The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1871-05-11
~, ont OF Danger.
ny JEAN iNdEhow.

,,,cketS ttlti OF money a'..5.a,,ti--a, 10 |
inc inc eS ~, ton Of IL, and begins TO look ABOUT
him. a.. m;s,eb;nman. with
AZ xands in his pockets. sits rafting n.s
, ne and singing There is poor Wo'nan
s's ndinr hy the door OF the village 'li.,, Aie
foois caTy-worn. aud well she tiA. 'oi w
the spring her husband went s up " .1eNs s,,i
tn seek for work. He goes ior WORK; anu
.1,e wax eypecting soon 10 join MIN there,
han ssalas.t a feilow-workman wrote her
,rnrd how he had met with an accldent,
how he was very bad, and wanted his VIE
- come and unrse him. But rs she has Two
children. and is destitute, she mnstwalk al
The way, and she Is Sick at heart when she
thinks that perhaps be may Que, among
StroncerS before she can reach hun. ~
SnS does not think Of begging, but seeing |
,he bows eve attracted to her, she makes q
courtesy, and he witbdraWs his hand and |
thraws her down q sovereign. She looks at
il with iacrcduloGs Joy, and then she looks
at b'nl. a.,
..ft'si ali right he says, and the coach
starts again. whiie,. full OF gratitude, she
hires cart TO take her across the country
to the railway, that the next night she may
sit ut the bedside of her sick husband.
The mifShipman knows nothing about
that--and he never Will know. Z.
The passengers 90 OH talking--the little
midshipman has told them who he Is, and
where he is going. But thete Is one who
has never Joined in the conversation. lie.
is n dark-,ooking and restless man--he SIS
apart, he sees the glitter Of the falling coin,-
and now he watches the boy more closely,
than he did before.
Ifcis a strong man, resoiute and defer
mined; the boy with his pockets iuil OF
money Will be- no match for HIM. Tie has
told the other that his f!thei 5 house IS the
parsonage .;t y, the coach goes within
five miles Of it. and he means to get out ut
the nearest point and walk, Or rather run
over to his home through tue great wood.
The man decides to get down, too, and
60 through the wood ; he will rob the lit
Tie mid>hipnaan perhaps, If he cries out
and struggles, ne will 10 worse. The boy,
he thinks, will have uochancc against him.
1t is;quite Impossible that he can escape !;
thcway is lonely, and the sun will be down:
No. There seems indeed little chance Of
his escape. The half-nedced bird, just
tluttefed down from his nest, has no mole
chance against the keen-cScd hawk than
the1fttle lisht-heartcd sailor boy will have
against him.
And now they have reached the village
where the boy is TO alight. He wishes the
other passengers "good evening"! and runs
lightly down between the scattered houses.
ing. The path lies through the village
church-yard; there is evening service, and
the door is wide open, for il is warm. The
little midshipman 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 the house OF
prayer; and a feeling Of pleasure induced
him to stand still and listen.
BE hears the opening sentences Of thc
sermon and then lie remembers his home,
and comes softly out Of The porch, tuli OF
calm and serious pleasure. The clergyman
has reminded him OF his iAtGer, and his
careless heart is flied With the ccDV OF his
voice and Of the prayers. lie thinks of what
the clergyman said Of the care Of our Hea-
yenly Father ior us; he remembers how,
when he left home, his father prayed that
he might be preserved through every dan
ger; lie does not remember any particular
danger that be has been exposed to, except
in The great storm but he is grateful that
he has come home in safety, and he hopes
whenever he shall be- III danger, which he
supposeS he will be some day, that then
the providence OF God will watch over and
project him. And so he presses onward TO
the entrance Of the wood
The man is there before him. lie buS
pushed himself into the thicket, and cut
heavy stake. He suffers the boy to go on
before, and then he comes ont, falls into Tie
path, and follows. Ii is too light at present
torhiS deed of darkness, and too hear the
entrance OF the wood; but he knows that
shortly the path will Drtncl of into two,
and The right one Tor the boy Il? take viii
be dark and lonely.
But what prompts the little milshipman,
wben not fly rods from the branching
path, to break Into a sudden run? 1T is
not fear-he never dreams Of danger.
Some sudden Impulse, or some wild wish
for home, makes him dash out sudde0N
after his slunter, with 4 whoop and
bound. On ne goes, as if running
race; the path bends, ard The man loses
sight Of him. "But sOlll have him yet,
he thinks; he cannot keep up that race
long The boy has nearly reached tAe
place where the path divides, when he
starts up white owl that can scarcely fly
as he goes Whrling along close to the |
ground before him. He gains upon it f: an |
other moment and it will be his. Row he
gels the start again they come to the |
branching Of the path, and the bird GOES
down the wrong one. The temptation to
follow it is too strong to be resisted he
knows that somewhere, deep in the woods, |
there is 4 cross track by which he can get
into the track he has left it is only to run !
a little faster, and he shall be home nearly |
as soon. ... -+ .. . ..-.--.. ....
On he ru>hes; the path takes bend, aud |
he Is just out Of sight when his p,lrsuer |
comes where the paths divide. The bow |
has turned to the rjght-the man takes the |
LETT, and the faster they both run the far
Their they are aSunQer. =. I
The white owl still leads him on: the
path gets darker and narrower; at list he |
finds that he has m!sSec it altogether, ard
his feet are on the soft ground. He tioun-
ders about among the trees and stumps,
veXed with himself, and painting after his |
race. AT last he Is upon another track.
and pushes on as fast as he can. TbeI
ground begins sensibly to descend: he has
lost his way-but he keeps bearing ON to
the left, aud though it is now dark he
thinks he must reach the main path soonerl
or later. ... ....-
He does not know this part of the wood,
but runs on. Oh, little midshipman Whgl
did You chase that owl? If YOU had kepitI
the path with the dark man behind you}
there was chance that you might outrup
him !: or, it he had overtaken you, some
passing wayfarer might have heard your
cries, and come TO save you. Now YOU are
running straight on to death for the forest
water is deep and black ut the foot OF the
NIL. Oh! that the moon would come outt
and show it to you!
The moon is under thick canopy; oil
heavy, black clouds, and there is not 4 star
10 gutter on the water and make it visible
he fern is under his feet as he rIlns andt
slips down the sloping hill. AT last he;
S strikes against u stone, stumbles. and falls.
Two minutes more, aud he, will fall into
the black water. .%
Heydey p cried the boy, "whaps this?
Oh, how it tears my hands Oh this