Orangeburg times. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1872-1875, 1874-11-19

LID AuS Who cucA sup ny GuruB,' anu
visited each country with his cargo of
chips But playing alone grew monoto-
o1s Sass Stssp III III
its-long rows of windows. throwing
broad lines Of tremulous light across
the black water To jacques it looked
like an enchanted palace, and it attract
ed his. idle, disobedient feet with ire
sistible force. st
Il Perhaps he did not mean to 20 in,
As he explained afterward, he only
though he would see if Guillaume were
there, because iie. had something very
particular to tell him. Guillaume's
father was one of the night-workers in
the mill 80 Guillaume was often there
in the evening. He had repeatedly said
to Jacques: !" Mats que c'est naagai,a-
que I, xKicns done attn que ie te la fasse
Uoir." Which is French for {" How
splendid tits Do come and let me
.sho you round" This invitation was
continual spur to jacques curiosity.
Once he had been in the mill with his
father in the daytime but to go in
every evening, like Guillaume, was the
dream of his life. ft y
Now, as he drew near the forbidden
spot, the delicious smell of the fresh
pino, the unceasing motion of the noisy
machinery, the bits Of wood of all
shapes, calling for jack-knives to cut
them, tolledi him on, and he entered,
remembering no longer his fathers COM
ymande. For awhile. he. watched the
sharp saws as they cut shingles and
laths and clapboards. He sat on the
curling, Ssweet-scented shavings, and
built forts of the bits of wood thrown
aside aa useless. Notwithstanding his
disobedience, he had never been so
happy in his, life. sg~x esEs
: Then sGuillaume found him; and in
sisted on taking him to the other mill
to see the huge round logs. sawed into
planks. The dim light, the roar of the
machinery, and the novelty of every
thing made one place as fascinating as
another to jacques. So he willingly
followed Guillaume. They entered q
long, low building, full of saws banded
in groups Of four or five. These groups
were placed all aleng at regular inter
walls, and were all saving logs into
Planks with fearful, steady swiftness.
Guillaume was 90 used to it that he had
no thought of fear, and jacques was too
ignorant to have a tremor.
They stood and watched the men roll
new logs on to the tramways, with long
crowbars, and push the planks already
made into deep black holes in the floor,
where o. rdceWay OF kheN stream took
them and carried them to the lower mill,
to be sawedinto shingles and olapboards.
It required great care to walk about
for the floor was full of these pitfalls.
All of sudden jacques Disappeared
In. the dim light, thinking u mass of
planks jammed into one of these holes
was the real floor, he stepped on it.
His weight started it. Above the thud
of the machinery, Guillaume heard
faint scream, and turned just in time to
see jacques head disappearing in the
pitchy blaokness.
Guillaume knew all about the mill,
and quick as thought he sprang down a
flight of stairs at the side, Just in sea-
son to catch back O Frencliman's hand
as he was going to turn torrent of
instant to explain. The next second the
water in search Of jacques. at last he
found him crushed among the heavy
planks, and brought him out in his
the dripping, .insensible boy tenderly in
The doctor came and examined him.
He said there were no bones broken
and that in q few days he would be as
supple and active as ever. But days
passed on, and he woke from his inson-
sihjlity only enough to have. fearful
dread of water, to iabber q senseless
gibberish, and to fail to recognize his
dearest friends. Little by little his
mother and father were forced to admit
that their only child was hopeless
idiot.
Two years dragged slowly by, when
one day jacques looked up all of sud.
den and said, in his old natural voice,
though very slowly, as ifzshe could
hardly remember the word: "Thinkest
thou that my, ,father-will beat me ?"
Tears came into the mothers eyes to
hear sensible words from her boys lips
once more. "Beat thee Why?" she
asked, in tone MS calm and quiet as
she could make it in her sudden joy.
sfor1Bhe did not dare show her surprise,
for fear of frightening away jacques
returning wits.
With great difficulty jacques got out
the one word "mill," and n violent
shudder shook him. His mother assured
him by word and tone and caress that
he had nothing to fear.
The whole two years were total
blank to him. He took up the thread
of his life just where he dropped it
when he fell. But as his mind grew
strong and as his power of speech oame
back he gradually learned what had
happened, and now you will not find a
more obedient boy in all Chicoutimi.