Maritime Mysteries Read Online Free PDF Page B

McGuire if there was a legend in the village about a woman who was seen out on the rocks. Donna looked somewhat puzzled and told Marlana that she had never heard of such a legend. Marlana pressed on, “Nothing about a woman in a blue dress?”
    â€œNo,” Donna replied, “Nothing like that.” Everyone now became interested in why Marlana was so concerned. What was the reason for her questions.
    There was a long silence. All eyes were on Marlana. She then told them what happened. “When Christine and I arrived at the shore, I was suddenly overwhelmed by a feeling of loneliness. I didn’t mention it to Chris, but told her that I didn’t like the place. And then I had this feeling that I had come to Indian Harbour from Scotland, and that the people here didn’t like me. As we moved closer to the high rocks, the feeling of loneliness and separation grew even stronger. Suddenly, a woman in a long blue dress appeared out of nowhere. She stood on the rocks staring. Then, as quickly as she appeared, she vanished. I didn’t mention what I saw to Chris. However, on the way back I saw the woman again. I felt certain she was trying to make contact with me; trying to tell me something.”
    When Marlana finished her story, Donna McGuire suggested they she should visit Hattie Sutherland, the oldest resident in the village. If anyone knew of a legend and a strange woman seen on the rocks, it would be Hattie. They were received warmly by Mrs. Sutherland, and nothing would do until the traditional afternoon tea and cakes were served. Marlana waited for the right moment, then told Hattie of her experience on the beach and what the woman she had seen looked like. There was a moment of silence as Hattie listened while sipping her tea. “The woman you describe sounds like the stories I’ve heard about my mother. She came to Indian Harbour as a war bride from Scotland. I’m the youngest of five children and was far too young at the time to remember very much about my mother and what happened to her. According to what I’ve been told, though, it wasn’t long after she arrived in Indian Harbour that she was not accepted by her in-laws. I suppose they were bitter over their son marrying someone from overseas. Anyway, it was a difficult time for her. My father was a fisherman, and he spent long periods of time at sea. It was a lonely time for my mother and she would stand on the rocks and stare out to sea as if she was trying to will herself back to Scotland.
    â€œWhen my father drowned during a storm, his family cut off all contact with my mother. Now alone and lonely, she wrote to her father begging him to come over to Indian Harbour and take her back to Scotland. My grandfather did come over, but either couldn’t support, or didn’t want anything to do with her children, so we were left behind in the care of relatives. To this day I don’t know what was on my mother’s mind. Perhaps she thought that in time, we’d all be together.
    We never heard from her again; never knew if she was alive or dead. Then, one day a letter arrived from Scotland informing us that she had died. Those who knew her in Scotland said she took the guilt of leaving her children behind to her grave. Maybe that’s why she came back. I mean her ghost, that is.”
    What Hattie Sutherland told Marlana and Donna McGuire is pretty much the same as what she told me.
    If there is a postscript to this ghostly tale, it’s this: surely Hattie Sutherland must wonder why her mother’s ghost has yet to make contact with her.
    If ever you go down Indian Harbour way, walk the rocks if you must, but before you leave visit Rogues Gallery and say hello to Donna McGuire, the artist who captured the Lady in the Blue Dress on canvas; a tragic, lonely, and ghostly figure.
    Mrs. Copeland’s Ghost
    T here’s much more to Sable Island than natural gas—a lot more. There’s the ghost of