that tho.ie bugs contulned gold coins, diLamond-studdad rings and bracelets

; treasure that she had discovered in one of the many supposed/cachas of old’ time pirates that abounded on the Island. It was a pleasing whimsy with no basis in fact. Day and night, she kept her bundle close beside her, so that no one was ever given an opportunity to examine it -- even if anyone had ventured to make the attempt. It was commonly whispered that she possessed certain occult powere; hence,. the superstitious, which included practically “everyone in some measure, were careful to do nothing that might offend her.

Mary had none of Peter's taciturnity. She delighted in relating incident: that had occurred in other parts of her territory, especially if they concerned persons with whom her listeners might be acquainted. \when bedtime was called for us youngsters, she sometimes told us a brief Bible story which did not always correspond to the text given in the Good Book. It always carried a dour account of the fate that awaited children who violated the rules of good behavior. She practiced the old motto, "Karly to bed and early to rise." Each night, when the kitchen clock struck nine, she collected her baggage and headed for her sleeping quarters, with a phrase apropos of nothing in particular: "It takes a mushrat to know a

t

mushrat." The years passed. Inevitably there came a May when neither Mary nor

Peter made their accustomed appearances. Age and physical infitmities had taken their toll. And, since they possessed nothing of value, and had no known relatives, their only refuge was of necessity the cold comfort of the provincial poorhouse. Their-old haunts would know them no more, but they were long and affectionately remembered by all with whom they had been in contact over the vears. They had become a part of the community life; in time, they became something of a legand. And their simple saga strikingly

reflects the kindness and the Christian charity that was so characteristic

of the age.