Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1878-02-08
and | knelt beside him. and took one of his

Hcl0 10 uOteluS IOE, us 10 10 Dut u
stay here and hope for the best" he tol6
me once. And then he added, "While
there's hope, and when there's none, III
not leave you, Bessy."
Dear, noble Ben! I wanted to throw
myself on his breast, and tell him my
secret, but something prevented me-
don't know what-and l only pressed the
hand that I held
| There was no slackening in the river; it
rose higher and higher every moment, and
by ten O'Clock, the water was over the
| floor where we stood. Ben had carried the
trunks and the things thought most of,
up stairs, and then we took 10 the second
story. Here we stayed for two hours or
more, listening all the time for the sound
of oars or voices, and | hoped that father
would come and take us off. Midnight
came, and grew impatient and complain
ingiysasked Ben if he could tell why father
did not come and rescue us.
"I'm afraid can, Bessie" he answered,
with grave face. 1.-THE great raft went
down the river two hours ago. Iheard the
voices of the men shouting, and I don't
doubt your father is carried away with the
rest. But don't be afraid; they're all safe,
I hope, and will get to shore when morn
ing comes"
couldn't help crying when he told me
that; and nestled up to him as If I had
been child, and he put his strong arms
around me. 1t was not long after this thai
we felt the house settling and tipping, and
not much longer when IL careened halfway
over, and was whirled away into the river
by the torrent that had been undermining
the foundations That was an awful hour,
my lad!
Ben held one arm around me, and with
the other grasp ed the windo w-sill, while he
braced his feet in the corner of the room;
and the rising and falling of the poor
wreck under us, as the heavy current
swept us along, gave me at first the feeling
that we were going straight to the bottom
The wind moaned outside, the water beat
against the planks. and the beams cracked
and CAPPED as though the poor old house
was all falling apart. Long before daylight
we both saw that it was settling down
deeper and deeper into the water, which
rose over the upper floor; and when Ben
had succeeded in knocking out the scuttle,
he dragged me out on the roof-how, l
don't know. l only know that he did it,
and that but for him my drowned body
would have f1oated there in that old wreck
ed house when the morning came.
And don't know much about how the
rest of that dreadful night passed. Ben
sat up on the ridge, and held me by main
strength; and in The cold and darkness I
Lelieve 1 slept certainly forgot where l
was for long time, and forgot was cold,
too. But then I didn't know, until I woke
up at broad daylight, that Ben had taken
his coat off, and put it around my shoulders.
The house had sunk so low that one of the
caves was tipped clear out of water, and
the other was three feet under. We were
drifting slowly down the center of the
stream the shore was about mile off on
either side, and there was not a sail nor a
sign of help in sight. 1 looked at Ben,
perfectly hopeless and calm in my despair,
and he looked with hope and courage.
''There's one hope yet, Ressie,'' he ex-
claimed, cheerily and his finger pointed
to an object floating ten rods behind US
an object the sight of which filled my heart
with gratitude to God that had heard and
thus answered our prayers.
1t was my fathers skiff, with the oars
lying in the bottom of it, following along
in our track, as if to save us from destruc-
ton!
1 understood how it was: Jacop Cardle
had drawn it up on the shore after deser-
ting us, and the rise in the flood had ear
ried it out; and, falling into the st .ong
current of the neck, which set towards the
middle of the stream, it had followed us all
night. Ben looked wistfully at it, and
measured with his eye the distance to it.
The roof to which we chung was alternate.
ly sinking and swaylng' and the water
sucked and eddled ominously around it.
''This old thing can't swim many mo-
ments longer" he said. "Can you hold ON
here alone, Bessey, while swim ont to the
skiff and bring it 10 youY"
He did not wait for me to reply, but lif-
ted me to the place where he had sat. and
showed me how to grasp the bare rafter.
where the boards had been strained off.
When he had done this, he stopped, just
as he was going to let himself off into the
water, and looking at me with a tender,
mournful look that can never forget-no,
not if | should live to be twice fourscore.
he said, You'll be saved in ten minutes,
hope; may God speed me, for your sake
Yet if anything should happen to either of
( U.s. that we shouldn't meet again in this
world, must tell you now, Bessy, that
nobody has loved you as I have-that no.
body loves you now as do. Believe me,
dear, for it is true.''
II know it, Benz know it!'' I sobbed
and put my face to his.
He bent over and kissed me, with such
a look of mighty surprise and overwhel M
ing JOY as ! don't believe any man eyer had
before; and crying out, ''Hold hard.
Bessy''-struck out for the skiff,
I did not tell him when he left me that
my hands were cold, almost numb; and I
held tight to the rafter and watched him,
while the pain in my poor hands and arms
was distressing me sorely. I saw him
reach the skiff, and balance himself. and
labor carefully over its side to get in with
out overturning it; and when he had ac-
complished this my strength was almost
gone. My hands were giving, and slipping;
made one last spasmodic effort to retain
my hold, and shouted wildly to Ben. l
heard the splash of oars, and bis loud
CHEEKY voice encouraging me; darkness
overlook me as nv hands slipned their