Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1874-03-25


saw the milk cans which her father had lei
on the bench there. She seized them. an
pouring the milk into them, put the tops o
securely, and tied them around her wais
Is was dark, almost, in the barn, and sh
got out as quickly as she could, fastenc
the cow-house door, and once more wa
amid the raging elements.
Confused, she stood, scarcely knowin
which way to 90. There was no sign o
the path she had made. Could she igh
her way back The fury Of the tempes
had so increased, il seemed as though moth
ing could live in it, She was almost uumi
with cold but the children the baby
With no spoken words, but with the spiri
Of Peier's-" Save me, | perish, - in hel
heart, she attempted to press on.
Blindly she went, staggering under To,
weight Of the milk, which she clung to a,
life for baby, the fakes dashing in her face
with a force that almost took her breath
aud the wind rocking her as though she
were a reed
She was so cold she could not stand thi.
much longer She would soon drop. Sh,
would be frozen to death, she knew but
even as she thought this, she pushed on
She must be near the gate she tried to see
it, but there night as well have been a wall
before her
The wind swept by in fearful gust that
rocked her back aud forth, although shc
was walled up, as 10 were. on each side
What was it that had appeared just in her
path The roof Of the dog-keunel2 Yes,
1t was; aud she was then inside the yard,
only about thirty feet from the shcd She
put her hands straight out before her, and
with oil her strength made her way for.
ward Would she uevorgct there She could
not stand il much longer just then. her
outstretched hands came with singing force
against the shed. She gave a cry Of joy
staggered along, feeling for the opening
found it and, iora second, stood gasping.
Even in that instant it seemed as though
she would be covered up. The storm
shrekod and howled ike an army Of demons.
She never could tell how she reached the
kitchen door, and got within. All she did
know was that she was aroused by jamie
crying that she found herself upon the
kitchen floor beside mass Of snow her
milk safe, and that it was quite dark,
She was not conscious that she, girl Of
thirteen, had accomplished feat that night
which many strong, brave men, had lost
their lives in attempting-the feat Of going
dozen yards in that storm.
She was very weak, and her limbs ached.
and she could not drag herself to the stove
to renew the fire, now low. jamie put in
fuel while she shiycrod aud trembled 1t
seemed as though her blood had frozen in
her veins. The baby was crying. She at.
tempted to get up, but fell back, and burst
into tears. Frightened at her appearance
and manner, jamie began to sob, and this
aroused her.
Get the baby's bottle, Jamie, and warm
her some milk"
jamie wiped his eyes, and did as she
told him.
Jamie fed the baby, and she sat by the
stove, leaning over it. The children must
have their supper but she felt herself to-
tally unable to drag herself about. She
remembered some highly spiced blackberry
cordial her mother had made and kept for
sickness. Jamie got her some. She drank
almost a tea-cupful, then dragged herself to
the settee and laid down. She fell asleep,
and was only awakened by Wills tugging
at her dress.
"Bsckie Beckie want some supper;
and it is 50 dark
She got up so much revived that she
hastened to get a light, put the tea kettle
on, aud set the table. When she tried to
draw in the shutters she could not move
them the snow was banked up against the
windows, and fell on the floor. 1t was with
difficulty she could close the window again.
Beckie was so very anxious that she could
not eat any supper VIII had q good ap-
petite but Jamie complained of head
ache, and said he did not want any Beckie
persuaded him to come to the table and drink
cup of tea. She took the baby up, and sat
there feeding it until they were douei then
she laid itin It's cradle, for it was then asleep
After getting coal and wood for the night,
from the shed, and there was not much
there, she went up stairs to see if there
was any fire She slept up there with the
baby, and the boys bed was down in their
fathers room. Turning the damper in the
stove, the room was soon warm. She told
the boys to 90 iuto one Of the beds in her
room, heard VIII say his prayers, undressed
the baby, and went to bed herself
Weariod with the days exertions, she
slept soundly. 1t was later than usual,
and intensely cold, when she got up next
morning Her first glance out Of the win
dow showed they were buried in the snow.
As far as the eye could reach there was a
trackless waste of white, uubrokeu by a
single object. The barn appeared to be
half buried, the coal-shed was not to be
seen but the storm had abated. Her
first thought was of father and Jack. Had
they reached Il in safety? Her
next thought, as she proceeded to make
the fire, was, what should they do for fuel ?
There was only that little pile in the kitchen.
She went down stairs. Every window
was blocked up. She made fire to get
breakfast, and then opened the door. A
sheet of white faced her. She closed it
quickly, fearing the snow would fall ia upon
her; and utterly appalled,, sat down and
cried, What we're they to do? No one
could get to them. They had no more
than enough fuel to last during the day
Presently she dried her tears, aud sat for
few moments thinking Then she got up,
lighted a lamp and went about preparing
breakfast, drawing the table as close to the
stove as possible.
When she went up stairs the children
were awake. jamie iretted and complained
of his head and his throat he coughed
and had fever. She told him to lie still
and she would bring him some coffee ard
she aud viii went down to their meal.
She had determined what to do and,
telling him to lie still aud try to sleep, She
gave Will a picture book to amuse him, aud
began her preparations, She must move
up stairs and keep but one fire. Besides the
small quantity Of coal, there was but very
little oil. All was darkness down stairs
She carried u bench up stairs and set it
in the hall, aud on this she put her dishes
and catables took the babys cradle and a
crock Of milk up (how glad she was she
had the milk , moved a stand and trunk out
Of the room, and put table in their place.
1t was dreadluly dreary day; and
she was glad when the time came to get
dinner. The difficulties Of cooking on the