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Article THE WRECKER. ← Page 6 of 10 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Wrecker.
There was a pause for a moment or two more . Body , limb , eye , —every thing was stone still ! " I have finished him ! " murmured the Wrecker , throwing Ms weapon behind Mm ; " all is safe !" " Ha , ha ! you have clone it , " screamed one at his back . He turned
and beheld the maniac with the hatchet in her hand : her eyes flashed upon him , as if they lightened ! " Stir not , Black Norris ! " she continued , seeing he was about to rush upon her ; " stir not , unless you would have me g ive the corpse a companion ! Let me get farther from thee without doing thee a mischief , and I will tell thee something . " She retreated a dozen paces or so , the Wrecker not daring to move .
" Black Norris , " she resumed , " did I not tell thee it was a fair lovely day , and is it not so ? Ay , ancl a bonny one , too . And why , Black Norris , is it a fair , comely , bonny day ? Shall I tell thee ? I will . Thy father will come home to thee to-day ; and fit he should ; for ' tis the very clay , Black Norris—the fair , the lovely , the bonny—cursed —day , on which , ten years ago—there , on the very spot on which you stand—he was the murderer of my father !—Stir not ! Black Norris !
follow me not ! Keep your own counsel , and good bye ! " She vanished . The Wrecker did not attempt to pursue her ! By the fire of a miserable hut , was seated upon a stool a female , young , but of haggard appearance . At her breast lay an infant , which she was trying to lull , rocking to and fro with a low and melancholy hum . Every now and then she paused ' and listened , and then resumed
her maternal task . At length , the child fell asleep , and was transferred from her lap to a wretched pallet which stood in an inner apartment . She returned . A cooking vessel was on the fire—she lifted the lid—the steam faintly rose from its contents : " Will it never grow hot ? " she impatiently exclaimed ; and resorting to a bellows , through the sides of which escaped the greater portion of air which was intended for the
proper vent , proceeded assiduously , but almost in vain , to urge the sluggish fuel . " He'll brain me if he comes home and I not ready , " she cried to herself in a querulous tone : " God grant there may be a wreck to-day , and I shall have peace for a time ! Would I had never married him—but fcr my child ! " she added ; " but for my child !" " Let me in ! " cried the Wrecker , at the door . She let him in . In one hand he carried his boat-hook , and in the other a bundle of clothes . " Here . '" he exclaimed . She took them from him
and set them down . "Any luck , Norris ? " she inquired falteringly . "Yes ! " was Ms sullen reply . "Why the devil do you ask with such a face as that ?" " I was afraid you had come bad speed . "
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Wrecker.
There was a pause for a moment or two more . Body , limb , eye , —every thing was stone still ! " I have finished him ! " murmured the Wrecker , throwing Ms weapon behind Mm ; " all is safe !" " Ha , ha ! you have clone it , " screamed one at his back . He turned
and beheld the maniac with the hatchet in her hand : her eyes flashed upon him , as if they lightened ! " Stir not , Black Norris ! " she continued , seeing he was about to rush upon her ; " stir not , unless you would have me g ive the corpse a companion ! Let me get farther from thee without doing thee a mischief , and I will tell thee something . " She retreated a dozen paces or so , the Wrecker not daring to move .
" Black Norris , " she resumed , " did I not tell thee it was a fair lovely day , and is it not so ? Ay , ancl a bonny one , too . And why , Black Norris , is it a fair , comely , bonny day ? Shall I tell thee ? I will . Thy father will come home to thee to-day ; and fit he should ; for ' tis the very clay , Black Norris—the fair , the lovely , the bonny—cursed —day , on which , ten years ago—there , on the very spot on which you stand—he was the murderer of my father !—Stir not ! Black Norris !
follow me not ! Keep your own counsel , and good bye ! " She vanished . The Wrecker did not attempt to pursue her ! By the fire of a miserable hut , was seated upon a stool a female , young , but of haggard appearance . At her breast lay an infant , which she was trying to lull , rocking to and fro with a low and melancholy hum . Every now and then she paused ' and listened , and then resumed
her maternal task . At length , the child fell asleep , and was transferred from her lap to a wretched pallet which stood in an inner apartment . She returned . A cooking vessel was on the fire—she lifted the lid—the steam faintly rose from its contents : " Will it never grow hot ? " she impatiently exclaimed ; and resorting to a bellows , through the sides of which escaped the greater portion of air which was intended for the
proper vent , proceeded assiduously , but almost in vain , to urge the sluggish fuel . " He'll brain me if he comes home and I not ready , " she cried to herself in a querulous tone : " God grant there may be a wreck to-day , and I shall have peace for a time ! Would I had never married him—but fcr my child ! " she added ; " but for my child !" " Let me in ! " cried the Wrecker , at the door . She let him in . In one hand he carried his boat-hook , and in the other a bundle of clothes . " Here . '" he exclaimed . She took them from him
and set them down . "Any luck , Norris ? " she inquired falteringly . "Yes ! " was Ms sullen reply . "Why the devil do you ask with such a face as that ?" " I was afraid you had come bad speed . "