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About Yellowstone Valley Star (Savage, Mont.) 1910-192? | View This Issue
Yellowstone Valley Star (Savage, Mont.), 23 Dec. 1920, located at <http://montananewspapers.org/lccn/sn85053275/1920-12-23/ed-1/seq-5/>, image provided by MONTANA NEWSPAPERS, Montana Historical Society, Helena, Montana.
YELLOWSTONE VALLEY STAR S., . 4r wir 4 kt ' Ii e • 1 V ( 0 1 t. A 4 0 e4 f‘ A • Of ***OA 6Preelt•:****41 0 401kOrile 4 041444t4i* NVIO! *Si b jelt•VbANIt*iitt'4 10r •'* tolt* 4 dairisoN t By FRANK H. SHAW. AID Mrs. Hapshott: ,\You're a hard man, Hiram Hapshott. I never. knew it until now—I named you for a kindly husband ashore,\ , \Ashore and at sea are two differ- ent places,\ replied the captain of the Uriah B. Closter. \When I'm ashore I take things easy; when I'm at sea I act .accordingly. Sail- ormen are dogs, and the more you beat a dog the better it is. .So with sailors. Grind 'em down, rule 'em with an iron hand, and they'll not only do their work at the run but they'll come crawling along and ask you for more. That's my experience, and 30 years at sea, man and boy, hasn't inclined me to dispute facts as they stand.\ \I call it cruelty,\ said his wife without heat, for she was a woman ot sadness. She knew the cause of that sadness, as did her husband, but It was never mentioned between them by a tacit agreement. Twenty-five years of married life had resulted in a tine endurance of marital affection—the skipper's long •absences from home might have accounted for that in solne measure. The two were good friends, and bick- ering between them was a thing unknown. There had been one child—very many years ago, but' It only raised its voice once in the great womb! and before the mother's heart had Quickened In response the voice Was stilled forever. The Lord had given; He had also taken away, and Mrs. Hapshott endeavored to any \Blessed be the name of the Lord\ with a good grace, thongh at times the saying was hard. To hide Ills emotion the captain threw gruff- ness into his voice. \I'm thinking I made a mis- take in bringing you to sea, lass,\ he said. \It Isn't a place for women, least of all soft-hearted women such as you are. But you begged and prayed, and the owners seemed willing—\ \It got to be lonely waiting there ashore, Hi- ram,\ she ,said simply. \IV was at nights, when— when the wind howled and the snow fell, every- where—I saw other women happy and compan- ionable, with their men about them; and it—it was more than I could stand. It would have been easier if—if there'd—if Amos had lived.\ He un- derstood, and his rough gnarled hand crept out along the rail until it rested on hers with the pressure of sympathy. • • • \Hiram I want to ask you a favor. \It's Christmas day in two days' time. Are you going to, give the men a Christmas—a proper Christmas?\ Hapshott opened his mouth and laughed, a laugh that was pregnant with cynicism. \Give Them a Christmas—a proper Christmas! By which I suppose you mean a holiday and Chilstmas fare? Why, lass, they wouldn't know what to do with It if they had it. Besides, we aren't fitted for Christmas meals. There's a brace of chickens in the coop that'll make our dinner that day—I've been saving them up on purpose; but beyond the pig for'ard—\ \Give them a proper Christmas, Hiram,\ plead- ed Mrs. Hapshott earnestly. \It's a wonderful day ashore, though a sad one. That is, for tile,\ she amended. \I always get thinking of the Child and of how happy His mother must have been, though she lost Him, too; she lost Him.\ She thought the wound was fairly healed, but the hot tears gushed to her faded, pathetic eyes. Hapshott himself turned away, for he knew the ache at her heart; it companioned the void at his own. • • • • \All hands muster aft,\ cried Captain Hapshott. The men slouched along to the afterdeck 'and grouped themselves under the poop break. The moon sprang up from the blackening sea, and shone redly upon them; a full round ball. It showed sullen, despondent faces, faces without a hope. Mrs, Hapshott drew near to the pinrall and looked down, her henrt welled full of pity. She had 'done something—she had given these overworked beasts of burden one day's