Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1871-12-30
LET OUT OF DANGER.
BY JEAN INGELow.

full OF money. He Is waiting for the coach; IL
il, and begins to look around him.
They soon leave the chimney tops behind
them, his eyes wander with delight over the
harvest fields; he smells the honey-suckle in the
hedge-row; and ne wishes he " o down among
the hazel bushes. that he might strip them OF
their milky nuts; then he sees great vain
top of il: then the checkered shadows of the
trees lying across the white road, and then a
squirrel runs up bough, and he cannot for
bear to whOop and halloo, though he cannot
chase il TO its nest
The other passengers were delighted with his
simplicity and child-like glee. and they encour-
aged him to talk about the and ships, es-
pecially Her Majesty's, wherein he had the
honor to sail? In the jargon OF the seas, he de-
scTibes her many projections and enlarges upon
her peculiar advantages; he then confdes To
them how a certain MILDLY, having been ordered
to the masthead as n punishment, had seen,
while sitting on the topmast crostree, something
uneommonly like the sea serpent-but finding
this hint received with ineredulous smiles, he
began to tell them how he hopes that one day he
shall be promoted to have charge of the poop.
The passengers hope that he will have that
honor; they have no doubt that he deserves it.
His cheeks blush with pleasure as he hears
them say 50, and he little thinks that they have
no notion IN what "that honor may happen to
consist.
The coach stops; the midshipman, with his
hands in his pockets, sits rafting his money and
singing. There is a poor woman standing by
the door OF the village inn; she looks care-worn.
and well she may, for in the spring her husband
went up to London to seek for work. He goes
for work, and she wasexpecting soon TO join him
there, when, alas. a fellow-workman wrote her
word how he had met with accident, how he
was very bad, and wanted his wife to come and
nurse him. But as she has two children, and Is
destitute, she must walk all that way, and she is
sick at heart when she thinks that perhaps he
may die among strangers before she can reach
him.
She does not think of begging, but seeing the
boys eyes attracted TO her, she makes a court
esy, and he withdraws his hand and throws her
down a sovereign. She looks at il with incredu-
lous joy, and then she looks at him.
ats all right" he says, and the coach starts
again, while full of gratitude she hires cart to
take her across the country to the railway, that
the next night she may sit by the bedside OF her
sick husband.
The midshiPman knows nothing about that
and never will know.
The passengers 20 on talking-the little mid
sbipman has told them who he Is, and where he
going. But there Is one who has never Joined
in the conversations; he IL a dark-lOoking and
restless mamie sits apart, he sees the glitter of
the falling coin, and now he watches the boy
more closely than before.
He is a strong man, resolute and determined;
the boy with his pockets full of money will be
NO match for him. He has told the others that
his fathers house is at the parsonage at y
the coach goes within five miles of il, and he
means TO get out at the nearest point and walk,
or rather run over TO his home through the great
wood.
The man decided TO get down. too, and 90
through the wood; he will rob the little mid
shipman; perhaps, ii he cries out and struggles
he will do worse. The boy, he thinks, will have
no chance against him; IL is quite impossible
that he can escape; the way Is lonely, and the
sunwill be down.
No. There seemed, indeed, little chance OF
his escape; the half-hedged bird just fluttering
down from his nest has no more chance against
the keen-eyed hawk, than the little light
hearted sailor boy will have against him.
And now theyreach the village where the boy
is TO alight. He wishes the other passengers
a. Good evening"" and runs lightly down between
the scattering houses. The man has also got
down. and i following
he rafh lies uCh chr h
yard; there is evening service; and the door is
wide open, for il is warm The little midship-
man steals up the porch, looks in and listens.
The clergyman has just risen from his knees, in
the pulpit, and is giving out his text. Thirteen
months have passed since the boy was in a
house Of prayer, and q feeling of pleasure in
duced him to stand still and listen.
He hears the opening sentence of the sermon;
and then he remembers his home, and comes
rious pleasure. The Clergyman has reminded
him of his father, and his careless heart is filed
with the echoes of his voice and of his prayers.
He thinks what the clergyman said Of the care
OF our Heavenly Father for us; he remembers
how, when he left home, his father prayed that
he m ght be preserved through every danger;
he dOes not remember any particular danger
that he has been exposed to, except in the great
storm; but be Il grateful he has come home in
safety, and he hopes whenever he shall be in
danger, which he supposes he shall be some
day, he hopes that the providence of God will
watch over him and protect him. And 50 he
presses onward TO the entrance of the wood.
a
farthing? and one shall not fall to the ground
without your Fathers notice. But the hairs OF
your head are numbered. Fear not, therefore,
We are OF more value than many sparrows."
The man Is there before him He has pushed
himself into the thcket and cut a heavy stake;
he suffers the boy to 90 ON before. and then he
liz Is too light at present for his deedOf darkness
and too near the entrance Of the wood, but he
knows that shortly the path will branch of into
the two, and the right one for the bow to take
will be dark and lonely.
But what prompts the little midshipman,
when rot fifty rods from the branching of the
path, 10 break into a sudden run? IL is not fear
he never dreams Ofdanger. Some sudden i'm
pulse, or some wild wish for home makes him
dash on az eT his sauntes, with whoop, and
path bends, and the man lost sight OF him.
q But shall have him yet," he thinks; ''he
cannot ssep up tne pace long -, Inc heb boy has
when be starts up white owl that can scarcely
ny, as he goes whirling along close to the
ground before him. He gains upon IL; another
moment and it will be his. Now he gets the
start again; they come 20 the branching Ofpaths.
and the bird goes down the wrong one. TRe
temptation TO follow il il too strong to be re-
sisted; he knows that somewhere, deep in the
wood. there is a cross track by which he can get
in the track he has left; it Is only to little
faster. and he shall be home nearly as soon.
On he rushed; the path takes bead and he
is just out OF sight when his pursuer comes
where the path divide. The boy has turned to
the right-the man takes the left, and the faster
they both run the faster they are asunier.
The white owl still leads him on; the path
gets darker and narrower; at last he finds that
he has messed IL altogether; and his feet are on
the soft ground He founders about among the
trees and stumps, yexed with himself and pant
ing after his race AT last he hits upon another
track, and pushes on as fast as he can. The
ground begins sen-ibly TO descend; he has lost
his way-but he keeps bearing to the left, and
though IL l. now dark, he thinks he must reach
the main path sooner or later.
He does not know this part Of the wood, but
runs on q little midshipmsn, why did you
chase that owl: III you had kept the path with
the dark man behind you, there q chance
that You might Overrun him; or IL he had over
taken you, some passing wayfarer might have
heard your cries and come 70 save you. Now
you are running straight ON TO your death, for
the forest Is deep and black at the bottom Of this
bill oh, that the moon might come out and
show 1t % you.
The moon is under thick canopy of heavy,
black elouds, and there Is not star TO glitter ON
the water and make IL visible The fern Is soft
under his feet as he runs and slips down the
slopinR hill. At last he strikes against a stone
stpfnbles and falls Two minutes mere and he
vii fall into the black water.