The Portland daily press., 1874-04-11

ioau uiiSut NC. tuooSHb "ooiu ecH4oio
Surely Trollo must be therer' 1 said to
myself as drove along. ''Trollo will be
therep'
looked out into the drifts as I rode along.
An awful fear had crept into my heat. 1
would not own it to myself. 1 said, 'He
will be at Jenny Farweathers." But look
ed at all the drifts. Sometimes I poked them
with tine butt end of my whip. Sometimes
called out. l did not call Trollo,- for Of
course Trollo must be at Jenny Fairweather's.
But thought l would shout little,-i did
no harm.
knew the Fairweather's by the light in
the sitting-roonl behind the red curtains. T
drove up close to the back door, and went in
without knocking. l carried the reins in
With me, so that Hautboy should not over
turn the sleigh in the drifts, from being rest
less. ! knocked with my whip on the sitting
Mrs. Farweather came to the door. She
held light, and had her hand up before her
eyes to shield them. could not see into the
sittlng-roon. Jenny Farweather sat there
alone studying her atlas at the the table. My
heart gave sichening bound but spoke up
or tried to-man.uy:
rs Trollo Lere, Mrs. Fairweather?"
Trollo! Mop Where is hep
THAT'S what l don't know. Fe hasn't
come home from school at all. I thought he
must have come home with jenny, [
thought you had kept him on account of the
storm.
why, he started when didn' said Jenny.
She. too came to the door and looked at me.
''He started, but he went the other way [
came with Tommy Larkins. TrollO didn't
come with us at all. He went the other way
alone.
Where can he be % exclaimed Mrs. Fair
weather.
did not answer, I could not speak. Mrs.
I Fairweather and Jenny followed me to the
door. They said things that did not hear.
only remember telling Mrs. Fairweather
th at he must have gone to some of the neigh
bors, and that should drive up the other
way; and remember her saying that must
have help,-the child must be found! And
that she wished she and Jenny were men, to
go with me.
got into the sleigh, and started out again
into the storm.
was now very cold; but did not think
much about it. whipped and whipped poor
Hautbcy, and we blupdered along,-treezil g,
stumbling,-into the other road, could
just see the church. / thought if l could get
as far as the church. would go to the first
house l come to and get help. 1 shouted as
l went along, and called out Tr5llo's name.
But could scarcely hear my own voice. l
could not see. l could not breathe. NV
hands were stiff. dropped the relns two or
other road. II blew iu our faces. Hautboy
did not like it. He pulled and backed and
bothered me.
The first thing knew the horse stood STILL
whipped him, but it did no good. shout
ed, but he would not stir. l got out to see
what was the matter. We had stuck in in
mighty drift, which came to the creatures
launches. f5Jeta
So fast and so frightfully our old-fashioned
Connecticut storms come down!
turned around as well as could, and
Hautboy Pit Tor home. sat still, in stu
pid way, in the elelgh. let the reins hang,
tor could not hold them, felt very numb
and sleepy. wondered if / were freezing to
death, Thought how shonld look, when
irollo found me in the morning; how Haut-
boy would get as far as the barn door, and
stick, with the sleigh; how l should be sitting
up there, straight under the buffalo, half in,
half out the door.
Then thought that, perhaps, Trollo would
never find me at all. Stupidly, seemed to
think that Trollo was frozen too. In a
dreamy, meaningless way, remembered tel
ling Irolo that hoped should never see
him again; and l wondered if, when he was
reezing, ne remembered it too.
All at once | felt myself aroused. Some
thlns had happened, Hautboy stood stock
still beside fence. He whinnled, and turn
ed his neck to look at me.
"Wnat i, it. Hautboy?" said sleepily.
managed TO get out. Had we got home
Had we gone on to Keziah's? What had hap
pened?
we had got home-or nearly. We were
Just outside the gate, in an enormous drift.
could see the light in tue kitchen and the
cat sitting in the uncurtained window.
That brought me to my senses. Perhaps
Trollo had got home. l called out as loud as
| could: ''Trolo! Trollol Oh, Troov'
Did something answer me? Did Hautboy
whinny? Was it the cat mewing in the win
dow? Or was it ? Oh, what was that?
Whoa, Hautboy! Whoa! Whoa, sir! Whoa.
You'll tread on it! You'll crush him! Back!
sir Back!
1t Is under your feet-across the drift. I
have my hand underneath it'll l can lit il
up-the still, cold thing! The awful precious
thing!
SO weak. Don't tread on me! We shall
drop back beneath the drift! Back, Sir!
back! Good pony. Good old fellow. There!
Oh, Trollo, here we arel Here's the door
latch! We are getting up the steps. IRIS
warm inside; and set the candy on, and l
went to meet you, Trollo. On, Trollo, can
you hear?
Gan ne near? Gan he ever hear again :?
Does he know that hold HIM that love
him that my heart is breaking. while we
crouch by the stove that he may feel the red
hot glow? Does he stir? Do his eyelids
move? HISS Heaven taken me at mo word
that dreadful word! Shall never see him
move again.? - il
Oh, what shall do? What shall 1 do?
Alone in the house this awful night with this
awful little burden in my lapl If any grown
up soul were here, they would know how
to save the child rall. s-f IS s4H astv
do the best can. rub him and rub
him with my numb, cold hands; get hot
water-tor the fire has kept like a furnace,
thank God! l fetch water and mothers
blankets, AMI get him upon the old lounge,
and l rub and wrap him and breathe on him.
Now and then l speak to him, but get no
ans wer. Once or twice 1 think will say my
prayers, but 1 only say, Our Father" fol- I
can think of nothing else.
There! While am rubbing and sobbing,
curled on my knees in little helpless heap
beside the lounge-oh, there! he did draw a
little, little breath. He chokes and stirs; his
eyelids flutter.
remember then that there is brandy on
the lower cupboard shelf. sprang to get it,
calling, 'sTrollo! Trollor' lest he drop away
and lie still again before I can get back. I
get it, somehow, down his throat. 1 keep on
calling, IrOllO. lrOO! IrOllO!' low long
before it happens cannot say; how it hap
pens do no know; but while am kneeling
and sobbing, calling and spilIing brandy wild
ly down his neck, and doing everything
wrong, and nothing right, except to owe him
and to hate myself, as if my heart would
break with love and hate, little feeble,
pleasant voice speaks up:
''Her-od?'
"Oh, TrolIo, did want to see you all the
afternoon! did! did '
Yes, Herod; hoped you'd come to meet
me, Herod.'
''Oh, Trollo, just look here! You know
you're not the most disagreeable boy ever
sob, yes, know. 1t isn't any matter,
Herod. Pm warm as toast, 1 guess, only
little queer, somehow. But the pains amt
very bad. Did Keziah's old man get his back
up? Did you put the candy on? %
Our poor CANDY has dubbed and boiled
away to a burn on the stove. But little want
have we of candy this long, strange night.
Trolo is very weak and suffers much. l can
not leave him to get help. do the best 1
can. Towards morning he feels better, and 1
crawl out to look at Hautboy, who has brok-
en- his harness and got safely under cover.
In the grey, cold dawn in the breaking