St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1881-10-15
HOW HE ESCAPED.


her fathers log cabin on the banks of
the Angelina River in Texas. She was
gazing intently across the stream. The
river was narrow, and the crossing was
in the primitive style which prevails in
some portions of the State-a rope.
stretched tightly from bank to bank,
and tied to convenient trees, by means
of which a small fiat, or chateau"
usually manned by two persons, was
drawn back and forth.
This hot, drowsy, summer afternoon,
Martha girl of seventeen years
thought the longest she had ever spent.
The cattle stood painting in the stream
near the shore. Not breeze stirred
the Jungle of trees and bushes on the
other side of the river, aud the field
around the house was sun baked
waste. Would her father never come?
He and the hired man had gone that
morning to town for supplies, leaving
her alone with Bobbie, her little six
year-old brother at that moment
was lying asleep on the floor in an inner
room-and Eph, little colored boy of
ten, who had slipped into the woods to
hdnt squirrels.
Now Martha was not Texas girl,
and was not accustomed to these wild
solitudes Two years before. her
father had decided to mend, if possible,
his fortunes on Texas farm, but had
proposed to Martha to remain with his
relatives in Virginia until he had a suit
able home for her.
tYou are not accustomed to rough
ing it, he said; land life where shall
settle will be hard and lonely for years.
1t is new place. Our nearest neigh.
Dor will be five miles away. l do not
like to take you there at all, and if you
are wise you will stay with your auIst,
who wants you very much"
t'Then I'm not bit WISE" Martha
said, with her bright face full of deter.
mination. ''And, think my kind
father is not quite wise in proposing
such thing to me. Why. who will
attend to you and Robbie mere baby
he is too? If you are sick, who will
nurse you? dare say, I'm not the
most helpful girl in the world, but dc
you really think should be happy II
Sinking all my duties and staying ii
luxury, while you are undergoing al
kinds of privation?'
So Martha had her own way, and be-
ing bright, intelligent girl. hae
adapted herself to her new life with
wonderful facility. Her neighbors were
kind, good people, but they had little
time to visit, and then they were SO fal
off that frequent social calls were i'm
possible.
I'd. But Martha interested herself in do
nestle duties. She raised poultry and
made the best butter in the county
She had good collection of books, an6
received some periodicals. She trieo
also to keep up her studies; for she
reasoned justly that, if improved cir
cumstances allowed them again to mi1
in cultivated society, it would not Dc
for her to blush for her own ignorance
But this afternoon time hung heavy
on her hands. Her father in going ove1
the river had left the flat fastened OF
the other side, that it might be ready
for him on his return. Vainly. she
strained her eyes through the thick un
dergrowth of the opposite bank. hop
ing to see him coming down the mar
row path.
'It's been as long as ten days" sht
said. throwing herself down in a rock
ing-chair on the small porch. II be
lieVe I'm getting tired of this lonely
life. Day in and day out it's the same
thing, and nothing happens one da.
different from any other day. Ane
when fathers away it's a Thousand
times worse. wouldn't care mucl
what happened, were it only something
ont of the old routine TIM cettine
like the old sluggish pond in the field
and ! feel the green scum growing owe
me"
Her discontinued eyes fixed them
selves on the swampy forest before th.
cabin, and they did not move, ever
when she heard the gallop Of ,hors,
coming down the road. 7'o.5