The Republican journal., 1880-08-05


eXcrtion that hot afternoon, 50 he gave
it up.
The shrll, sweet young voice died
away, and silence fell on the little post
After while the guard was changed, and
Rob went off to his supper and forgot all
about Majorie, who. meantime, had made
her way rs fast as her little feet could
carry her, across the stretch Of Scorching
sand that lay between the fort and the
inviting shade of the BUSH The after
noon sun still rode high in the cloudlcss
heavens, and not Il sound was heard but
the whlrring of insects III the sand, as
Maidie sprang with Il cry Of delight into
an opening in the thicket of acacia, oI
white thorn trees, which bordered the
arid plain She already Spied some love
y flowers growing close to the ground
not far oil. They were glOXinias, pale
blue, pink and white, and she soon gath
cred her apron full of them.
"What a beautiful posy I'll max my
daddy,' She thought delightedly. But,
Us She penetrated deeper into the bush,
she forgot the pale gloXinias inh her excite
ment over the treasures that opened to
her view, and cropped half of them as
''ilN lii'l'N liNl NNN tl'lISt illdl hilIS ll' l
path through the woods by flowers, as
lIop-o'-my Thumb did 10y pebbles in the
nursery tale Presently she came to a
gorge with fantastic rocks ON either side,
rising like towers and castles and church.
spires. There was the bed of a river in
this gorge, but the river was not flowing
all the water seemed To have run off
somewhere else; though the bed was
moist and all ovcrgroWn with lovely
creepers and grasses and the waN-likr
iceplant All along the banks We're
! great reeds as tall as giants, Of all sorts of
i lovely col0rs. Bright scarlet flowers grew
Oil some OF the rocks, and blue and yellow
and crimson flowers bloomed on the trees.
Maidie had never in her life seen such
lovely woods.
"Thcy must be fairly tale woods" she
thought, and she was quite heWildercd to
know what to gather first Of the pretty
things about her She took of her hat
and made 4 basket Of it for carrying deli
! cate lilies and ferns: she tied some green
moss up in her little handkerchief no
I max a garden wi outside our door and
/ She wound long tcndrlS of rlcmatis and
I asparagus vine around her waist, and
stuck gcraniums and fragrant jcssaminc
I and the yellow mimosa- blossom in this
/ clustering girIle, until she looked like a
/ walking posy herself; and ever and anon
some fresh beauty or wonder tempted
/ her father and father into the bewitching.
4 dangerous woods until She forgot the gold
\ and diamonds She had come to seek, ana
4 forgot the mysterious hints about the
savage dWcllrrs in these Wiids, that seem
| cd to the fearless child lis safe and beau
/ tllul Il PLAY ground as her grandtathrr's
garden al home She felt 50 happy in the
woods. ii seemed to her as If She could do
ANYTHING. aS She sprang from stone to
stone or pressed her ROSY check AGAINST
the soft. thick moss. or buried her eager
little nose in the white corolla of lily.
On and On she Strayed. PLAYING She
Nas Il fairy and singing. loudly: ''l'p the
airy mountain, down the rushv ylcn, un-
til She fairly set monkey far above her
in an cbOnV-uee chattering back: but
She WAS TOW busy to hear him. Present
I ly. She came to Il rock. some few hundred
PAGES from the river, projecting over /,
pool Of clear. but very dark looking wa
ter. On the rock grew some beautiful air
plants with scarlet colors, the inside of
their gay y-cupS Ilncu with lcmol-culur. In
the soft sand near this pool, We're many
great foot prints, the lions had been
there to drink at night.
MaIdle, in reaching over to get one Of
the brilliant flowers, dropped her hat in
the pool, and Ito what she might, could
not reach il again. She could have cried
to see her pretty brown basket, piled full
Of lilies and ferns. ti"atlng away from her I;
lor Slle suudeh5y became conscious 'hat !
Was growing U"Fhei ~ tht woods 'IAd
,ii't sue ou3ilt 20 oe illldll3 hei way
nome, "S l'"uuS "@uIu ne scared ABOUT
lleF. 80 sue 9''tSl'e" Lile Iein'lI"'eT "l Lef
treasures = more "'IlIIS' ana turned ilcr
ItSolute NIUE I"Ge Hlliit""lo' Oh III Mil''
sue Ilou7IiI |" nc tHe hohltW"ftl ''IlGc-
/ lIoll' ooIlelloM, 1t was " 7It"t oe'u n"fdrF
4 PlthIli2 lleI way over the stones as Sile
Neilt ""rh lIlcle were s. many SlIPpefE
I places "iio 50 many mes ana Ih"rhN
bushes ~ lIe way ana Marjorie "oll'tef-
60 WY iHt woods seelIle'' 81 n5ucIi IaIheF
4 ftIllloSl HllllcuIdltlN. tNlt tlti HOl kloN