The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1875-01-13
seemed minutes, but was scarcely
If we only had PontoP said Har,
ry :. .but we must do without him.

|, If we only had PontoP said Har
ry : but we must do without him.
There's the doctorp said o voice,
as n slender, sun5urnt man entered,
Did Ponto, come home p asked the
doctor. Ii,lost him; don't know
which waY,he went, either: neither
whistle or.gun would bring him back
AS soon as he hoard how matters
stood, he volunteered to join in the
search for Baby, for it is needless to
say all the men about the, house had
been hunting for an hour.
+ sSo~we organized : a. party, with
I.lamps and fireworks, which Fred
Vincent, one Of the boarders, had
brought with him from the city.
After Harry had said a few sooth-
ing words to his wife, who was in
4 very delicate health, we all setI out,
ihoping every moment TO hear the
'Jfamiliar bark of Ponto. Which way
ga|I1osge was hard to determine, but we
akept in the road for some time, each
sman going off on a separate trail
IwhereHerIthere were paths, guided
back by some signal of shout or
rocket. H.. -.
Ah,. sir, what night that was
I Can you imagine it? In, tho midst Of
lmyines;; precipices, mighty boulders,
\ from whose surface fall would have
.t6een certain death to- a,child, We
tgroped'our way, surrounded by the
;schiil and gloom of mountain atmos-
$here, amidst danger on every hands
',l's1Sow and then we sent UP into the
adarkness stream of fire that showed
llns 1fissures at our feet, and mass upon
mass Of frowning, threatening rocks;
2SSme metimcs we slipped onI'the wet
astones, catching at rough, shaggy pro-
Elections to save ourselves from fall
ling; shouting, suffering both mental
and physical tortures, seeing in every
'loleft the vision of the dear little child,
Iseeing also the white, set face Of the
iEfather, whose babe was his earthly
idol. {, 49,. .... .e1. ,... ........ .,,s
/ $9t times we thought we heard cries.
ogsome form that seemed human was
1lsSsn; then all would be silent again
Live looked at our watches. Two
fhohrs had been spent in, our fruitless
Hssanh. t,y,,:.... :.
IES Could the baby'feot have wandered
so far ?. We paused a moment to cen
4sider. She must have given out with
4 weariness before this, provided she,
.lhad not fallen down. some jagged open
ing that had proved a grave to her.
tender body. @4&' a's.af 2, 5y.-* s
~ With what trem bling. .handSsw re-
1 connoitered each chasnn. H0w We
shaddered, andNnow and then ioneSof
the aarsling depths sdefed our .ssfa1tlsl
Jny, and kept tie secret or discharge,
iEwith: gloomy fidelity. 20, s,...i5,. &
,She couldn't have comc;so far said
v the father ut Inst, with q broken
voice; 'wc shall find her nearer
4 home = ..Il,. e. 44
| He, at least, had not'given up: hope.
4 but the rest Of us had Suddenly
land I Shall not forget the thrillsof
that moment to my dying day-we
heard thetaint bark ofta, dog; 4 ~.
I ,.That's Ponto rssshouted Harry, and
his face. by !ehe pale light OF iour Ian,
lerps, seemed almost s!orifed. b:
j The log.was' some$distance behipa
Eus, and III a direction TO the'aeft or
Il :iftessterlyy;; we had been going; west;
.tfGfy, course We turned immediately
:EEavefy heart beating high, for as,
:. Ponto had left hedoctor, perhaps, bJy
! some mysterious intelligence, might
Ihe not have found the Tmissing;ch !?
; With careful steps we turned and
retraccd the way. A dark shape,
high up onaa buuldsEi& bis form just
IEseelr against the gray mistssdisclosed.
! by our lights showed ms f'ontoo, aasa!gS:s
i gin 9 his huge tail, and looking FOR all
1.-The world ussf God ladput alhmanl i IN
.tsem under his eyes. -. i,. ~. =: !. ~
81 81 cari doWa to- us at sonce, anddi
: ss,wsfftloat,;a word, begun scrim bling
iliiiGa asi Tho loo rocks. We followed,
& EEsaspfs Nat we should see thcittle living
form of Baby, or the cold and man.
gled remains; which? 81. ..ss.,e.s
!, il wish she would cry,'said Harry.
Kin q low voice, and L knew Of 5Ghatts a hs 8
was thinking. =, S,t e.. s.
] va Il Gas sss / ifs
= IA fWstys, she vas mating pictttre7c4
Herself, tl,ough fast uaeep. The'great
| dusty sun-bonnet, with which she had
equipped herself for the journey. lay
, spread out all over the rock, attached
r by osc stringto Babylssweet: dimpled
} hand. The curls Strcamed like rays
5 of glory from her fair head and face,
5 as tho light Of the lantern fell upon
: her. ., ..* e, .'
, Harry seemed all at onco to lose
| strength, and down he felt upon his
knees. 1t isa curious fact that though
I am his brother, / never remember
, seeing him shed tears before. we
c always called him the stole athome,
and we never knew that his feelings
: were particularly affected, save by q
: nervous trembling Of the lips. But
e this night he just cried like a wo-
: man.
1t frightened me. TO see that strong
: hearted man WHO could sever nerves
D without shrinking, give way to his
4 feelings. And yet l wonder if there
t was one amoug us didn't feel some
Z thing wet on his checks? know |
did And if had been u heathon, l
t think I should have gone down, On
| my knees to that dog and said pray
J. er TO him.
II Presently some one went 10 take
: the child; but Harry was on his feet
3 at once. '." -. .f'.'
! Nobody but me- he said, under his
Y breath; and, did you ever sec faith.
n er lift the little dead child he bad
loved best of all ?GWell, that was the
0 way he did it; holding it up fov'u
moment, as if praying in his' heart,
t and [ don't doubt he was. Then the
: little estray nestled and opened her
e eyes, and said, sleepily:
d %, Baby was SO hungry, with that
b pretty little intonation Of voice which
y wrs her gift, and with which she
sttouched hearts. -,
Iss s And Ponto-if there ever was. dog
: |lsEpage, that creature talked inces
81 saH1iy!S I've no doubt he'told ns the
81 wh6e story, hoy he had suddenly be
h,ine impressed that Baby was lost
hs Asassearched and found her
t6sss lsg rockets and lights, fac
atea his rocky sentry yii! stand ans
6casa US to eoele.> And we, under
n sf81Eit as wen rs we c9uldt VIC poor
tans. 49,! l.!!'
Z a 2zswonder>if Ponto has forgotten it
g|No, sir, there was look in his ey'
( that said just then. dogs are. not liS.