The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1879-01-17

iight meeting, then dividing, turnin:
round, separating themselves, and sool
enclosing my souls, 50 as To impede m,
way and endanger my safety. The
Rugged me SO closely at last that I la
on my oars, and clutching the intrusiy'
boards pulled them into the boat, w here
under the thwarts, they exchanged drip
ping condolences Is to what they wouI,
do next. What they did shall be- tolt
In due course.
such great effects from trivial causes sprin,
The blazing house was now almost
visible. The reflection was caught By
the water just beyond me. On I scud
ded round the bend Of the bank, the
stream hurrying me down, and now
have opened up the town reach, and the
burning and half demolished building
is cracking and roaring half mile of.
The smoke, dotted with million
sparks, flies up to heaven, while screams
and cries and the roar Of falling timbers
ascend with them TO the lurid sky.
Those tiny jets of water only serve to
aggravate the thirst in that fiery throat,
and not TO quench IT.; no man can live
near such fire as that; the heat even
in my gig was soon felt distinctly, and
the two planks beneath my feet winked
to each other in the glare, and glistened
side by side at the thought of what was
coming.
A yell, roar! Four people had got
upon the crumbling parapet, some feet
above the stable-roofs. and were crying
and shrieking for assistance. Twenty
men at once rushed in to offer ropes and
help. What could they do? The IN
happy inmates, clad in evening dress,
looked weird and unearthly in the fiery
glare. One was lady, three were men.
Taking Oft their coats, they knotted
them by the sleeves, and let down the
lady to the lower roof in safety. Such
a cheer arose for this. Well done,
brave men, well done, British chivalry
is not yet dead when Englishmen and
lrishmen can act like this. Watched
and waited; pulling in, the heat was
great. pulled away TO the opposite
wing, abutting on the river, now almost
wholly clad in flame and smoke. but
still itself unburning.
What is that? Can il be a man or
woman kneeling there, and unobserved
amid the shrouding smoke by all the
rest, who are gazing at the gallant men
around the stables? The soldiers had
arrived and were doing good services
but no one else perceived the solitary
Iorm wrapped in an ulster coat, and
trembling on the wall above the river
Not moment was to belost. pull
ID in hastily.
Leap" l shouted, "leaplr AsIl
poke rose up in the boat. The planks
yinked once more and ratified.
: Jump!- yelled in my excitement.
One look TO heayen-a glance down
Q the swiftly running river, and the
,erson | addressed leaped feet first.
Jnthinkingy, moved suddenly; the
ight gig rocked. In vain attempted
0 recover my balance; the boat tipped
'ver, and fell headlong into the water,
low covered with debris.
The two planks started after me TO-
ether from beneath the thwarts.
sank; and as did so thought OF
sosie, and made up my mind to die, il
must, but ! struggled manfully for
fe the while.
When one is unwillingly under water
he brain seems to become buster than
{ all other times. know not why, but
4 that half minute or so that I was un.
erneath saw many acts Of my life.
looked, from my mental
oint of view, very different from what
hey had to my bodily eyes. had plen-
7 Of time to repent Of my rashness, TO
tier prayer, and to forgive my enc
hes, and then struggled, Knocked
" head, half sank again, put out INV ,
ght arm and grasped something. It
AS plank.
Seeing body rising up close by, II
aised the head. The person I had tried !
, save was sensible, evidently.
l was delighted to find that he too was |
eating on plank, the twin supporter |
my arm; and how those good friends /
'ssed about, and drove up against each I
her in sheer delight, as we all foated '
way fast down stream together, battles j
I
l impelled my plank towards the I
her, and, no doubt aided by that t
onderous law Of attraction and sympa-
y which exists even in wood, | sue i
eded in getting close to my compan- I
n. Leaning my arms upon the trusty :
ank, l managed to support the form !,
ar me; but all this time we neither Of !
spoke word, nor could we discern =
oh others features. The fast subsid- !
2 fire was far behind us now.
The steady planks kept floating with
towards the bank, but was not very y
xious to 60 ashore just then, as the
'er sides were steep, and certain curl !,
2 eddies did not look attractive. : !
The moon had been obscured by heavy =
buds: but we could discern the stones I
itch here and there rose up from out I
> water, from shoal in mid-stream. :,
9 should soon be in safety. The planks >
parcntly thought otherwise They "
bbed about and grew very impatient :,
reach the shore. y
A. =