Clarksville chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 186?-1872, 1871-07-22
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"Just one more story, grandma
about when you was little girl nh,
lived in the woods" said Frank.
And grandma drew off her specta
cles and shut her book. She leanet
her head back against the large easy
chuir, and shut lier eyes thinking.
4 remember as II II were only yes.
terday,' she said, raising her head
and looking at the children, who had
gathered around her: Il was only
seven and my little baby brother
wasn't year DID, re Npi
Pm going to the spring-house,
said mother, land you must stay Ii
the room and rock the baby II he
wakes So / took my knitting, 70,
l had learned to knit, and was very
proud of the stocking that was grow
ing under my arm.
1T was cool day, late in the Fall
and the doors were all shut. Baby
slept and knitted for All half hour
Then he awoke and began to cry
As got down from mothers great
easy chair, where / had been sitting,
/ Thought l heard strange noise out.
side. It wasn't lion, for he had gone
off with father to mill. Something
rubbed against the door aud made
the latch rattle. felt afraid, and
went to the door and fastened the
bolt. 1 stood still, listening, with
the baby In my arms--he had stopped
crying--and I could hear my heart
thump, thump, thump!
All ut once there came short,
cruel kind Of a bark, and then asnarl.
A moment after the window broke
with y loud crash, and saw the long
head, open jaws, and fiery eyes Of q
wolf glnring in upon me. An angel
sent by our Father In Heaven must
have told me what to do. The wolf
was climbing in through the small
window, and to have fingered but q
second or two would have been death.
Moved as II by power not by my
own, and without thinking what to
do, I ran, with the baby In my arms,
to the stairs that went into the loft.
Scarcely had my foot left the last
step ere he was In the room below
With savage growl he sprang after
me. AS he did 50, let the dOor,
which shut like cellar-do0r, fall over
the stairway, and 1t struck him on
the nose and knocked him back. A
chest stood near, and something told
me to pull this over the door. SO i
laid the baby down and dragged ut
the chest with all my strength. just
ash got one corner over the door, the
VOLTS head struck it and knocked 1t
up little. But before he could strike
1t again I had the chest clear across.
This would not have kept him back
If 1 had not dragged another chest
over the door, and piled ever so many
things on top of these. How savage
ly he did growl and snarl! But l was
safe.
And now grew frightened about
mother. If she should come back
from the SPRING house, the wolf would
tear her tn pieces. There was only
one window or opening In the loft,
and that did not look towards the
spring-house; and so there was nc
way in which I could give her warn
ing, or let her know, II she had seen
the wolf, that we were safe.
'For u long time the wolf tried and
tried to get at US, but at last I could
hear him going down stairs. He
moved about in the room below
knocking things around for ever sc
long, and then l heard him spring
up to the window. At the same mo-
ment / heard my fathers voice
shouting not far off. Chow my heart
did leap for gladness Then came
Lions heavy bark, which grew ex'
cited, and 1 soon heard him yelling
down the road i'm the widest way
The wolf was still In the window.
could hear him struggling aud break.
ing pieces of glass. Lion was upor
him when my father called him of
In command. All was silent now
but the silence was quickly broken
by the sharp crack of rifle, which
sent a bullet into the VOLTS head
killing him Instantly.
Father! Fatherv cried from the
loft window. He told me afterwart
that my voice came to him as from
the dead. He ran around to that side
of the house. Mother was with him
looking as white as a sheet. / saw
them both clasp their hands together
and lift their eyes in thankfulness te
God. sa..
When tried to pull the chests
away I could not move them an inch
In my great danger God had giver
me strength to drag them over the
loft door, but, now that the danger
was past, my little hands were tor
weak to remove them. So father hat
to climb up by ladder to the loft
window to release baby and me from
our place OF refuge.
Mother did not know anything o.
our danger until she had finished her
work IN the spring-house. Just as
she came out she saw the VOLTS head
at the window, and at the same mo-
ment father and Lion appeared IN
sight,