, 1874-07-19

|
!, hooso, Wlth its garden it's orchard, shade tres
and out-bui1dipgs, the huts OF the laborers, t
"oodpue, and tho boats moored to the riye
+ oaok. Waa to start on the morrow, aud it II
haps forever!-that I should look upon th
peaceful ecene. Half mechanically, drew n
: rein, aud checking my horse, gazed mus1nsly (
1 the calm prospect bsfote ME. Az did 80, I Fl
= surprised to
ZEE 4 WHITE FIGURE GLIDE
from amidst tho b}ossomed shrubs Of the vel
) | tented garden, pnsa through the vicket-est
J | and move EDWARDS Ia the direction Of the rive
Hnf doubtful whether might not be the dur
, OF some optical illusion, or OF my Own fancy.
, nestly towards the spot where had last behel
TINS unaccountable apparition. Yes, there r;
tne White figure sure enough. gliding on, slow
but steadily. towards the river. 1t WAS no t1rea,
at this untiEaely hour protend2 At this instan
my horse, impatient at being thus kept from tb
stable and the corn bin, ueighed loud and ahrill,
pat the sound did not seem to reach the ears 6
tue person on whom was gazing, for there wa
DO start and no pause, but always and evar til
same ete ady gliding motion, riverwards. VIII
would be likely to be abroad ut such a,
honr2 Then, too, the Low stature forbade tn
notion that the ghostly-loohng form before m,
coi1d be that OF one Of the negroes or Whit
heid-hauds employed about the place, A child
rather; but why. in the name OF common sense
should child be sstray at such time OF the
! night2 And then there rose MP in nv mind ,
vague suspicion that some ono might have
] planned trick mock npparition to test m,
! courage or crodulity, aud that it beloved ma t
| unmaak the deception.
diamouuted, and, fastening mr. ho1se'8 bride
! to tho nearest snake-fence, I made my NAY or
| loot swiftly but cautiously towards tho place
| where had last seen the white figure. It had
! disappeared, but, on emerging from amidst the
trees, I beheld sight which froze my blood with
epeechless horror.
| THE CHILD, LILY
my beautiful little cousin-Lily Lowell knew
her now, with the lustre Of the moonbeams full
| upon the golden locks that hung down upon her
shoulders, and half concealed her face. 6ho
| wore White wrapper, but noticed With thrill
OF surprise thai her small feet vera quite bare,
and taas there was something spectral In the
noiselees trcad With which she advanced Bhe
was close, now, to the place where, ut sort af
wharf, Eudely constructed Of the barkod logs.
bouts wore moored. What, In Heavens name
Was sh3 doing Surely, surely, she could not
intend to cast oil tho kah1ngs By which yonder
such Is indeed the case, and nou--"Oh,
stop, cousin - Lily, stopl" I shouted
these words aloud, and darted forward - did
90, for to my amazemene the young girl had ao-
die, aud was apparently pushing OF the frail
craft from tho bank into the stream. To my
horror, loudly AZ had upli{ted my voice, she to
whom it Was addressed did not hear. or heed
ana then there suahed upon me, NTH overpow-
Eor OF tbs situation. There waA no uistaking
TINT strange CLASSY look. that dreamy carriago
OF the head. the 1a!f-helplees action Of the
hands that held the paddle. It was evident that
Lilly had BEEN
wALKEya II HER hKHp.
that she Ta6, for the time. but dimly alive to tho
existence OF surrounding objects deaf to tbs
outc1y OF my wnrning voice, the mere passiye
slave Of her oTn unhealthy fancy.
ka4 k- N--l L..
Tor already the canoe was speeding past, impell-
ed BY the quick rush Of the current What was
to be done? The stream Of the Mississippi,
swollen BY tho rains which had fallan heavily in
thoss more nnrtherly regions whero its feeders
have their 1lse vas by far too strong to bs coped
with BY the feeble ATM of girl Of 1iIy's years,
even had shh been by much mora competent to
WELD tho paddle than ras the caso. And the
weak strokes which she gave a. che slowly bal
auoed the polished pioce OF tough brentwood
the force Of the furious river. Even now, t
could hoaF the low menscing roar OF tho Falls !
be1oT,-*ha Falls Of st. Anthony,-uhich uero |
but 1t abort distance, vhile my blood ran cold I
1T t1o thought that ii she once drifted thus far,
human nclp could not avail to preserve Iilys |
young life from inevitable destruction. There |
VAS Borpething piteous in the sight, a., all un-
conscious OF her peril she aoated off in her fra;l /
bark, gradually nearing the middle Of the swollen
river.
There VAS 10 time to Awxke the slu1nberluc |
;enants OF ths hEta and to procure sid. What |
aver was to be done had to be etfected BY myself
'lone- But What could do2 There were the
args sailing bosts, technically known as broad
1o1ns, close 1t hand. but 1T least two men are
equlred to manage these clumsy craft, while the
MY light nhd had sustained some injury the |
teek before, IN striking on submerged tree
bove HE rapids, and Tas now under repair. |
:et the only hope Of saving LILY, who was fast !
seeding from my sight, was to ovettake her be-
ore her fragile bark should be caught in The
rro".kwlfs current that nnIroWs as it
ears the Falls. In the hurry md excite
'ent OF the moment ! sPlang. into the
# the mooring rope, spread the sail, aud thrust
# tho large boat from the shore, mud then
STARTED IN PURSUIT.
'eu I knew that the venture WAs desperate |
ae, as, the shest firmly Erasped in one hand,
hile the other held tho tilIer went quickly |
OWN the river before the brisk breeze. 1t any
stant squRl OF wind, such as Is not unfro-
uent in that latitude, might either cspsize the
:oadhorn or cause her to ground upon shoaI, |
nee my single strength waS insufficient for the J
:oper handling Of such craft Then, too, I
lould become involved in the rapids, nothing. ]
early, could prevent the boat from going stern |
oVer the Falls. Theirs Was but one chance to
me up with tho canoe before safety became
,posslble c
Fortunately, the favorable wind blew steadily t
ON the north. without flaw or shift, aud pre- {
nt}y saw with satisfaction that WAS coming t
with the canoe. Lily had ceased to paddle, l
d sat motionless, her blue eyes gazing forth, | a
seemed to be, on vacancy Wills her golden | tt
ir auttered in the breeze, and her white wrap p
< bore. in the shimmering moonlight, wierd II
semb1anca to shroud. Very near, now, were K
q dreaded Falls. Their cullen roar was louder, b
're threatening, than before, and could see Il
g]ancinR cloud OF spray that 1ose beneath. i
the foam on the lip Of the cascade, and the tt
lmbGug. water-wern islets. with their willows u
4 mimosas trembling in the rush and boom Of n
J Falls. The boat was now close to the b
ZOE; and, with dexterity and cool v
80 that astoniahed myself, I made y
t the end Of the sheet to the thwart nearest Il
, steered az near Is dared TO the little tc
X Of Indian construction, and, scrambling v
0 it with the eautiops heedfulness which is 10
1er more needed than where canoe is in
'stlon, gently took tha paddle from Lilys re
sive hand As il my touch had had some | TO
gie in it. the child awoke from her rapt stu a
gazed wildly, half incredu1ously, ~ I i'd
ught. around her, and then. With I'D
WILD SCREAM OF AGoSIzED TERROR, Ii
uched down in the canoe aud cluug to nv ! uu
os calling on INC to sava her. What struck VT
too, even then, was that ahe used. in 3D. nn
ssing me, for tha first time, my Christian Of
TO-. She had mover before spoken to ma GU
arrFisn than r. k{r Harf7inc r. np;tn ~ -. h1