oil the Ear, Eye, Nose and
Throat., will be at the Clinic the .arse
Tuesday in every month from 4 to
6 pan.
Free well -baby clinic will be held
on the second and last Thursday in
every month from 1 to 2 p.m,
JOHN A. GORWILL, B.A.,M.D.
Physician and Surgeon
in Dr. H. H. Ross' office. Phone 5J
DR. F. J. R. FORSTER
Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat
Graduate in Medicine, University
05 Toronto. Late Assistant New York
Ophthalmic and Aural Institute,
Moorefield's Eye, and Golden Square
throat hospitals, London, Eng. At
Commercial Hotel, Seaforth, third
Wednesday in each month from 2 to
4 p.m. Also at Seaforth Clinic first
Tuesday in each month. -58 Waterloo
St., Stratford. Telephone 267.
AUCTIONEER
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Arraugemeuts can be made for Sale
Date at the Seaforth News, or by
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Charges moderate and satisfaction.
guaranteed.
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phone Harold Jackson, 658r12, Set
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Date by calling Phone 208, Clinton.
Charges moderate and satisfaction
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(Successors to James Watson)
MAIN ST., SEAFORTH, ONT.
All kinds of Insurance risks effect-
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Companies.
The McKillop Mutual.
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HEAD OFFICE—SEAFORTH, Ont.
OFFICERS
President, Wan. Knox, Londosboroa
Vice President, W. R. Archibald,
Seaforth; Secretary Treasurer, M. A.
Reid, Seaforth.
AGENTS
F. Mclercher, R.R.1, Dublin; John
E. Pepper, R.R.1, Brucefield; J. F.
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Blyth; Wm. Yeo, Iiolmesville.
DIRECTORS °
Alex Broadfoot, Seaforth; William
Knox, Londesboro; Chris Leonhardt,
Dublin; E. J. Trewartha, Clinton;
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Archibald, Seaforth; Alex MoEwing,
Blyth; Frank McGregor, Clinton;
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Parties desirous to effect insurance
or transact other . business, will be
promptly attended to by applications
to any of the above named officers
addressed to their respective post
offices.
you, 1 know from his own mouth; 'for
he has told me this munch daring our
frequent conversations .white olie has
been superintending .the 'shipment of
the ,stores; and that Me. (Muir is to
offer for you, a know front the .:officer
himself, who :has told me as mulch. Hy
putting the Iwo things together, I
Imre eoate to the !opinion mentioned."
't'IMay not my !dear father, 'Jasper,"
—Malbel's fact 'glowed like fire while
she sp :olke, though her words escaped
her slowly, and by a sort of inovolvn-,
tart' impulse,---"hnay mot any dear
father have been thinking of another?
It does not follow, from what you say
that 'Me. (Muir •was in his mind.'
She returned from the dance in a
fearful temper. "I have no confidence
in men." site told her mother.
"But why not, dear?"
The girl pursed her lips. "Every
time I go to a dance with another
boy 1 find my own boy friend there
with another girl," she explained.