The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1875-09-09
eagerly, bat in jargon quite unintelli-

eagerly, bat in a jargon quite uniutelli-
gible.
Presently the hole darkened. Some
thing had been pushed up into the mouth
of it. At first Billy thought that the
blacks were stopping it up but a mo-
ment after an ominous cracking, accom-
panied by smothered roaring, began.
The natives had placed fire at the en-
trance of the burrow.
1t flashed to Billy's mind that he had
heard that the natives captured wom-
bats by smoking them out. An agony
rather would he have preferred race on
the open plain, with the whole tribe
after him.
At first very little smoke worked back
to where he lay, and he hoped that he
might yet escape suffocation. Mean
time, he could hear the blacks shouting,
singing, and beating on the rock with
their waddies, to frighten out the wom-
bats, probably, for they evidently had
no idea that there was larger game in the
burrow.
As soon as the first bundle of leaves
and grass WIS burned out, another was
brought. Billy now thought of driving
out the wombats, and of saving himself
by sacrificing them. But on his trying
to seize the animals, they retreated into
smaller holes leading off from the main
den, where it was impossible to reach
them.
Gradually the smoke found it's way
back into the burrow; yet by holding
his face close down to the earth, Billy
managed to breathe. But it grew more
dense. His eyes began to smart, and it
was difficult for him to breathe. A hor-
fible death stared him in the face.
Under ordinary circumstances 1 am
sure that Billy seldom prayed. eBut he
thought he was at deaths door. Suffo-
cation had its fearful grip on his throat.
go Lord" he cried out, his nose
pressed into the dirt, take pity on me
0, dear Lord, put out that fire, and
drive away those heather niggers!" !" and
then, fairly beside himself with terror,
he repeated it over and over with all his
strength.
The effect of this petition on the
blacks outside seems to have been in
stantaneous. The jabbering and shout
ing ceased at once as if by magic. There
was moments silence, then scamper-
ing.
With his mouth to the ground and his
eyes tightly shut, Billy lay and listened.
An utter stiffness had taken the place of
the noisy jollifcation. The fire of dry
grass burned out, and the hole began to
clear of the smoke. But for while
Billy had no thought that the natives
had gone. He knew nothing of their
superstitions. He lay quiet and waited.
The wombats came out of their leth-
argy and commenced to sneeze prodigi-
ously. They even tried to creep out
past him, but Billy drove them back.
An hour or two passed, and the boy
was about mastering Courage 10 crawl
out, when q slight noise on the rock con-
vinced him that some of the blacks were
still near the place so he waited two or
three hours more, as he thinks, then
very cautiously crept down to the mouth
of the hole.
There was no native in sight, and
after watching and listening for a long
time, the boy ventured to come forth.
Glancing guardedly backward over the
rock, he saw, set on it, broad wooden
platter, we'll loaded with fried tadpoles,
another containing bulrush roots, and
large piece of scorched kangaroo meat.
1t is quite evident that the blacks had
taken Billy's voice for that of some sort
of divinity, whom they thought it was
best to propitiate with a generous meal,
and then lelve to his own devices.
Without attending to the savage
offerings, or in the least understanding
them, the boy first assured himself that
the coast was clear, then took to his
1of@ ol- H.
hind.
That this singular deliverance was in
answer to Billy's prayer, may perhaps
be questioned by some people; but all
readers will agree, 1 think, that physi-
cally, at least, it was good thing for
him that ho prayed for deliverance.
Without prayer he certainly would not
have escaped.
He wandered about in the scrub until
it was nearly night, when he fortunately
heard the guns fired by party of the
stocknlen, who were out searching for
him. They had become alarmed at his
not coming in, and still more by Blink
er's coming home riderless late the pre-
vious evening.
So Billy escaped unharmed at last
but either the fright or the smoke, or
perhaps both combined, brought on a
feverish attack which lasted q fortnight
or more. Ultimately, however, he re-
covered his health, and, 1 am sorry to
say, celebrated his convalescence by Civ
ing Blinker u most outrageous beating.
So, while his prayers saved his life, it is
very certain his almost miraculous es-
cape produced no beneficial effect upon
him otherwise. Did he deserve his mer-
ciful escape p Youths Companion.