The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1876-09-01

ID diSicSity n pfosIns ~ sti.. { can
bring the witnesses to your hand"
He told me he would give me $500
if / would pndertske the case, and an
additional 81 900 II i gained. That was
big fee-far moro than L had then
made in all my pleading. II was tempt.
ing. And yet saw that it was not yet
perfectly clear-not entirely honest.
The probability was that this William
Acton was Philips child; and 1t was not
impossible that Philip had married
Betsy Totwood. II struck me that La
ban Sarfurt was q villain, and that he
fancied he had young Acton 80 far in
his power that he could eject him from
the title. But what had l particularly
TO do with that2 If accepted q client,
must serve him. / had no business
but TO serve his interest. / finally told
Mr.. Sarfurt that would think the mat
ter over. / should probably have bust
ness in Shireton during the session of
the court, and / would call on him there
and examine more fully. 1 could not
take his retainer until / had further
light. 10 &C. q
"But," said he, "will you promise
not to take up for the other side9
CT told him 1 would do nothing with
out further consultation with him."
Because" he added, "if you are
for me / am sure to win. Acton can't
find O lawyer that can hold candle to
YOU. know them all. '~A@
"No matter whether I believed him
or not, did not feel tiattered.7
"Two weeks later received letter
from Sarfurt, promising me $1,000 if I
won. t.o8 td Boa
"The $1,000 was a strong argument.
Was not law really game of chance, in
which the strongest hand and longest
purse must win Z told myself yes.
Yes-and / sat down and wrote reply,
saying that 1 would take the case. But /
did not mail il at once. That night Iput
it under my pillow, and slept ever it !;
and on the following morning / threw it
into the fire. would not make up my
mind until had seen other parties-until
had been on the grounds. And wrote
to Laban Sarfurt to wait.
"Two weeks later / harnessed my
horse to the wagon, and, with my wife
and child, started for Shireton. / had
been married two years, and our little
babe, girl, was a year old, our pride,
our pet, and our darling. Shireton was
distance of about thirty miles. We
had been having rainy weather for a
week or so, and it had now cleared off
bright and beautiful. We stopped and
took dinner at wayside inn, four miles
beyond which was stream which must
be forded. The inn-keeper told me
that the stream was somewhat swollen
from the late rains, but that if my horse
was trusty there could be no danger.
''Arrived at the stream, the Wampa-
tuck river, found the water indeed
r.sen, and the current strong, but saw
that others had recently gone over, and
/ resolved to venture. I knew my horse,
and had faith in him. My wife was anx-
ious, but she trusted my judgment. A
third of the way across the water was
over the hub of the wheels. A little
more and it would have reached the
body OF the wagon. began to be
alarmed / feared / had left the true
track. Presently my horse stumbled
and staggered, having evidently stepped
on moving stone. The wagon swayed
and tipped, and the food poured in
upon us. My wife slipped, and in a
moment more we were in the water.
With one hand grasped the harness
upon the horse, and with the other |
held my wife. 1 was thus struggling
when wild cry from her lips startled
the air. Our child was washed away.
ooh, my soul cannot tell you
what / suffered during those moments.
L could not help our darling. If / left
my wife she was lost. / chung to the
horse and cluug to my shrieking wife
shrieking to God for mercy for her
child. In the distance upon the bosom
of the surging flood could see our lit
tie one, her white dress cleaning in the
sun, being borne swiftly away. A
moment more and saw man plunge
from the bank into the river. L saw
this much, and then an intervening
point of land shut out the scene. The
horse was now rapidly nearing the
shore, and ere long my wife and were
on dry land, with the horse and wagon.
As soon as l was sure my wife was safe
| left her to care for the horse while L
posted OFF down the river bank in quest
of the swimmer and the child.
"You may well understand that all
this time 1 was frantic. / was a ma
chine being operated upon by a surging
and agonizing emotion. How long or
how far wandered / do not know, but
at length L met man, wet and drip
ping, with my darling in his arms, my
darling safe and sound. He told me
that he had caught the child within
few rods of the falls, and that in landing
he had cleared the fatal abyss by not
more than two yards. He was young
man, not more than %, handsome and
stalwart. Ee said he had seen my
wagon tip, and was coming to my as
sistance when he saw the child washed
away. i threw my life into the bal
ance, said he with genial smile, 'and,
thank God both the lives were saved =
81 asked him how 1 should ever re-
pay him. He stopped me with all i'm
ploring gesture :
''If you talk of mere pay than l
have already received, he said, if you
can rob me of the only solid reward l
can claim, mercy If saving the life of
such cherub is not enough of reward
in itself, then hard is the heart that can
crave more Aud, with moistened eyes,
he told me that he had child of his
own at home-an only child of very
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