Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1878-12-26

we're falling rapidly, and just as the freight
I begAh~to reddens the window ~panes.zGThen
the hustle Of Misunderstanding, kissing, uncoat-
erai inquiries about school, and lessons, and
prizes, about skating and sliding. about home
and home friends. All these things were, over,
and the lads were sitting or standing round
the fire, while Helen and were busy with
our decorations, twisting wreaths Of holly
round the pictures and mirrors, and pricking
our fingers till they bled in doing 50. Sud
denly Frank called out to Helen: "But aunt,
where's Bertie-I have not seen him"
"Oh, he's asleep,n said Helen; you'll see
him and hear him too by-and-by." Then as
If reminded by this, she left her holly wreaths
and ran upstairs to see if all the recent noise
had not walked him: In a minute she was
down again, and said: "He's not in his cot s;
some Of them have got him in the kitchen !;
run, Frank, and fetch him."
Soon Frank was back again, and back
without the baby. Then the mother began
to RIM about the mouse searching, and to grow
uneasy. One ofthe maids, however, had been
sent some-half hour ago to neighbours, and
was expected back directly. 1t was presumed,
though no one had seen her take him, that
she had the baby with her: In few minutes
she came inland knew nothing of baby BERTHE.
Baby BERTHE was eighteen months old. and
had just discontinued crawling and taken to
walking. His little feet were forever patter-
ing from room to room. His little hands were
forever laying hold of friendly skirts and coat
slowly up stairs and tumbling him down again
with much greater rapidity. BERTHE, in short,
had just got to that age that when In sight he
! was In everybodv's way, and when out of sight
he was cause Of constant terror lest he should
come to mischief. 1t was only when he was
| l0Av thofh In off In
his nurse-maid dared to turn her eyes from
him. And now he had effectually given her
and all of US the slip. At first, of course, we
all Of us, except Helen, made light Of the miss
ing baby, being sure enough that he would be
found in some ridiculously safe corner. It Is
closet in which child could hide, and it took
us some time to look through them all. But
| through them all we looked not once, nor
twice, but many times, without finding trace
Of him. Then through the barns, the cow.
houses, the stables, the very pigsties, and
lanterns and candles, seeking BERTHE and find
ing him not, calling BERTHE and getting no
| answer.
! Then we set ourselves to search outside the
gates, holding our lanterns carefully to the
ground, and all at once in the deep clean snow
| feet Away dewn the road We followed them,
always tracing them easily amongst mems
| feet and horses feet for full two hundred
yards away from the house. There we found
the mark of where our little man had set him
| self down to rest and there, alas! We found
one of his little boots, with sock in it, and
from that point forward could trace the little
| footprints still, the mark Of the boot and the
mark Of the wee naked toes now side by side.
Some fifty yards or so, however, from where
we found the boot there were signs of his hav-
ing wandered from the road into the deep
snow; there were signs of trampling there by
other feet, and there all trace was lost. Not
another footmark could we find beyond this
point. nor any footmark that indicated that he
had turned to 60 home again. It was clear
that our little man had first wandered outside
the gate, had been ut once confused by the
snow, and lost his way; had wandered on and
on, further away from home 1--WE fancied how
the poor little thing cried, heartbroken). and
had at last lain down overcome with cold, and
slept
And all this while the poor mother was
with us. But now at last by main force she
had to be taken home, and1 with her, while
| the search was continued without US.
At every neighboring house our people
called, hoping to gain some clue, but gaining
none. At every house, as soon as it was
white faces from neighbor Gordon's to break
| in upon their happy Christmas eve, some
stout-hearted fellow was ready to rise and
join the searchers.
How weariscme was that search and how
eagerly conducted; or how much more weari-
some the terrible waiting at home, to me, to
Helen, and to the aged men who had with
difficulty been kept at home, need not tell.
God forbid that I should ever again be wit
ness to such agonizing distress as that of my
poor sister! She sat and swayed herself to and
fro, moaning low, and refused to be comfort,
ed. Then she left us, and by-and-by found
her kneeling at her bedside-better, hoped,
| for tho tears which had come, but little short
of crazed with grief.
And 80 the two weary hours seeming
whole nie ht rather-wore away, and at last
we heard our friends at the gate again, talk
ing low, as if in consultation, and then we
heard quiet "good-nights," and heard Kitty
led slowly away, and heard the footsteps of
two or three coming into tue kitchen, quietly
and not speaking to each other. And we
looked into each others faces with dull, lead
en- eyes, and no one rose to 40 out and ask the
news.
1t was like a house into which death has
entered with the unwonted silence and quiet.
The very dog shared in the gloom, and allowed
| any one who liked to pass and repass without
a bark or motion, as If it knew that the
house had lost its treasure, and that there was
no need to keep watch and guard any more.
Then came in my husband and Edwin.
| Their news WAS soon told. They had driven
| along the south road TO, about an hour. till
they had oyertaken poor woman whom they
|
proved to he our poor Frenchwoman, and as
Edwin talks French luently, they soon learnt
| from her that nc one had passed her who
could by any possibility know anything Of the
child. The poor creature had to stay and rest
so often that she had made hardly any prog
ress on her journey, and was already long
ing for any place where she could stay the
| night. She soon gathered from Edwin that
| the lost child was he whom she had fondled
in the morning, and then she forgot her own
care and eageIness to pursue her way, and
begged to be taken back to help in the search
SO they had brought her with them, and she
was wandering about alone with lantern,
not content till she had looked for herself into
all the places where we had all looked before
her.
of all who had been searching, had gained the
slightest trace OF Door. lost BERTHE.
CHAPTER III.
NARROW ESCAPE OF MADAME GU1LLOT.
hoe the reader will never mako one to
sit III so sad a circle as that which gathered
about our fire when the search was stayed.
The big Christmas tree stood in its pride,
and loving inscriptions. Tables groaned un-
der the Jolly Christmas cheer that waited for
the oven.
You are not to suppose that search was
abandoned. We -ere sitting only while we
could decide what to do next Not one OF US
|
der searching, even against hope, amongst
the snow through all the livlong night, than
to sit there nursing our own sad thoughts.
We might nave sat in this way perhaps
half an hour-all of us together except Dayie
and Frank, who were still out with the
Observation-Disclosures suddenly we were star
tied by a loud scream of fright, repeated two
or three times, and each time checked, as it
seemed, by force, and accompanied by a
sharp, savage growl.
Rushing out to the door, whence the sound
came, we found poor Madame Guillot (for this
was her nsme) on her no back, securely held
trying to remove, without success. Furys
heavy paw was flung across her throat, and it
was only when he raised it for an instant that
Madame was able to scream. When she did
scream, she was at once checked by the
downcoming Of the heavy paw, accompan-
led by terrible growl and an admonitory
shaking Of her ample petticoats. Beyond her
fright and her shaking, the good woman was
none the worse, and Of these she seemed to
think little, for the instant we had her on her
feet, she broke from us and rushed again into
the very jaws Of Fury. The dog, however, was
too many for her, and instantly had her on