rest at . least. \It's stand by till midnight tomorrow,\ said the skipper in a voice that he fondly hoped be- trayed no shame. \There's.a holiday from now on. You'll take your wheels and lookouts as Peek/ beyond* that—nothing. Understand r Thai( 31 • A faint whisper seemed to pass through the ranks. One or two of the faces lit up suddenly, sloughed off their assumed age, and became young Slid comely once more. It was Christmas eve, and thoughts flew with lightning speed to long forgotten homes, where Christmas had been a festival of delight in those bygone days before the hungry sea claimed them as its own. \You've got to thank my wife for that,\ went on Hapshott. \She's asked me to give you a Christmas—a Christmas you'll have. Make the most of it. There'll be a fresh mess served for dinner tomorrow, and there'll be grog for all hands at eight hells. That's all—dismiss.\ ' The men broke up, walked forward slowly, then, as If moved by a common impulse, they came back. \Ve vish der lady for to dank.\ grunted a Ger- mnn sailmaker, fingering his cap. \Hey boys,. vat you says? Aind't it right?\ \Yes—ja—dot's it,. Hans,\ came the replies. Mrs. Hapshott was aware of n strange compres- sion in her throat; her eyes smarted. A stiffen- ing of the crew was followed by something faint- ly resembling a cheer; then the men went forward . slouchingly. Their tpngues were busy and they wonderbd. • • • g Still more did. they wonder Christmas day when, two bells having sounded aft, Mrs. Hap- shott appeared among them, her arms piled high with gifts. From the commencement of the voy- age her nimble hands had been busy with pins and wool, and now there was something tor them all, warm caps that completely covered a man's head and held him immune from frostbite in the most rigorous weather; mufflers, Jerseys; not one was _forgotten. Even the gre'asy cook, a man of foul speech and unclean habits. found himself the possessor of a sleeved waistcOat knit- ted out of the fleeciest wool. \I hope you'll have a merry Christmas, men,\ said Mrs. ilapshott, and they cheered her—they were gaining practice—until the Idle yards SeCillefl to swing in answer. Dinner time came round, and steaming kits were passed into the forecastle, kits that con- tained savory Joints from the porker killed over- night. The men ate and were thankful, but when a monster plum pudding . appeared they stared with awe-struck eyes. \Don't thank me, thank the missus,\ Raid the cook, who brought the duff in person. \She made it herself—lama night; mixed the whole bloomin' thing with her own hands. Ain't It a 'oner?\ It was—a very giant Among puddings, and as toothsome as it was vast. Came, in the midst of the revels, n call aft, where the steward stood at the capstan with n dipper in his hand. Each man, presenting a pannikin. received a tot of sterling grog, for Captain Hapshott had resolved to do the thing well now be was embarked upon It; no half -water measures for him. Each man, receiving his allowance, raised his drinking ves- sel in the direction of Mrs. Hapshott, who was watching them from above, and drank a silent tonst to her and to the memory of Christmases past. So the wonderful day paosed sway and once again night drooped down upon the sea. • • • Mrs. Hapshott rose, slipped on her clothing and went swiftly out on deck. .\Ilirain—what was that?\ The skipper had awakened and, missing her, had 'made for the deck. The faint streaks In the sky showed him a strange figure, clad in a gaudy sleeping suit such AS sailors love. Mrs. Hapshott cLutched at els arm and held tightly'. \What's whet?\ lie had beensthinking what a fool he would seem if the story were ever told of the day now past, and his manner was ungm a - clone. \That!\ Her finger was outstretched and ilnlv- erIng, but all beyohd was still dark. \A sea bird—your nerves are on edge,\ he told her. Mrs. Hapshott drew herself to the Windt and leaned out, listening. The wind was watlIng again; the ship had almost lost her way; she was only crawling through the water to the accom- paniment of flapping canvas nieft. \'Brain it wasn't a sea bird!\ The woman's voice was full of something to which her husband could put no name. \It must have been—What else could it 1.e. lass?