The Goldsboro star. [volume] (Goldsboro, N.C.) 1881-18??, 1881-11-26

She had bound many an acre Of wheat,
and her arms were not weak, and with
the help the old man could give her
they dragged off the bed with her sister
and the baby upon it, and by much
pulling and pushing got them up the
narrow stairway.
The grinding and crashing continued ;
they could hardly hear each other
speak, and the water rose rapidly
Lucy could see it rising higher and
higher on the stairs. She had hurried
back and snatched the lamp from the
table as soon as Colomb was safe up
stairs. She had to wade through water
to do it, and noticed that even then it
was as high as the chair seats and was
patting out the fire. She watched the
water as it crept step by step up those
stairs, and soon saw they would not be
safe there. The only place of escape
left was the attic, and that was very
small and low one but they must take
refuge there. She set her wits to work
to plan a way to reach it. The chamber
was unfinished only few loose boards
lay on the beams overhead. Old Gau-
there's bed stood near, and an old rick
ETY. table beside it. She placed the
table on tn, bed and got the old man
up on the beams then she reached up
bed clothes and feather bed, and di-
rected him to arrange o bed on the
oose boards; finally she lifted Col omb
till she had her where the old man
could take hold Of the quilts about her
and pull her up.
They were not minute too soon, for
just as che reached up the baby and
prepared to swing herself up from the
old table, there came another and
louder crash, the house rocked to and
fro for q minute, the lamp went down
with q crash, there was q rush and
sweep Of water, and they felt they were
moving off. Colomb was shrieking and
the old man fairly howling in terror.
Lucy put her hand down between the
beams below them ; If struck into the
water. It was as high as that then it
would soon be over at that rate. She
thought of Charlie where was he?
He had gone straight on down the val
ley; he would be drowned. She cried
out at that for the first time, but just
then the house surged to one side and
Colomb shrieked, and they all huddled
down together in the darkness.
On and on they went, the house
swinging to and fro in the current, the
water dashing and splashing about, and
the ice grinding and crashing outside.
The old man mumbled his prayers and
Colomb repeated hers, shrieking out
now and then to some saint for mercy,
or calling LOUDLY on Lucy to stay near
her. How long this lasted they could
not tell, but after what seemed to them
a lifetime, the house stood still. Where
they were they did not know, but Lucy,
digging open little crack in the gable,
could see cakes Of ice all about, and be-
yond that the river running furiously
by. A church was floating along with
the current, and above all the grinding
of the ice and rush Of the water, she
could hear the awful tolling of its bell.
Down on the cakes Of ice stood Colomb's
best black COW, chewing her cud as if
she were safe at home in her stall.
The hours passed on drearily enough
with no food. no fire, no light, only the
darkness and noise. II was day now.
Lucy could see that, but the little attic
was still dark. But il was some consol-
alton to know they were standing still,
and no longer in that crushing, crash
ing mass. Lucy widened the crack in
the gable as the day passed on, and re-
ported what she saw. A lot of wood
went by out in the river wood that had
been placed on the river bank for the
use Of steamboats, when the river
opened. She knew what it was well
enough, for she had seen some Of the
neighbors burning part Of it during
the blockade. Trees went by, and
pieces Of houses, and dead body rolled
over and showed her its white rigid
face She would not look again after that.
Night settled down at last, and that
was worse than day it was pleasant TO
know there was light outside even if
they could not see it. Lucy did not
sleep, the others slept a little, waking
with frightened cries that made the
night more hideous. She was fearful
lest they snould start again and the
house go to pieces in the mass Of ice,
but it stood firm, and then she began
to fear they must stay there and starve.
Perhaps the ice had frozen hard enough
to allow her to get to the shore some
where, for though the river was open, il
seemed frozen solid where they were,
which probably was not really the river,
only where it had overfowed, and she
resolved to try and get out in the morn
ing.
When the first streak Of light was
visible, she began her work, but having
nothing but her hands she was giving
up in despair, when Oolomb cried out
that she heard voices. They listened.
They shouted to let the rescuers know
they were there and alive, but the voices