The National tribune., 1882-06-03

'Sifi'S aLid G'ilNtlIh III ltIe StdLiIi-G IL tOotN
me but an instant to descend and in another
minute, it seemed, I was up On the bank
again, with a woman, crushed and bleeding,
IN my arms. She was upconscous, moaning
family, breathing heavily, her heart fiutter-
ing Ike an imprisoned bird. As l paused
and rested with my burthen. another train
dashed by. I shouted for aid, the engineer
shouted back something uninteIligible and
the train rushed on out Of sight. At that mo-
ment | heard he.whees of a heavy wagon
grinding their slow way up the hill, along
the road that led across the track. The team.
q white-covered Conestoga wagon, with two
stout horses, rose over the bank and took the
track.
Help" ] shouted, @stop and succor a
dying woman"
I'll stop when [ get across" cried the
driver, and he whipped his horses across the
track and into the road beyond. Another
string OF trains went rushing by, and then
the driver came toward me.
What was ye yelling like that for,
stran2er?" he began: What's up? Why,
it's Mr. Sears! What have you got there?"
touching my burden with his whip,stoclk 1
recognized the voice and man-John May
berry, q farmer neighbor of mine.
hIr. Mayberry," said 1 quickly, this is
some woman, knocked from the bridge yon-
der By 4 train-fafally hurt, l fear Put her
/ in your wagon and lake her to the factory
over there"
"Why, its good two mile round by the
road, and no other way, sir"
Then help me carry her over the bridge"
said l.
"Wouldn't 90 over yon bridge this dark
night and these here trains q runnin', not if
You WAS to give me double the value puts
on Tom and Sandy!"
Do something, then! tell you the wo-
mans dying"
"Tell you what" said he, "Tll get my
| lantern" While he was gone | heard a
faint, inarticuate murmuring upon the wo-
mans lips, and putting my ear close down,
caught, or lancied I caught, whispered:
Lutte! Lutte! Lute,"
This, then, is my dreadful mystery" /
said to myself; this crushed womag-slight
as q willow, no heavier than q 12-year-old
child!"
II.
4 moment later the farmer came up
again, his lighted lantern swinging, and [
saw thin young woman, with closed eyes,
CHASTITY white face and unkept, tangled
yellow bair. She wore q torn robe of soiled
white cashmere. Her arms were bare and
bleeding her feet and legs to the knee were
seemed, by the flesh and skin alone, the
broken bone protruding above the ankle
It vas sorry, pitiful sight.
"Declare!" cried Mayberry, after pause
of hewilderment; "neyer saw the like!
Who is she? What is she? How came
you with her?"
II don't know" I said, mprehensively
" But something must be done for her, and
SOON"
Tell you what" said John, "shortest
ways the best. Put her in the wagon and
take her right in to the doctors. It's on my
read. There's hay and bags in there,
and she'll ride easy. You can sit inside and
hold her, and FL fetch you there in no
time"
We'll take her right on TO my house."
said |, making up my mind at once, and
secure the doctor as we go by" So [ carried
the unconscious woman over to the wagon
and Mayberry and I fixed her in it snugly,
pr0pping the broken leg and putting the
empty sacks around it so as to save ii from
all jar. I saw that there was no dangerous
hemorrhage; / swung the lantern from the
bow Of the wagon-top inside and covered
my patient with Mgyberry's coat and
blanket. Then we started, Mayberry brisk
" urging Tom and Sandy on and l
holding the hurt woman, who, reviving,
began to cry, "Lute! Lutte! Lute!"
and start, and roll her wide open, fright
ened eyes and require some strength and
more tact to keep her from violent motion
and repeated attempts to escape. Al last,
after tiresome journey. over that lonesome
Ioad, we reached my hOme.S The patient
was put to bed, the fracture reduced
and the house quieted; the doctor,
who had been summoned On the way, and
the cook taking care of the sick woman, |
who could not be left alone, as the danger
from shock and exhaustion was still very
great.
At breakfast the next morning the doctor |
told us he thought the patient would do |
She had youth and health on her side, and, /
even if he had to amputate the leg below /
the knee, and the nature of the fracture /
made it likely, the chances were all in her .
favor
"But What are you going to do?" he
asked "of course you know you have a
lunatic on your hands,"
While nay wife was giving utterance to
the shock Of her surprise ] told him that I .
had suspected as much and narrated my
experiences OF the night before, telling him
could not help feeling some twinge of
responsibility, since, if L had not TUNED .
coward and fled, the poor creature would
probably have kept away from the railroad
track.
And perished in the woods, perhaps"
interrupted he. We'll, she'll not do any
hurt just now, with my splint on, whether
she be harmless or not. Bat she'll require
close watching Probably she's escaped
from some asylum. She could have como
direct from Beechwood Hospital along that
ridge where you first heard her. She must