\ \To me It sounded like—but, no. that's foolish- ness. My mind is playing me tricks, husband.\ , But she did not leave the rail for fully twenty, minutes, and then it was to step down the ladder Corn\ 0.44.4 and -to walk briskly' . along the deck until sh reached the forecastle. She could not have ex- plained to herself what Impulse took her there; It was something outside herself, some strange power working detached, yet compelling her to obey Its behests. She crouched up in the bows, watching the sparkle of water spring gurgling from the fore- foot, watching the frothing bubbles stream away on either side the black bluff bow. Vainly she shook herself and assured her own heart of its foolishness. Vainly she tried to drag herself away from her self-appointed post. The air was chill with the beginnings of the dawn wind; she ahlvered repeatedly and remained, • • • ' t' t Mrs. Ilapshott lifted her eyes and searched the sea's far rim. Her gaze returned. only to be lifted again; suddenly she stiffened where she stood, nnd her ears strained. She sprang upon the roll and stood there erect, her eyes peering intently. Was It fancy or could she actually see something? There, in the middle distance—a veritable o speck in the waste of waters—was It a shadow, was it the fin of a lurking shark, or was it—was It—? Two seconds she looked, then she ran aft, the men wntehing her in wonder. \Hiram—out there—what is it, Hiram, I heard a cry!\ Site was clutching at him whit t 18 it? hysterically and pointing with trembling finger. To humor her he fetched his binoculars and focussed them. Mad- deningly slow, she thought him. Ile searched idly for a moment, then his figure became rigid. \Back the tuninyard!\ he roared in mighty voice. From the forepeak, whither he hind de- scended. the mate came aft at a run ; the men following fast. \There's a raft out there—some one on it.\ said Hapshott slowly, his voice almost drowned by the clatter of the swinging yards. It was (7aptaln Ilapshott himself who sprang Into the boat that was hastily lowered; it was he Nvito urged the rowers onward. Mrs. Hapshott, now that the thing was done, was possessed by a curious calmness, that yet held expectancy— something strange was happening out there be- yond the range of her vision ; but nil was work- ing together for good. Sin- tried to focus the binoculars on the boat and on the fragment that floated ahead. but she Wits all unused to the task, and could make out nothing but a blur. The boat turned—hung motionless; those aboard ‘vere busy at some task. Thcn the oars shot out like the limbs of a gigantic spider; Mrs. Hapshotes heart bent faster and faster—so fast that only with difficulty could she draw her breath. \Shall we haul you up, sir?\ hailed the mate, reaching far outboard. and from Captain Hap- shott's lips came n hoarse, unreal cry that Jones took as an affirmative, The boat shot alongside; still the captain's wife did not move from her position by the mizzen- mast. The tackles were hooked on, men swanned up then) nnd added tbeir weight to the falls; the boar leaped onward, was swung inboard. A 'Bear a hand here,\ she heard her husband say, nnd then the mists vanished from her eyes H ad she saw clearly. Captain Hapshott was com- ing aft, talking . earnestly to the mate. And in his arms he carried n little child! Mrs. Hapshott acted exactly as If she had been expecting MIN gift from the sea. She held out her arms and took the wailing mite, hushIng It deftly against that broad maternal bosom of hers, coaxing It, smiling down Into Its crumpled face. It mattered nothing to her how the babe 'had come—it was there; its tiny fingers around her finger; its little -head nestled against her heart. \A dead woman and a living child—no signs of Identifies tion.\ The words came to her fitfully, forcing themselves through the strange, hallowed Joy that fllic . 1 her being. \No tellin; what's hap- pened—must he wife of some skipper—sole sur- vivors—who knows? The woman's dead, poor thing—but the child seems strong enough—will 'd been sailing yesterday we'd have passed It In the dark likely,\ said the mate; \we'd never have4seen It. God! look at Mrs'. napshott ; she's grown younger.