North Branch democrat. [volume] (Tunkhannock, Pa.) 1854-1867, 1867-07-31
RED-HEADED ANDY.


scream or run out of the house, and
leave her lying halfdead upon the floor !?
Or,,should you have what people call "pres
ence Of lmind % that is. call tor
somebody to help her, and do all you cod
for her till they came. 1t is a great thing
to have "presence of mind :" and there
are very few grown people who have it
there are very plenty ofpeople when bad
accident happens, who will crowd round
the sick person. keep all the good, fresh
air away from him, wiring their hands, say
oh and ah and shocking and dreadful :!
but there are few who think to run quick
ly for the doctor, or bring glass of water,
or dc any one of the thousand little things
which would help so much to make the
poor sufferer better. If grown people do
not think of those things. we certainly
should not be disappointed if children do
not and yet wonderful though it may be
they are often quicker-witted at such
times than their elders / will tell you
story, to show you that it is so.
Andy Moore was short, stunte1, freck-
led, little county boy; tough as a pine
knot, and about as much polish. Some
times he wore hat and sometimes he
didn't; he was not at all particular
about that; his shaggy, red hair, he tho't
protected his head well enough; as for
what people did think of it-he did not
live in Broadway, where ones shoe-lacings
are measured his home was in the coun-
try, and very wild rocky country, at that
he knew much more about chipmunks,
rattlesnakes, and birds eggs, than he did
about fashions; he liked to sit rocking on
the top of great tall tree; or standing
on high hill, where the wind almost
took him off his feet; he thought the sun
set, with its golden clouds, swell enough" "
but he delighted in thunder storm,
when the forked lightning darted zigzag
across the heavy black clouds, binding
you with its brightness; or when the roar
ing thunder seems to shake the very hills,
and the gentle little birds crowd trembling
in their nest for fear.
Andy's home was a rough shanty enough
on the side of hill. 1t was built with
mud, peat, and logs, with holes for win
dows; there was nothing very pleasant
there; his mother smoked pipe when
she was not cooking or washing, and his
father was a day laborcr, who spent his
wages for whisky and tobacco. No won
der that Andy liked to rock on the top Of
tall trees, and liked the thunder and light.
ming better than the eternal jangling OF
their drunken quarrels. Andy could hear
the hum of busy life in the far-of villages,
but he had never been there; he had no
books, so he did a great deal of thinking,
and he hoped some day to be something
beside just plain Andy Moore, but how,
or when, the boy had not made up his
mind. In the mean time he grew, and
slept, and ate, and thought-the very best
thing at his age that he could have done,
any where, had he but known it.
There was railroad track near the hut
of Andy's father; and Andy often watch
ed the block engine, with its long trail, as
it came fzzing past, belching out great
clouds of steam and smoke, screeching
through the valleys and under 1.-THE hill
like mad demon. although it went by
the hut every day, yet he had never wish
ed to ride in it; he had been content with
Lying Oh the sand band watching it disap-
pear in the distance, leaving great wreaths
Of smoke curling round tree-tops.
I One day, as Andy was strolling across
the track, he saw that there was some
thing wrong about it; he did not know
much about railroad tracks, because he
was ret quite little lad, but the rails
seemed to be wrong somehow and Andy
had heard of cars being thrown off by
such things Just then, he heard low,
distant noise, dear, dear, the cars were
coming, coming coming then He was
then but little boy, but perhaps he could
stop them in some way; at any rate, there
was nobody else there to do it. Andy
never thought that he might be killed
himself; but lie went and stood right in
the middle of the track, just before the
bad place on it, that | have told you about,
and stretched out his little arms as far as
he could. On, on came the cars, louder
and louder. The engineer saw the boy on
the track and whistled for him to get out
of the way Andy never moved hair
Again he whistled Andy might have
been made of stone for all the notice he
took oft; then the engineer had to stop
the train swearing as he did SO, at Andy,
for not getting out of the way" but
when Andy pointed to the track, and he
saw how the brave little fellow had not
only saved his life, but the lives of all his
passengers, his curses changed to blessings
very quick Everybody rushed out to see
the horrible death they had escaped, had
the cars rushed over the bad track, and
tossed headlong down the steep bank into
the river. Ladies kissed Andy's rough.
freckled face, and cried over him; and
the gentlemen, as they looked at their
wives and children, wiped their eyes, and
said, "God bless the boyw And that is
not all. They took ont their porte-mon-
MES, and contributed large sum of mon
ey for him; not that they could ever re-
pay the service he had done them,-they