The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1878-08-09
AS she opened the door, the little cir

Impressed grOAn, that made her SHRINK
back, trembling all over; and turning
her face toward the house, she debated
the question of meeting the sly jokes of
her brothers on her cowardice, or going
boldly into the noE dtsky barn. The
! piteolls bleating of her pet decided her,
and hmidly she opened the great barn
doors, and slipped in, holding her breath
as she tripped across the wide floor slip
perry with hay seed to the corner where,
behind pile Of urlhusked corn, poor
Glover all day kept her hungry vigil.
oss Poor Glover |" crooned the child, set
/ ting down her basin Of thiCkehed milk
| close to the little creatures eager nose,
{" I'm real sorry nobody thought of you;
but we've had awful thieves round here
to-day, lammie r and she patted the
animals woolly coat in her pretty. conf
Dental fashion.
She laid her curly head lovingly
against the lambs side, forgetful for the
moment of every thing, but the safety
of her pet, when suddenly a low voice
close to her ear said, in bantering tone
that was not at all calculated in itself to
inspire terror.
Hoot, lassie p
| Dolly started, and screamed aloud in
her fright, but the sight of the honest,
good-natured face looking out at her
from behind the corn rick reassured her
somewhat, and still clinging to her
lamb, she asked, tsmidly:
"Who are you? and what are You
here for? ?"
/ The man pointed to- his sleeve, all
stained and disculofed with blood.
ga bullet has game clean through my
arm," he said, with the indifference of
one habituated to hardship and suffer-
ing; but the little girls face grew sud-
denly pitiful.
" Let me run and get Doctor Rogers
to do it up T. she exclaimed; but the
soldier laid OBTAINING hand upon her
arm,
Nae 1eech for me, = he said. "It's
naething but hesL wound, after a, an
a. I want is a strip o. auld linen an a
bowl o. water; can max shift to dress
it my ainsel. But, my bonnie lassie, .
lowering his voice, and glancing appre-
hensively toward the door, "where are
the marines, moo p
They've all gone eff to Bangor, " was
the glad reply. "There amt one of 'em
| left here now"
| The wounded soldier unused for
moment, and then he said, gently:
81 hae wee lassie O. my ain at home,
aboot your age, an I wad be sair blow.
| to her to ken that her daddy cam to his
death in this far off land. Ny wound
naaufi hae time to heal, an will ye moo,
for little Janet's sake, gle me a hidin'
place amang the barley riggs up yon ?"
+" If father be willin'," began Dolly;
but the soldier shook his head deci-
sively.
"Na, ma, I'll trust name but yersel'.
A bit O. hammock moo an then, wi
draught frae auld crummie doom there
in the byre, will keep me alive for the
next few days, till / can show my held
wi safety
Dolly's tender heart was touched, and
she consented to the arrangement, not
only procuring the bandages and water
that the soldier had asked for, but a big
bowl of bread and milk that, in the ex-
citement and hustle indoors, she had
had no difficulty In abstracting unno-
ticed from the pantry; and when he was
comfortably ensconced in warm corner
of the upper NOW, she thoughtfully
provided him with horse blankets and
tattered old comfortable that had some
times served as sleigh robe for the
boys in their winter evening rides.
'sMay the Father o. Mercies bless
you. my bairnie," was the whispered
benedictipn of the grateful man as he
received these welcome proofs of her
benevolent good will; and all that eve
ming the child pondered upon the in
compatibility between her soldiers
words and his profession.
ss Father, she asked, at length, do
you s'pose any of these soldiers from the
ships can be good men ?"
ssThey're jest like the Amelekites,
broke in Aunt Debby, sternly.
sAin't you leetle hard, Debby ?
seein' the men are only doin' what
they're obleeged ter do.
Aunt Debby's gray head bristled de-
family.
81 don't believe in maxim friends
with unrighteousness, she said, with
an air of uncompromising severity. "If
one O. them Britishars was hungry, I'd
give i'm bread; if he was thirsty, I'd
give i'm drink; an then-I'd Jest hand
i'm over to the authorities ter hang or
shoot as they see fit"
With a child's unquestioning conf
dence in the wisdom of her elders,
frightened little Dolly took it for grant
ed that death would be the penalty if
her wounded soldier should be found,
and every doubt that she had ever felt
in regard to keeping his place OF refuge
secret from her family was now decid-
ed once for all. In spite of Aunt Deb
by's denunciation, she felt sure that this
soldier was no ssAmelekite," and she
made up her mind that, let come what
would, she would stand by him to the
last.
NAMED silent while the opening prayer
was made, hymn sung, and the differ
ent members of the " class proceeded,
as they were called upon in turn by their
leader, to give an account of their re-
| ligious experiences during the past
week. When all had finished, my father
turned to the stranger and said, with
| something of embarrassment:
s. You are stranger to us all sir; but
it may be that we serve the same Mas
ter ?''
In moment Sandy Mac Clintock was
0RO4 At1S ACCug ultN VA NpHA IA Ivy JILL
/ ming down his bronzed cheeks, poured
forth his long pent up religious feelings
in food Of eloquence that carried
every one with him.
ssI'm nae langer stranger In strange
/ countrie," I" he cried. 6 Brithers an
sisters are ye all, the night, roond Gods
ain hearthstane"
The days slipped BY, and the British
ships, after cruising about in the river
and doing all the harm that they could
to the American shipping, set sail one
fine morning, and disappeared down the
bay, greatly to the Joy Of the inhabi-
tants Of the towns upon the shore.
Poor little Dolly Just now was having
hard time Of it. Aunt Debby accused
j her of idleness and inattention, while
her father threatened to kill Glover, who,
I he declared, ate as much milk as all the
family PUT together; and even her moth
er, rendGded nervous and irritable by
sickness and fright, fretted at the long