The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1881-03-24
Youths Department.
THE STORY OF A PEG.


built, in great part, of heavy timbers,
which shut in the waters of a stream
that ran into the river few miles be-
low. Quite large body of water was
thus held back by the dam, while below
it the stream was narrow and shallow.
In the dana was sluice-gate, which
could be raised by a lever, and by
which the water could be let off, when
ever it was necessary. 1t was not a
very tight gate, and a good deal of
water ran through its cracks; but that
did not matter, for there was plenty of
water left for the uses of the towns
people.
On the top of this dam, which was
wide enough to serve as bridge, four
children were amusing themselves one
summer day Oscar, the largest boy,
had put on a bathing g-dress, which was
trousers, and had climbed down to the
stream, to see if he could take a swim.
But he had found that the swimming
did not amount to much, for there was
only one place-a moderately deep pool
just under the sluice-gate-where he
could have any chance of striking out
with his arms and legs. So he soon
climbed up again to the top OF the
dam. He would have been glad to
bathe in the great pond above the dam,
but that was not allowed.
Little Lotta, the only girl in the
party, had been watching Oscar, and
had lost her cap, which had tumbled
off into some bushes below, at the side
of the stream. She had called to Oscar
to get it for her, but he was already
halfway up the face of the dam, and
he did not want to go back. He was
Il II 49,
brothers there. If she wanted her cap,
He did not consider that it was not
pleasant thing for a boy, with his Or
dinary clothes on, to scramble down the
wet face of the dam.
Lolita began to cry, and her younger
brother, Peter, said he would roll up
his trousers and go down for her cap.
| This, however, made Carl, her other
brother, laugh. He said he would try
| to get the cap with q stick, and if he
could not reach it he would go down
| himself. He was nearly as big as Oscar,
| and could climb Just as well.
So he got long stick, and, taking
this in one. nand, he got over the edge
of the dam, holding with his other hand
to peg which was driven into beam
that ran along the top. Then he braced
his feet against the dam, and grasping
the peg very tightly, he reached down
toward the cap with his stick. 1t was
a white muslin cap. and hung lightly
on the edge of the bush. If he could
but hook his stick into any part of it it
would be easy to bring it up.
He had just worked his stick under
the front of it when crack! went the
peg and down went Carl!
| Oocor inst hof0ro this had roaehod
the top of the dam, and had run into
the house near by to dress. Little Lotta
and Peter were so astounded when they
saw Carl go down, and heard the great
splash beneath, that they just stood for
moment with their mouths open.
Then they began to cry and ran off to
find somebody to help.
Oscar soon came running out of the
house, and some men who happened to
be working near by were attracted by
the children's cries, and went to them.
When they heard the story. they all
hurried to the dam and looked over,
but there was nothing to be seen of
Carl. Then the men, with Oscar, ran
to the end of the dam and hurried down
to the edge of the stream. One of
them waded in, and felt, with his bare
feet, all over the bottom of the pool.
He thought Carl might have been
stunned bv the fall, and was lying there.
But he did not find him. Perhaps he
had been carried down the stream, one
of them suggested; but this was not
likely, as the water was SO shallow be-
low the pool Still, the men, with Oscar
and the two children, went down the
stream for some distance, examining it
closely. But there was no sign of Carl
When the peg broke, Carl instructive
ly gave a great push with his feet, and
this caused him to turn completely over,
so that he went into the pool feet fore
most.
The distance which he fell was not
great, and the water broke his fall; but
It was a very much astonished and
startled boy who, for a moment. found
cred and splashed in that pool. When
he could really see where he was, he
half-swam, half-waded to the shore, and
ran up the bank as fast as he could 60.
As soon as he had recovered little
from the confusion into which this sud-
den accident had thrown his mind, he
began to wonder if his body was all
right. So he kicked out his legs, and
he threw cut his arms, and soon found
that nothing was the matter with any
part of him. But he noticed that he
held in his hand the peg to which he
had clung when he was reaching fol
his sisters cap. 1t seemed strange that
he should still tightly grasp this little
stick; but people often do such things
when excited.
Carl looked at the peg with good
deal of interest.
..It's an inch and half thickr' he
exclaimed, :. and made of hard wood.
1t ought not to have broken SO easily.
Ohio, see! Here is knot, right where
it broke, and there must have been an
old crack there. for only half of the
break looks fresh"
At this discovery, Carl grew very
"A pretty man." he cried. '.to put in
such peg for people to hold to! an
going TO speak to him about it this min
/, ute. 1t was Franz Holman who bull
in. / might have killed myself, and
shall Just tell him what think about it. "
So, without considering his wet
clothes, nor his little sister and brother
whom he had SO suddenly left on the
bridge, he ran off to the shop of Franz
. Holman, on the outskirts of the town
He found the carpenter outside of his
shop, hewing some logs.
"Hellor' cried Carl, running up
didn't you build the dam, down yon
, der?'
The man stopped his work, an6
: looked with amusement at this earnes
, and flushed young fellow. without hat
and with the water still dripping from
, his hair and his clothes.
Yes" he said. 81 built 1.-THE
timber part. mean. What is the mat
,, ter with itP You don't mean to say
! that is has broken?"
..No, it HASN'T" replied Carl. "Bu
this neg has broken, and it came neal
killing me. If you built the dam, o
! course you put the peg in. and thinl
! it's shame to use pegs with knots ant
, cracks in them, for people to hold OF