A GOOD SEND-OFF
Out of the many weddings inevitably occurring on Rockhaven but few ever
attained to the importance of a trip to the mainland. The sense of
utility among them, the need of every dollar toward home furnishing, and
the practical side of life always uppermost in the minds of all left no
place for sentiment and honeymoon.
But when it became known, as it soon did, that the youthful romance of
Jess Hutton and Letty Carver had finally culminated, and that the
universal opinion and expectation of what they would do when Jess
returned to the island was about to be realized a wave of enthusiasm and
friendly interest swept over Rockhaven.
And, furthermore, when it was learned that Jess was to sell his store to
Captain Doty, and that he and his bride and Mona were to spend a few
months in the city, the excitement knew no bounds, and when Sunday came
and the three, now conspicuous ones, walked to church as usual, it was
to receive an ovation of good wishes and congratulations, and so
persistent were all in good will that, when church was out, the entire
congregation crowded around them.
To Mona it came as the surprise of her life, and went far to change the
current of her thoughts and make her forget her own troubles.
"I can call you papa now, can't I, Uncle Jess?" she had said, when he
had told her; and hugging him like a child she had thus made his heart
glad. It all seemed as a matter of course to young and old alike, and as
the days went by it began to dawn on Jess that he had not only been a
"durned fool" forty years ago, but continued to be one for the past
fifteen.
It had been decided by them to have a quiet wedding at home, and the day
set barely long enough ahead to give Mrs. Doty, the dressmaker, time to
do her part; but Rockhaven, hearing of it, objected, and the next Sunday
evening a committee, headed by Captain Roby, invaded the privacy of Mrs.
Hutton's home.
"We hev cum," said the jolly master of the island steamer, addressing
Jess in particular, and Mrs. Hutton and Mona in general, "to convey the
good wishes o' everybody here to you folks an' ask ye to hev yer
weddin' in church so ter give us all a chance to show our good will and
how much we think o' ye by bein' present. It air the univarsal feelin'
here," he continued, waving his arm, as if to include the entire island,
"that ye both desarve it, an' we ain't goin' to 'low ye two ter jist git
hitched an' sneak off quietly. My boat's at yer sarvice, an' we feel the
best's none too good fer ye both, and we hev come to ask ye to let us
all jine in and gin ye the right sort o' a send-off. I might as well
tell ye now, Jess," he added, looking at that worthy, "jist how ye stand
'mong us and how 'tarnally grateful we all feel fer all yer good deeds
toward young and old. We hain't forgot nothin' from the day ye first
come back to be one on us, up till last summer when ye saved us our
money on that stock bizness. We don't blame the young feller neither,
and if ever he cums back, we'll all jine in givin' him a welcome as
well. But now we absolutely insist we be 'lowed to start ye fair, and in
style, in the new step ye two air takin'."
And "start them fair" they did; for although the snow lay thick on the
granite ledges of Rockhaven, when the day came, and cheerless winter
reigned, there was no lack of cheer in all that was said and done.
First, a hundred pairs of willing hands transformed the church into a
bower of green, and since flowers were not to be had, wreaths of spruce
twigs, tied with white ribbon and ropes of ground pine, were used. Then
an arch of green, wound with strips of white silk, was erected over the
gate, and the walk up to the church was carpeted with spruce boughs. The
only pleasure vehicle on the island, an ancient carryall, also decked
with green and white, was pressed with service to convey the honored
couple and Mona to church, now heated to suffocation and packed solid
with the island population, while some unable to get in waited outside.
Then, while the Rev. Jason Bush was uniting the happy pair, a dozen
young men, unable to curb their enthusiasm, unhitched the horse from the
carryall, and when they came out drew them back to the house. And then,
after the two hours of reception and hand-shaking had expired, full
fifty men were in line to draw that unique chariot to the boat.
"It is a wonder ye didn't set out to take us on yer backs," asserted
Jess to the crowd on the wharf, when he alighted; "but all this fuss has
warmed our feelings toward ye all more'n words'll tell."
And when three times three cheers had echoed back from the now deserted
quarry, the little steamer sailed away into the mist-hidden winter sea
and the crowd dispersed; for weeks after the sole topic around Rockhaven
firesides was what object took Jess Hutton and his bride and Mona away
from the island and how long they would stay away.
Jess had said, "We want ter give Mona a little change o' scene 'n'
chance to see the world, 'n' jist when we'll cum back is no tellin'. Cum
back we shall some day, 'n' most likely glad ter git back tew." And then
when the affairs of the Hutton family no longer furnished food for
gossip, the island settled down once more into its monotonous winter
existence. Twice a week only now the _Rockhaven_ made her trip to the
mainland; but few people gathered for the Thursday evening prayer
meeting, for extra religion was at a discount during cold weather, and
only the most hardy of the fishermen ventured out. The tower on Norse
Hill, now coated with frozen sleet, looked like a gigantic monument; the
tides ebbed in and out the half-iced over harbor; the waves beat with
sullen roar into the gorge that no one visited, and life among the
shut-in islanders partook of the solemnity of the ocean's voice.
The crowd that had made Jess Hutton's store their club-room still
gathered there to swap yarns and discuss fish and fishing; also whether
his all-winter's absence was likely to result in the opening of the
quarry or not. Then, too, in this news bureau, Winn Hardy and Mona came
in for a share of gossip, and many a surmise as to their future was
exchanged. For they had been noticed many times together, and Mona's
visit to the city might mean much. No one had any data as to Jess
Hutton's future intentions or whether Hardy was likely to return; and
yet, so well did he stand with them, and so hopeful were they that he
would once more open the quarry when spring came, that they readily
believed it would come about.
Of the Rockhaven Granite Company collapse they knew not, for daily
papers never reached the island, and Jess for reasons of his own kept
silent.
The only unhappy one, however, was David Moore; and he recited his woes
in characteristic fashion to all who would listen. He had little idea of
the proprieties, and as he had almost shouted his love from the
house-tops, so now he declared his disappointment as loudly.
"It's my private 'pinion," he asserted, "they lugged Mona off just to
spite me and get her out o' my sight. I think it's a darn mean trick,
and I don't care who knows it! I kin see through the game, and they
calculated takin' her to the city 'nd give that feller Hardy a chance to
spark her," and he chewed his quid with an increased vigor, suggestive
of how he would like to serve his rival.