The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1878-11-06
THE SLEEPING BEAUTY.

tits no uSe, exclaimed hal, ue'
s~pairingly, throwing down his gun, and
then throwing himself down after it;
"it's no use trying any longer. We
might as well give up and die at once.
We shall never find our way out of this
Wilderness"
"That isn't like you, Hail. said.
"You are famished, weak, low in spirits,
and half sick, I believe. Otherwise you
would not despond SO easily. Cheer
up
"T'm too nearly starved for that. 1
believe I am half sick, as you say. My
head aches as if it would split" He sat
half up, as he spoke, putting his hand
to his brow, and looked disconsolately
around.
I was nearly as discouraged as Hal;
but I vas careful not to betray my feel
ings, in word or look. Hal and 1 we're
very dear. friends. He al twenty, and
/ ten years older. He was the son of
rich parents, in New York, and I was a
sort of guardian to him; at least dur.
ing our summer re~creations; having been
appointed to act in hat capacity by his
doting father, who reposed perfect cen
fdence in my friendship.
Becoming tired of the seashore, Hal,
with. q restlessness common to persons
of his age, had got it into his head that
it would be a fine thing to make a
pedestrian tour northward, through the
woods to Canada. He had heard Of a
party of students who had started on
this excursion a year before, and he
hinged to initiate their example. But
his plans met with no sympathy from
me. T had settled at Old Orchard for at
least O month, and l did not want to
hear anything OF adventure. But Hal
was enthusiastic on the subject. "We
would hunt, fish and camp" he said,
and everything would be glorious. But
I was an old campaigner, and I knew
that camping out meant everything that
was ~disagseeable, especially at that time
of the year. I reluctantly consented at
last, however,
Wen, our journey up the Kennebec
was very pleasant; but when We had
left the bp9t, land the stages behind US,
and when ;Ye saw the last house, and
began to camp out under the trees, Hal
grew homesick. The realities were not
what he had anticipated. Instead of
sound slumbers, we had to fight mos
quitoes through the night and when
morning came, the mosquitoes were re-
insorced by swarms OF singing flies.
On the third day after entering the
woods. we had a rain storm. At night,
we tried to find a nook that would shell
ter us !; and in so doing we lost u way !;
mol could we discover it again the next
morning. We wandered about until we
were entirely bewildered, and when
night came were thoroughly exhausted.
We hunted and ished now, not from
pleasure, but from necessity. Our pro-
visions were all gone, and we were in
danger Of literal starvation.
That day Hal had been vainly trying
to secure some game for orr dinner. He
already looked ten years older than when
we started on this journey. Exposure
and unaccustomed e1ertion had told on
Lin fearfully. There was q hectic tint
on his cheeks, and an unnatural look
about his eyes. What if he should die
here? And what should hinder him
from dying, if his strength should fail,
if he should fall sick?
These thoughts were passing through
my mind when I caught the sound of
something stirring in the forest. In
stantly I graspei my rifle, and stationed
myself behind a clump of shrubbery.
Was it a deer? Nervously J. raised my
rifle, and my finger was on the trigger,
when Hal sprang to his feet, knocked
up the weapon, and cried, excited!y,
"Hist! look there"
A light breeze, at that moment, had
partly blown aside the bushes in front,
disclosing a young girl, perfect both in
form and in feature, lying on the forest
grass, under some overshadowing
.birches, sound asleep. She was dressed
in simple white muslin. Her arms, half
seen, hung listlessly at her sides her
broad-brimmed hat lay at her knee her
long hair, unbound, flowed over her
shoulders her ips&Asich were literally
like ripe rose-badsss were half parted,
like those of an infant smiling in its
sleep. As T looked, she moved slightly,
and T recognized the same sound which
I had heard before, and supposed to be
the stealthy tread of a fawn. A picture
of more bewildering l%oyeliness I had
never seen. My rifle fell to the ground.
Halls noise in rising and his exclama.
ton, avoke her. She raised her head
looked around startled !; and then, see
ing us, sprang to her feet, and turned as
If to run.
stepped forward, lifting my cap,
"Pardon u.s." I said, "for alarming
you, but you have nothing to fear. We
are lost in this forest. Can you guide
us out
She stopped at this, glanced from me
to Hal, and blushed rosily over face and
neck. "Lost," she said. "Why it is
ouly half q mile to the road and my
fathers house is not half that distance.
Lost, indeed" with a gay little laugh
of incredulity : and she shook her head.
"Who ever heard of such a thing as
getting lost in my fathers ~woods!"
"But such is the fact" said Hal,
coming eagerly forward, his eyes ex.
pressing his admiration, " and if you
can o1,ide us 10 n place where we can oh