Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1871-04-20

Not another sound, it seemed, was In tn
world.
In an instant the southwest was black
A strange, remote murmur smste TIL
Colonies ear. Overhead he could see
strip of hot, hazy sky. Hat
he seen the whole heavens, he could hav'
done nothing but 20 on. Quickly tbs
murmur became an awful muttering, ther
a deafening roar. The clatter, the rush
/ the crash Of tornado, were behind him
| The groans of the very earth were abou
him. The darkness of twilight was upor
him. Alice and death were before him
| A cloudy demon, towering high as tht
heavens, in whose path nothing cotld 1--we
was striding nearer and nearer
Farm houses were overthrown- Treet
! were twisted off from their roots ard tori
| to pieces. Wild animals and birds Wert
| dashed to death. Streams were emptlec
| of their waters. Human beings and horses
and cattle were lifted into the air, hurried
hither and thither, and thrown dead upon
| the earth.
The whirlwind was following the line o.
! the road Colonel Miller had no oppor
| tunity to see this, nor could he ride aside
4 from that line if he chose. He could but
cry aloud, my darling! 0 God! Alice!
and lash his horse forward. The high
close forest would keep the wind from
lifting his horse from the ground, or him
self from the saddle. But the great trees
| crashed like thunder behind him. Then
fragments whirled above him. Their
branches fell before him. The limb OF a
large oak grazed his face, crushed his
horse, and both rolled to the ground
blinded with dust, imprisoned within q
baracade of splintered trunks and shattered
tree-tops.
The Marquis, from his high lookout
saw before any one else, the approaching
tornado, and, descending like a fash, he
yet noted its direction. AS Alice reached
the foot Of his tree he was on the ground,
had seized the pony's name, was half seat
ed and half climbing in front of her, had
snatched the reigns from her hand, and
was urging the frightened animal TO its ut
most speed Overcome with terror and
confusion, Alice chung instinctively to the
saddle and to him., without hearing his
hurried advice to "stick like old bur
dock"
They shot like an arrow up the road.
The noise Of the tempest was audible.
Closer it was coming, crushing, rending,
annihilating all before it. The way grew
darker. The terrified pony scarce touch
ing the ground. His only will was to go
forward, and he still obeyed a firm use of
the bit But who could hope to outrun
hurricane? Twelve miles an hour against
eighty! The Marquis needed nothing
Not far behind the road was but slash of
fallen, writing tree-tops. The sweat
dropped from his face. He dared not look
behind.
They reached 1.-THE lane by the log
bridge, running at right angles to the road
and in moment, behind that lane was
choked with whirling debris.
But in that moment they had cleared
the track Of the whirlwind For the first
time Alice comprehended the conduct of
the Marquis. For the first time he turned
to see. A quarter of mile each side the
hurricane had carried complete desolation.
But after passing the heavy timber it had
veered several degrees, and was sparing
the house Of Mrs. Ruggles.
With white face she met them at the
gate. A word of explanation from the
Marquis-an ejaculation of mental anguish
from the girl. Two fugitive tie-choppers
from the woods turned back TO find the
Colonies body. Mrs. Ruggles, carrying
Alice in her arms to the door--the yaller-
headed doll baby that never washed dish
did what she could to soothe her, but did
it as silently as possible.
Mrs. Ruggles intercepted the returning
tie-choppers in the lane. A look of eager
Joy was in their faces. The bruised Colo
mel, asst, ted to the threshold, sank into the
big arm chair, and Alice was in his arms.
Mrs. Ruggles did not see their meeting,
not at all. No, her back was toward them,
but the corner of her apron made another
journey to the corner of her eye as the
father folded his lost child once more to
his heart.
His desire to express his gratitude to
Mrs. Ruggles and her boy was equaled
only by her fears that he would do SO. As
q last resort he called the Marquis to him,
and, while tear stood on his rough cheek,
drew handful Of money from his pocket.
But bony hand appeared majestically be-
tween them, and voice said: mot by
no means. We're not them kind o. per
sons. Markis-dee, put away the camfire."
Then ricketty gig rattle up to the gate:
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. danger-there =
Uc NdHlc dWullo-b OI-Ine Otnor Oauudkc
bridge gone-creek half dry-bend your
leg-so !--current turned up stream-now
the shoulder-not strange Crawfsh Creek
should run backward-he! he!" And the
rickety gig ratified merrily off In searchof
broken bones.
Alice, meeting the Marquis outside the
door, approached him in way that made
him tremple. What was said will never
be known, but she placed her white little
hand upon his shoulder, the golden head
bowed for moment, and her sweet lips
touched his sunburnt face.
By remaining quiet that night the
Colonel would be able to get back to
Thompson City in the morning. Before 2
o'clock he was at rest In the bedroom. A
couch for Alice had been prepared in the
same room. In the other-ki.chen, parlor
and dining -hall-a blanket was thrown
down for the Marquis, and two chairs fixed
for the bed of Mrs. Ruggles. Before retir-
ing, however, she sat down at her lonely
table, where, notwithstanding the tea she
drank To keep them of, an unusual mum.
Der of weak creepings came over her.
II couldn't help II" was all she said 10
the teapot Whether she referred to the
tornado, or her kindness to the sufferers
or to the manner Of RENDERING the kind.