Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1879-11-14

j life-preserver, SO that we should be pre-
pared for the emergency when our hal-
last should come entirely to an end.
q am agreed, was the ready reply
OF Grimwood, prepare the drafts; and
as l was never lucky enough to draw u
prize in q lottery, | am sure to draw
one i'll this, either OF wind or water
Besides, said he, the prize may be a
snip, so let us hold up to the last grain
OF sand, i'll the hope OF inlerceptng n
craft below: and in the event Of falling
in with one We will pounce down upon
It like a hawk upon sparrow.
II prepared dozen sticks ofmatches
had in my pocket, all of different
lengths, and handed them to Grmwood
To dispose 0! the game rs he desired.
He said:
Never mind, Donaldson keep them
in Your own hards. will draw one,
and YOU another, and he who draws the
longest shall have the choice, and do
not care much about the choice, be-
cause il is HobSon to me At best, since
| would be as badly of III the crazy old
! balloon without ballast, without expert
ence and without knowledge III the art
of air.sailing as shall be III the water
with 4 life preserver. 1.-THE choice falls
to me | will sell out cheap anyhow:
should Providence send vessel in sight
and near Us, in that event would SOON
or take to the water lot than the air
plot
AS he reached out his hand to draw
his lot he Remarked: Your hand
trembles, and so it did--a thing that
seldom occurred to me.
The sun was going down behind the
cloud bank Of u golden-fringed horizon
all nature was aS still rs death. | i'm
agined that the gold and purple-colored
drapery that appeared To curtain the
chamber behind it, represented the
mSuscleum of our approaching resting
place.
'Grimwood sat motionless in the car
his hand res ing ON his notebook, his
couutenance indicative of great thought
| his face fixed as that of statue. For
the first time he seemed To realize the
soemnity of the occasion. He refused
to measure lots with me. He said, in
very serious mood, Donaldson, 1t Is
all for the best; | am ready; God be
with us And his chin sank slowly up-
on his breast. The scene unnerved me.
turned my eyes once more to the set
ting sun, and there | saw depicted in
the cloud formation an old man with Il
sickle in his hand.
'Oh, what a solemn scene was before
me! was ready to sink down with
grief, for now were fitting through my
mind the scenes of my childhood the
happy days Of youth, pangs Of des-
pissed love, thoughts of the two little
ofisprlngs of my own flesh and blood, OF
the one whom | had won and to
whom | vas bcthrothed. All these,
and thousand other things, were
fitting through my brain.
II never before felt such horror
over an approaching calamity. No
one can imagine what II desolate
wilderness 1t seems to be where you
can see nothing but water underneath
you, and that Surgng and foaming ~
it we're internal commissions. To be
hemmed in, with such faint prospects
of escape, and to be fixed rs it were, in
the middle of creation, pinned fast i'll
the ethereal vault, as il some invisible
power was holding you there, ready to
drop you at any moment, down, down,
into the seething, yawning gulf Of
water, there to drown, and then to be-
come food for fish, and all that with
out the solace of an attendant and
friend, drove me to desperation, and
made me think it would be better for
me to die first, and let my deluded
companion have the last thread OF
safety that was available under the
circumstances.
ooh, what calamity man can
bring upon himself! We had now
surk low enough to hear the dread
murmuring Of the troubled waters. IL
was the 'Eronauts Dead March,
thought. Again | rallied my spirits as
Grimwood sang out Here it comcsH
What comes, friend Grimwood n ~
sail, craft. Cheer up, Donaldson.
With trembling fingers and doubling
muscle | pulled the valve. Down,
down, we came; we plunged car deep
into the water! Not moment was to
be lost; night was cloaking its sable
mantle around us.
Grimwood thrust his life-preserver
over his shoulders, threw his sealed
bottle overheard, and plunged into the
lake, never looking whether he had
drawn long or short in the lot. But,
alas! the vessel had vanished from our
sight. In another moment the car was
emerging from the rufiled water, and
lazily the leaky hulk WAS lifting itse #
up in the sompre twilight. / now look
ed over the car into the water and
there beheld Grimwood buffeting with
the waves that were tossing up and
down. ] shouted out, Goodbye, Grim
wood God bless you' and he must
have heard me, for he raised his hand
above his head and swung it around in
recognition of my call. | felt like
jumping overheard and making an end
of my troubles, but my journal must
first be disposed Of. do not want TO
90 to hades and leave no record behind
will continue to write until the last
CLEAN Of hope forsakes me. And now,
as the balloon rises it is getting lighter,
and | can see to write. ! looked out
again for my struggling companion, but