• December Bride
  • Part One

Hanna027

22

her body on the hands of the brothers. She stretched out and caught Andrew’s

hand and forearm. The boat guttered and her head was plunged underwater, she

felt Andrew’s hand to which she clung deliberately shake itself free and draw

away. Choked, and with streaming eyes, she saw him slip away, his head

visible for a moment in the spume and mist. The boat sprang up at the bows,

and under her belly she felt the two brothers grasp convulsively to retain

their hold. She moved her head from side to side of the keel: "He’s gone!

Your father's gone!' she screamed, and looked into the eyes of drowning men.

The boat was drawn into the broken race below the mainland, and circled

down and across it* like a bruised fly in a gutter. Sarah, her face beaten

and bruised by the plunging keel, lay like wax across the hands of the brothers.

With a plunge and stumble Hamilton touched ground. He dragged his brother

ashore and lifted the girl from the boat and laid her on the shingle beside

Frank. Above him, on the hill, he heard the shrill cry of a boy and saw him

running, zig-zag, down the shadowy slope, with a ;roan he fell on his knees

between his brother and the girl.

Coverage: 
1951
Keywords: 
Guttered, Bruised
Citation: 
Linen Hall Library, "Hanna027", Northern Ireland Literary Archive, accessed Thu, 03/28/2024 - 19:28, https://www.niliteraryarchive.com/content/hanna027?page=1