\ The skipper walked across to his wife. \We'll 'have to advertise,\ he said, shakily, n toying o one will claim It—it's as much ours as any with the little grasping hands. \lint like- ly one's—I'll tell the steward to muke some milk \'Unto us a child is given,'\ said Mrs. Hap-' shott solemnly. \Hiram this Is God's Christmas present to you and me.\ STANDARDS IN .• COAT STY . ES N o w Is the season when - merchants Aim! It good business to turn whatever ready-to-wear garmentm they have on hand into cash, rather than to carry them over to another season. The WORMA or girl who is not yet pro- vided with n coat can buy now to ad- vantage, for in coats, and even in hats, there are good, standard spies that vary only a little from year to year and may be relied upon to give at least three seasons' service, When they have done good service for this length of time they are still promising material for making over into children's wraps or even remodeling and taking another lease on life for the use of their orig- inal wearers. It pays to buy good quality In cloth, and to choose con- servative styles. Answering all the demands of the far-mighted buyer, coats of heavy wool fabric cut In such loose and nmple manner end on such simple lines us those shown above may be depended upon to give satisfactory wear and a well -dressed look for this and two or more succeeding winters. They are long and full, which gives opportunity to change them a little. Like nearly all of this year's coats, they are be- coming' and ,look the part of comfort. The coat at the left has n pocket so capacious that it matches up with the general ampleness of the garment. and It Is ornamented with a little cross- bar trimming of braid. Its short panel yoke at the hack is not a transient style point, and its full muffler collar of fur appears to have come to stay. Even simpler thim its companion, the straight coat at the right of the group depends upon a simulated panel at the sides to give it special interest, and this is not going tot.„0 . unnoticed, for it Is adorned with six handsome and large buttons. Joined by cords of the cloth, that call attention to it. Inviting Comparison 0 CCASIONALLY there is a woman who can undertake to choose the superb in her apparel, and much more occasionally there is one .A . Imo can af- ford to be daring. To do these timings requires a personality that is 're -en- forced and expressed by such attire. But these are the exceptional women —the rare blossoms, greatly admired, but less loved,. than sweet, (modal's OAPS. • Two evening dresses are shown here, one of them deserving to he called superb and acknowledged to be dar- ing. Rettig In black,. It carries off its eecentricities better than It would In ;A full draped skirt of stipple panne velvet and a draped bodice 111(11 leaves the body uncovered to the waist line, under the arms, make a founda- tion for an overskirt of beaded net. Above the waist, a long scarf of ton- tines %PIN the back and arms, an in- sert of nullities Just above the waist line saves the duty for modesty. In a hodiee which chooses to conceal more of the back than its predeeessors have. For Arnamentation there are large ro- settes of flitter Jet and they are in black, .also. vrom head to foot, this , costume relies upon shimmering black. revealing no color except a 1 virile green that faces the train. The su- perb feathers in the fan and head- dress match the costume in distinction, and one imagines them in green also. ' Such a costume maker; a foil against which simpler dresses are more sweet by comparison. Georgette and silver tissue reeks the 'pretty live -tiered frock that pre- sumes to dare \omparison with Its splendid rival. The bodice Is's more wide band of silver tissue, with nar- row straps oveCthe shoulders, veiled hack anti front with georgette em- placements edged with a little frill. There is n girdle of silver tisane wills frills of georgette beneath, en& Mi l lobed off with sprays of flowers and ends of 'ribbons. A bit 'of georgette drapery is caught to the band on the shoulder. Color in this frock Is • menet of personal choice; It Is pretty in nhy light tone. earniaer IN WIWI 1411FSPOMA WWI& -
