The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1863-04-30

: Iains, or permit his property to be carried off
e before my eyes by them, while l have lie and
, strength to defend it."
She had barely time to secure herself with
: in. when the rufian from without, holding the
5 belpIess child ir one hand, and a long, sharp
8 knife in the other, assailed the door with kicks,
and curses and imprecations OF the most dread
full character.
| .Confound thee" he cried, applying the
} fouIest epithets of which the free-speaklng
/ Teutonic languages are SO coplous; open the
) door, or I'll break it in on ye."
eff you can, you may" was all the noble
, girl replied. 'God is greater than you, and
} in Him l put my trust"
sCut the brat's throat J" roared the lmpr1s-
, oned rufian above {: 'that will bring her to
reason"
S+out-hearted as poor Hannchen was, she
/, uuailed at this cruel suggestion. For a mo
ment her resolution wavered but it was only
for a moment. She saw that her own death
was certain if she admitted the assailant, and
she knew that her master would be robbed.
!, She had no reason to hope that even the life
. of the infant would be spared by her com
~pliance. 1t was to risk all against nothing.
J Like a discreet girl, she consequently held fast
in her resolve to abide as she was while life
remained. or until assistance should reach
her.
can We open not the door," shouted the
william from without, accompanying his words
with the viIest abuse, and the tlercest Nnpre-
/. cations, cpl mack this whelp's limbs to pie
ces with nv knife, and then burn the mill
over your head. Twill be a merry blaze l
trow."
81 put my trust in God" replied the daunt-
less Girl. ''Never shall We set your foot with
in these walls while l have life to preventive"
The rufian laid the infant for a moment on
the sward, as he sought for combustibles
wherein to execute his latter threat. In this
search he espied, perhaps, the only possible
~cIandestine entrance to the building. 1t was
a large aperture in th9 wall, communicating
with the great wheel and the other machine
nv of the mill, and was a point entirely I'M
protected, for the reason that the simple oc-
cupants had never supposed 1t feasible for
any one to seek admission through such a
dangerous inlet. Elated with his discovery,
! the rufian returned to the infant and, tying
tho hands and feet of the child, threw 1t on
the ground even as a butcher will fling a lamb
destined for the slaughter to await his time
for shaving. He then stole back to the aper-
ture, by which he hoped to effect an entrance.
All this was unseen by the dauntless girl with
in. In the meanwhile her mind was busted
with a thousand cogitations. She clearly
perceived that no means would be left untrled
to effect an entrance; and she knew that on
the exclusion of her foe depended her own ex-
~istence. A thought struck her.
<It is. Sunday" she said to herself; the
mill never works on the Sabbath suppose l
set the mill a-going now 1t can be seen atar
off and haply my master, or some OF his
neighbors, wondering at the sight, may hasten
hither, to know the cause. A lucky thought"
she exclaimed ''tis God sent it to me-"
No sooner said than done. Being all her
life accustomed to mill gear, it was but the
work of a moment for her to set the machine
~ III motion. A brisk breeze which sprang
up, as it were by the special interposition of
Providence, at once set the sails flying. The
arms of the huge engine whjrled round with
! fearful rapidity the great wheel slowly revolt
we'd on its axle; the smaller gear turned, and
creaked, and groaned, according as they came
into action-the mill was in full operation
1t was in that very instant that the ruillan
Deither had succeeded in squeezing himself
through the aperture in the wall, and getting
safely lodged in the interior Of the great drum
wheel. His dismay, however, was indescrib
able when he began to be whirled about with
its ~rotatio II, and found that all his efforts to
put a stop to the powerful machinery which
set it in motion, or to extricate himself from
his periIous situation, were ~fruitless. His cries
were most appalling; his shrieks were truly
fearful his curses and imprecationswere hor-
| ribIe to hear. Hannchen FASTENED to the spot,
and saw him caught, like a reptile as he was,
in his own trap. 1t need not be added that
she did not liberate him. She knew that he
would be more frightened than hurt, If he
kept within his rotary prison and she knew,
| also. that unless he attempted to escape, there
was no danger of his falling out OF 1t, even
though he were insensible and inanimate all
the while. In the meantime the wheel went
round and round with its steady, unceasing
motion: and round and round went the ruff
an with it, steadily and increasingly too. In
vain did he promise the stout-hearted girl
to work her no harm; in vain did he lmplore
her to take pity on his helpless condition III
vain did he pray to all the powers OF heaven,
and adjure all the powers OF hell to ms and
She would not hear nor heed him and, I'M
heard and UNDECIDED of them likewise, NUT
tering curses, he was whlrled round and IN
the untireing wheel, until, at last, feeling and
perception failed him, and he saw and heard
no more. He fell senseless, on the bottom Of
the engine. but even then his inanimate body
continued to be whirled round aud round, as
before; the brave girl not daring to trust in
appearances in connection with such a villain,
and being, therefore, to suspend the working
of the machinery, or stop the mlll-gear and
tackle from running at their fullest speed.
A loud knocking at the door was shortly
after heard, and she hastened thither. 1t was
hen master and his family, accompanied by
several of their %neighbOrs. The accustomed
appearance of the mill sails in full swing on
the Sunday, had, as she anticipated, attracted
their attention, and they had fastened home
from church f + the purpose OF ascertainlng
the cause of the phenomenon. The father
bore his little boy in his, arms he had cut the
cords wherewith the child was tied, but he
was unable to obtain an account Of the extra
ordinary circumstances that had Occurredfrom
the afrighted innocent. Hannchen, in a few
words. told all and then the spirit which had
sustained her so long and so well while the
emergency lasted, forsook her at once as 1t
passed ava She fell s~enseless into the arms
of the miller's eldest son, and was with dlftl-
Guilty recovered. The machinery OF the mill
was at once stopped, and the inanimate ruth
: an dragged forth from the great wheel. The
other ruffian was brought down from his prls-
on. Both were then bound, and sent off to
Bonn under a strong escort; and, in due
course. came under the hand, of the town ex-
ecutioner.
1t was not long till Hannchen became a
bride. The bridegroom was the miller's son,
who had loved her long and well, but with a
passion previously ~unrequited. They lived
thenceforward happily together for many
years, and died at a good old age surrounded
by a Furnishing family. To the latest hour
other life, this bravehearted woman would
shudder as she told the tale of her danger,
and her deliverance.
The price a man puts on himself is the very
highest penny the world viii ever bid for him +;
he'll not always get that, but he'll never get
a farthing beyond it