The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1881-10-15
grew fainter and fainter. and at last,
Nnt nn1nllr,it mill

! Nat couldn't walk ut all.
I'm too tired and sick" he said,
land my fleets all tut. NV toos and
'tockies is in the boat. o Winnie!
/ Ninnien' he would cry, with a great
sob, "why dont mamma m papa
come? Oh, if mamma d only come
and bring me some breadr'
don't cry, dear-don't cry,n VIM
ME would say. over and over again.
"Ill find some more red berries soon:
and God will show us the way home. |
k'1oU He will Only don't cry, Nat, be-
cause it takes away ali my courage"
"All YOUR what?' asked Nat. look
ing wildly at her, rs if he thought
courage was something they could eat.
All my courage, Nat And then.
after searching in vain for more red
berries, she would throw herself upon
her knees and moan: Deer Father i'm
Heaven, | cant find anything more for
Nat to eat. Oh, please show us the
way home"
What was that quick sound coming
toward them? The underbrush was so
thick Winnie could not see what caused
it, but she held her breath in terror.
thinking of wolves and Indians. for
there were plenty of both, she knew,
lurking about in these great forests
The sound ceased for u moment.
Selling Nat in her arms, she made one
more frantic effort to find her way to
the stream, then, seeing a strange look
in the poor little face when she put
him down to take better hold, she
screamed
Nat! Nat! Don't look so! Kiss
WINNER
Hello, thereY' shouted voice
through the underbrush, and in another
instant great, stout man came stamp.
ing and breaking his way through the
bushes.
Hello there! What on airth's up
now? Eff old Joe ha'n't come upon
queer game this time. Two sick young
sters-an' eff they amt a-starving!
Here, you younguns eat some nv this
ere, and give an account NV your.
Selves
With these words, he drew from
somewhere among the heavy folds OF
his huntiug-dress a couple of crackers.
The children grabbed at them fran.
tically.
Hold up! Not so sharp he said;
"you must have little at time for
an hour yet. Here, sis, give me the
bahby-I' il feed him; and as for you,
jest see that you don't more II n,56le"
"Oh. give me drinkn' cried Win
ME, swallowing the cracker in two
BITES, and for an instant even forgetting
Nat.
The man pulled a canteen or flat tin
flask from his belt and gave her swal.
low OF water; then he fastened to moist.
en- Mats liz and feed him crumb after
crumb OF the broken cracker.
Another hour" he muttered to
himself, as he gently fed the boy and
smoothed back the tangled yellow hair
from the pale little face" another
hour and he d'a' been past mendin' ="
Win lie looked up quickly.
{, Is he going TOP" she asked.
mot he" said the man; he II come
through right end up yet. He's got
fever on him, but we Il soon knock that
uuder. How'd you get here, little
gal'"
Winnie told her story, all the while
feeling a glad certainty at her heart
that their troubles were over The
strange man carried a gun, and he had
big pistol, and an ak, and knife in
his belt. He looked very fierce, too,
yet she knew he would not harm her.
She had seen many a trapper before,
since she came to the West, and, be.
sides, she felt almost sure he was the
very trapper who had been at her IA
Their caOin q few weeks before, and
taken supper, and warmed himself be-
fore the fire, while he told wonderful
stories about Indians and furs, and
about having many a time had fifty
mile o traps out on one stretch"
She remembered too, that her father
had told her the next day that urap-
pers lived by catching with traps all
sorts of wild animals, and selling their
furs to the traders, and that this par
ticula- trapper had been very success
full, and had great influence among the
lndians--in fact, that he was one of
the big men of that region, as he said.
These thoughts running through her
mind now as she tod how they had
been lost for two whole davs and two
nights, and the sight of Nat falling
peacefully asleep on the trappers
shoulder, made her feel so happy that
she suddenly broke forth with: 40 Mr..
Trapper! can run now. Let's 90 right
homen'
The stars came out one by one that
night, and winked and blinked at a
strange figure stalking through the for
est. He had sleeping child on each
arm, and yet carried his gun ready to
fire at an instant's notice. Trudging
on, he muttered to himself:
"Well, old Joe, you've bagged all
sort o game in this ere forest, and
trapped most everything agoin', but
you amt never had such rare bit o.