Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes Co., O. [Ohio]) 1870-1895, 1871-02-23

duu A1sil tusi "Nht oul lulO .Nsthl
garden to inhale the odor Of tn
sweet pinks on the one meagre roo
she had brought from her old home
The spicy perfume carried he
back in memory to those days ava,
in the past, spent with kind friend
and cheered by bright young hopes
But though the thought of home ant
kindred made her sad, not for a mo
ment did she regret the fate she hat
chosen.
Absorbed in thought, she had no
observed the absence of Charlie, hel
little boy; now she saw with vague
uneasiness that he had left the bee
of peppermint where he had beer
playing and was not to be seen. She
called his name, but only the echo
and the roar Of the swollen river re,
piled. ..,
She flew back to the house, the
faint hope remaining that he might
have returned thither for his pet
kitten; but no, the kitten was NEW
ing at the window, but no sign OF
Charlie.
With frantic haste she searched
the clearing, bat without success.
Her next thought was the river
black as night, save where faxed
with spots of snow-white foam
flowed on but few rods below her.
She hurried down the brink, calling
out Charlie! Charlie!
The child's voice at some little dis
tance replied. She followed the
sound, and to her horror saw her
boy, his golden hair and rosy cheeks
clearly defined against the purple
twilight sky, standing onsthe very
edge of the huge detached rock,
some ten feet from the shore, out in
the sweeping current of the river.
This rock, called by the settlers
The Pulpit was q good situation
for casting fishing lines, and Marx
Warren had bridged the narrow
chasm between it and the shore with
a couple of hewn logs.
Allured by some clusters Of fam
ing fire weed growing on The other
side of the Pulpit, Charlie had
crossed over and now stood there,
regardless of danger, laughingly
holding out the floral treasures to
his mother.
Martha flew over the frail bridge,
and the next instant held her child
in her arms. joyful because she
had found him uninjured. and men
tally resolving that the logs should
be removed to prevent further acci
dent, she turned to retrace her steps,
but the sight that met her eyes froze
her with horror to the spot.
Confronting her ON the bridge,
not six feet distant, was an enorm-
Gus wolf, gaunt and bony with hun
ger, his eyes blazing like Goals
through mirk and gloom, his hot
ferid breath scorching the very air
she breathed.
A low growl of intense satisfac-
ton stirred. the air, answered by the
growl of fifty more of his kind, be-
longing to the pack; in another mo-
ment they would be upon her!
Without a moments thought of
the consequences. Martha obeyed
her first impulse, and struck the log
with her foot, exerting all her mad
strength in the blow. The frail fab
ric tottered, the soft earth gave way,
there was a breath Of awful sus-
pense, and then the bridge went
down with a dull plunge into the
waters beneath! The sharp claws
of the wolf had already fixed on
the scant vegetation Of the rocks;
and he held there moment, strug-
Cling with feroeious strength to gain
a foothold, the next he slid down in
to a chasm, uttering wild howl of
rage.
Martha sank on her face and of
fered up prayer Of thanksgiving
for her escape; but simultaneously
with the heartfelt 'amen," there
came a dread recollection. The
bridge formed the only connecting
link between the Pulpit and the
land, and that was severed. True,
she was not more than twenty feet
from the shore of the river, but she
might as well have been thousands
Of miles out in the ocean, The wa
ter was deep, and it ran with almost
inconceivable rapidity, for forty or
fifty feet below her, over rocks so
sharp and jagged that it made her
shiver to look over the brink.
Her only hope was in her hus-
band. Should he return at the ex-
pected time, they might still be
alive; but if by any accident he
should be detained beyond the time!
She closed her eyes, and besought
God for protection and help.
Cold and hungry, and drenched
by the mist of the river, Charlie be-
gan to cry for home. She could bear
better than that. She took
off her own'garments to fold around
him, and held him to her breast and
sang him the sweet cradle song
which had SO often soothed him.
But the fierce howl of the wolves
and the sullen thunder of the river
filed his heart with terror, and all
the long, dark night through, he
,lung to her neck, slceplessly crying
to go home to papa. = Il
Day dawned at last, the pale sun
swimming through sickly sky, the
pallid forecast of a storm. Weak
and faint from hunger, and suffering
intensely from cold-for summer is
no bearer of tropical smiles in that
inhospitable clime-Martha paced
back and forth the narrow limits of
the rock. Noon came-the faint
sun declined and it was night again.
A cold fog sank down over the
followed by drizzling
rain, which before morning changed
to perfect deluge. The river rose
fearfully. foaming milk-white down
the gorge, filling the air with a
shuddering roar, like the peal of an
earthquake.
The day that followed was no bet
gray rain and ashenwhite
ray of sunshine.
A new fear arose in the heart of
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