Morris tribune., 1882-10-12
THE FLOOD.

Not Noah's but one equally as disastrous as
as it went, as they know il Minnesota.
Lucy Faucheu, standing in her brother-in-
AVIS doorway, looking out over the snow al
the figure OF man who had just turned and
. waved his BIZ; hat to her, had no idea it was
coming Her black eyes were bright and her
dark face warm with rich color.
Lucy" called her sister from the little bed
room, who the man at the door,"
Charlie Roscoe" said Lucy, defantly,
What is it - YOU, COLOMBO"
What is it to me! I'll teach You, miss;
wnen Peter comes You shall so home aud
marry Joe Aim, as you have been told You're
school. and You shall do as you are told I'll
ask old Gautore TO go for Father Cheyailer
when he comes into the house"
Il don't care" said Lucy, still more def
autly; You may get q dom priests, If you
ike, I'll not marry joe Aim, if he has a
thousand cattle. Charlie is better with moth
ing"
$50 foolish YOU talk What do you know
You are to listen to what is told YOU, and you
arc not to talk alone win men At my door; it is
not decent You should so back 10 France,
miss, and learn manners, and NOT talk of your
priests so dsrespectfully. Fix the fire and
come and take the baby, and let not Charlie
Roscoe come here once more"
Lucy filed the stove with corn. The rail
roads had brought but little wood vet, and that
IL.
done during the blockade. When she mad done
that she took the baby and sat bv the window.
locking it and looking out GU the snow where
Charlie had passed out of sight Old Gautiere
had como III from the barn, where he
had been to take care of the cattle and
horses, and Colomb was telling him through
the open bedroom door OF Lucy,s re-
bellion. The old man muttered and Co.
lomb scolded, but Lucy only looked more re-
bellious and defiant than ever, and gave them
8 sharp answer now and then, tossing her
black braids about with every scornful move
ment of her coquettish bead The cid man
mumbled and muttered about The black night
and that some one had told him the river was
rising above there. but Lucy paid no attention
to his words. and after once more renewing
the fire, laNdowu on the lounge near the door
of her sisters room, ready TO answer any call
during the night.
Some time in the night-she did not know
how long she had been asleep-she was
awakened by terrible crashing and grinding
about the house She could not tell what it
meant: she had never heard anything like
it COlomb was screaming, and old Gautiere
stood on the stairs, half-dressed and wholly
terror-stricken, mutterlug about the river.
The water began to pour in under the floor,
and almost while Lucy looked it rose ankle
deep. She rushed to her sisters bed, and
called to the old man. She had bound many
an acre of wheat, and her arms were not weak,
and with the help the old man could give her
they dragged off the bed with her sister aud
the baby upon it, and by much pulling and
pushing got them upon tho narrow stair
way.
The grinding and crashing continued; they
could hardly hear each other speak, and the
water rose rapidly. Lucy could see it rising
higher and higher on the stairs. She had
hurried back and snatched the lamp from the
table as soon as Colomb was safe up stairs
She had to wade through water to do it, and
q
chair seats and was putting out the fire. She
watched the water as it crept step by step
up those stairs, and soon saw they would not
be safe there The only place of escape left
was the attic, and that was very small and
low one; but they must take refuge there. She
set her wits to work to plan way to reach it
The chamber was unfinished: only few loose
boards lay on the beams overhead. Old Gau-
tiers bed stood near, and an old rickety table
beside it She placed the table on the bed and
got the old man up on the beams: then she
reached up bed clothes and feather bed, and
directed him to arrange a bed on the loose
boards; finally she lifted Columb till she had
her where the old man could take hold of the
quilts about her and pail her up.
They were not minute too soon, for Just as
she reached up the baby and prepared to swing
herself up from the old table, there came
another ard louder crash. the house rocked to
and fro for minute, the lamp went down with
o crash, there was rnsh and sweep of water
II.
was shrieking and the old man fairly bowling
in terror. Lucy put her hand down between
the beams below them; it struck into the
water 1t was as high as that. then; it would
soon be over at that rate. She thought of
Charlie; where was he? He had gone straight
down the valley; he would be drowned. She
cried out at that for the first time, but Just
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 grinding and
crashing outside The old man mumbled his
prayers and Colomb repeated hers, shriekiug
out now and then to some saint for mercy. or
calling loudly on Lucy 10 stay near her. How
long this lasted they. could not tell, but after
what seemed to them a life time the house
stood It'll. Where they were they did not know
but Lucy, digging opel little crack in the
gablo, could see cakes of ice all about, and be-
yond that the river running furlously 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 Co
lomb's best black cCw, chewing her cud as if
she wore 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 yas day now, Lucy could see that
but the little attic was still dark. But it was
some consolation TO know they were standing
still, and no longer in that crushing. crashing
mass Lucy widened the crack in the gable as
the day passed or, and reported what she saw.
A lot of wood went by out in the river--wood
that had been placed on the river bank for the
use of steamboats, when the river opened. She
knew what ii 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 a dead body rolled 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 ii they could not see it
Lucy did not sleep; the others slept little
waking with frightened cries that made the
night more hideous. She was fearful lest they
should start again and the house go to pieces
in the mass of ice, but it stood firm, and then
che began to fear they must stay there and
staIye. Perhaps 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
probably was not really the river, only where
1t had overfowed, and she resolved to try and
get out in the morning.
When the first streak of light was visible
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 rescuers know
they we're there and alive, but the voices were
growing fainter and fainter; evidently they
had concluded no one was there and were GO
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: ''Charlief oh,
Charlie! come back! we're bere!" Then she
looked again and saw they had turned and
were running back.
''They're coming, they're coming!" she cried
!. to Colomb; 'its Charlie, he'll save us'-but
Colomb had tainted.
The men were not long in making an open
ing in the roof, for they were prepared with
their axes for just such emergencies, having
been out at work all night They carried CO.