Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1875-04-01
CHAPTER V.
MAURICE PROVES HIMSELF A HERO.

MAURICE PROVES HIMSELF A HERO.
Children are like bees-where the leader
goes the swarm will follow, and thus it proved
in the case of Alice and her cousins. Mau
rice was the leader of the little band, tht
prime mover of all their sports, as well al
their protector in danger, and their monitor
in temptation for in spite of his quiet domes
tic ways, and his fondness for making himsel
useful at home, he was full of fun and frolic
and always ready to join i'll the mirth of hi
juniors. Before his arrival the others hac
been content to let Alice alone, and leave hel
in undisturbed possession of her solitude bu
now that he set the example Of noticing he1
and drawing her out, they quickly took thf
hint and commenced to do likewise. 1t wa;
now, Come Alice, we're going to walk" OF
"Don't stay here by yourself, Alice, we wan
you )" and so Alice, yielding readily to theil
solicitations, became one of the blithest of the
party, and enjoyed mingling in their amuse
ments Infinitely more than shutting herself uE
with book and letting them 60 without her
She did not by any means neglect uncle Bral
nerd, however, or forget the kindness he had
shown her in the days of her Loneliness, and
she still paid daily visits to the curiosity. y.shop
Though the old gentleman, delighted to see
her look so we'll and cheerful, always encour'
aged her to join her cousins outdoor sports
Maurice and his brothers, like most coun'
try boys, had any number of pets, in the shape
of dogs, rabbits, pigeons, Cochin China fowls,
guinea pigs, and the like Out of his collec
ton, Maurice, one day, delighted Alice by pre-
senting her with a beautiful little spaniel
pup Of a very fine breed, whose mother was
one of his especial favorites, superseding in
his esteem even old Sultan, the great New
foundland dog, that had been the house.guar
dian since Garry was baby. Alice went
into raptures over her present, whom she
named Fido, and soon won the little animals
affection by her devotion and care. Fido be
came her shadow, capering after her wherever
she went, curling himself up in her lap while
she read or worked, and sleeping at night, by
Carry's permission, on the foot OF their bed
(This last proceeding was unknown to Mrs
Fielding, who would have strenously forbid
den it had it come to her knowledge) For
tunately it was holiday time; for Alice, in the
first flush of her enthusiasm over her pet
would scarcely have been able to pay due at
tention to her studies, and Mrs. Fielding re
marked drily that "she reckoned when school
days come back, that dog wouldn't get quite
so much fooling over as it did now.' But i
was Maurice's gift, and that was quite enough
to set at rest any demurs concerning Fido'
rights and privileges; though, had it come
from another quarter, it is doubtful whether
Mrs. Fielding would have regarded the addi
ton to the family collection of favortes, canine
and otherwise, with as indulgent an eye.
About mile distant from the farm, was 6
branch of the Broad River, Deep Run by
name, where the boys sometimes went to bathe
and where, under their escort, the little girls
occasionally went, also, sometimes to fish
sometimes merely for the pleasure of the walk
1t was only in one sheltered curve of tht
stream that either bathing or fishing was prac
ticable, for beyond this the current was raplt
and strong, and was seldom ventured into, ex
cept by experienced swimmers 1t was pretty
spot, and much resorted to by pic-nic-giver
and other excursionists, as the broad greer
sward upon the bank, sprinkled with shade
trees, afforded pleasant resting place, ant
the view of the river, with its winding shores
and rocky ford, and rude bridge spanning
the shallow part, was extremely beautiful ant
picturesque. Thither, accordingly, the young
party from Berry Farm, one Saturday morn
ing, wended their way, armed with sundry
baskets and paper parcels, having obtained
permission from headquarters to spend th'
whole day in the woods; an indulgence neve
vouchsafed to them except when the elder
bows were on hand to take care of them, and
therefore, priced accordingly.
1t was the first time in her life, that Alice
had ever been ION picnic" and she enjoyed
the novelty and fun of the thing, with all hel
heart. They built fires, gypsy.fashion, and
Maurice good-naturedly, insisted on her help
ing him make his fire, aud broil the slices O
bacon he had carried in his basket, and though
she roasted her face and burnt one of hel
fingers as well as piece of bacon, she foune
it one of the most delightful occupations i'm
aginable, both in itself and because she wa
doing it to help Maurice. They had brough
an old sauce pan, in which they boiled coffee
and poached eggs; Joe shot squirrel, anc
though it was lamented over by the tender
hearted, it was observed that every ones yea
was unfagging, both in the cooking and eat
ing of it. Fido, who of course, made one o
the party, froicked about on the grass ane
enjoyed his share of the feast. They hac
brought fshing-rods and lines, in the hope O
having some sport, but the day was too cool
and the sole result of their efforts was an in
fant minnow, which, by universal consent, wa:
thrown back into its watery habitation.
After dinner, when other plodes of amuse
ment had been exhausted, the boys proposed
taking Fido to the water and giving him s
swim, to which, as Maurice vouched for the
propriety of it, Alice readily consented. They
accordingly proceeded to the bank, and were
soon busy Hinging sticks and pieces of bark
into the stream, which the puppy swan after
and brought to land.
"He's getting tired now," said Maurice, al
last; "don't throw any more, Joe, you must
recoiect what little fellow he is"
But Joe had already flung in stick with
the command "hie on!' and Fido, who had
entered into the spirit of the thing, was ma
king vigorous efforts to reach it.
"Its gone too far-he can't get il" said
Maurice. "Its going out into the current
Here, Fido! Come back, you sir!"
But tit little dog pushed resolutely on, in
tent on securing his prize His strength was
not equal to his courage however, and as the
water got deeper and rougher his efforts be-
cauIe perceptibly weaker, and he commenced
to turn about in helpless, uncertain way
unable to 60 farther, and equally unable to
get back to the shore Worse than that, he
commenced to drift toward the deep current
and Maurice exclaimed, in tone of dismay
that he would never be able to get out Of
that
Alice clasped her hands in terror. "Oh
Maurice" she exclaimed with a pteous
hlanched face, "will he drown? Oh my
Door little Fido. can't he be savedY