Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1882-01-26

the valley-he would be drowned. She
cried out at that for the first time, but
lust 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 gringlng 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 the cakes of ice all about,
and beyond 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, chew
her cud as if all was safe at home in
her stall.
The hours passed on drearily enough,
with no food, no fire, no light, only the
darkness and noise. 1t was day now,
Lucy could see that, but the little attic
was still dark. But it WAS some conso-
| at ion to know they were standing sti
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
opened. She knew what it was we'll
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 roll
ed 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 should start again and the
house 60 to peices in the mass Of ice,
but it stood firm, and then she began to
fear they must stay and starve. Per-
haps the ice had frozen hard enough to
allow her to get to the shore some
where, for though the river was open
it seemed frozen solid where they were,
which was not really the river, only
where it had overhowed, and she re-
solved to try and get out in the morn
ing.
When the first streak light was Wis
| ible she began her work, but having
nothing but her hands she was giving
up in despair, when Colomb cried out
that she heard voices. They listened
Surely there were voices; help had
come. They shouted to let the rescu-
ers know they were there and alive,
| but the voices were growing fainter
and fainter; evidently they had con-
cluded no one was there, and were 60
ing away. With all their united voices
they called again, and Lucy looked out
through her little opening in the wall
and saw them, two men, and one of
them was-yes, it was Charlie Roscoe.
She put her mouth to the opening and
called with all her might: "Charlie, oh,
Charlie come back ! we're here ~
Then she looked again and saw they
had turned and were running back.
They're coming, they're coming !"
she cried to Colomb; cts Charlie; he'll
save us"-but Colomb had tainted.
The men were not long in making an
opening in the roof, for they were pre-
pared with their axes for just such
emergencies, having been out at work
all night. They carried Colomb, wrap
ped in the bed clothes, across the ice
to their boat, and Lucy led Old Gau-
tieS, trembling with fear and weakness,
to the same place. They shiyered in
the bitter morning air, bu. Lucy soon
found work enough to keep her warm
in helping the men to pull the boat
against the strong current. Cakes Of
ice came rushing down. almost upset
ting them at times, and long timbers
swung around perilously near the boat
as they went dashing down the river.
Lucy asked Charlie where they were,
and how far they had come. Below
Vane, he told her, and they had come
fifteen miles. Fifteen miles in rock
ing, surging house, among those enor-
nous cakes of ice-she shivered again
at her rowing.
"Do you know that placer" asked
Charlie. Lucy looked and saw soil
tary house, standing amid enormous
cakes of ice, so black from mud and
sand covering them and contained in
thep, that thpy 1ook cd mora like ga |, az
of black lava than ice. That was like
no place she had ever seen.
THAT is Glenn Island said Charlie.
She looked again. She could not be-
lieve it. eileen Island was a pretty
little town, she and Charley had gone
to school there, and it had churches.
stores, schools and houses of plenty,
1t could not be.
"There is the railroad" continued
Charlie. as they got back nearer their
own home, or what had been home.
Lucy could only see vast sea stretch
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