Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1882-05-19

the we'll. and weighting the bucket with
heavy stones and lengthenlng the rope,
lot IL down till they. heard tho wood
strike hard against the rocky bottom
from whence bubbled up that living
spring. Nobody was there
You haint tramped around the lots
any, hev YEP" inquired Royal Phelps.
"Nowhere only tow'rds your house."
answered VIII.
"Well, then, when mornin' comes we
kin track hor; for 1t showed about an
hour here arter breakfast, and there
haint ben no passin' onto the road
senoe, for I've ben a-choppin' long side
ont the hull time to-day; and took a
bite along SOS not to stop; was boun'
to finish up to-day"
But would that morning ever Gomez
1t seemed not to Will; he walked the
house while Royal snorcd in the rocker,
and recalled with despair and distress
how he and Sally had parted in the
morning in anger; parted now, itseemed,
for the last time.
He had not much imagination, but he
had enough to conjecture dreadful
things about his wife's fate. All alone
there in the farmhouse what might not
have happened9 Or more probably,
had she not fled from him forever,
afraid of his temper and his tongue
He blessed the shower of snow that had
fallen In his absence and must tell the
story of her fight and he made a few
but very earnest resolutions as to his
future conduct towards her--if, indeed,
any future found them once more to-
gether.
But morning came, and on no field or
road, not even on the railway track in
either direction. was there a footprint
except those of Wills old horse and the
two men. rt
Sally's light feet had not traversed
that yielding surface; nobody had been
there.
Then Will broke down; without food
or sleep, oppressed by the awful mys-
terry of his loss, as well as by the loss
itself, he grew half-crazy, sobbed, raved
and tramped the house, till Royal Phelps
at last went over to fetch his wife, with
the sage remark:
" He past my handlin'; guess wom-
en-folks'd know better how to fetch him
to now" .l 3..p Ol ... .sfd
So Mrs. Phelps came over made some
hot coffee and persuaded him to drink
it, set things to rights little, and pre-
pared to get dinner; but viii still lay on
his face In the bedroom, ns wretched
and hopeless as man could be-.
Suddenly horse's hoofs beat on the
crt,sted snow up 10 the back door.
VIII jumped up and rushed out, and
n man handed him telegram; he did
not hear, while he was opening it, the
bearer explanation. y.a1.
lit come to Taunton deepott for We.
and the operator said twas real i'm
portant an you'd give me dollar to
fetch it.' ''
Will did not answer; his brain reelcd
rs he read: nf
"William Gray, Taunton. Your wife
is at Seyms Station. very ILL.,"
"Can / go back to Taunton with
youp" he said to the man, handing the
telegram to Mrs. Phelps, with a light in
his eyes that told the relief he was scarce
ly conscious of as yet. nsl~
Reckon you kin, for another dol
lar" and with nod to the astonished
Mrs. Phelps, VIII was off, and in an
hour was seated in the train for Seyms
Station. .
The story is strange but true; when
! Sally slammed the barn-door behind
her she pulled her apron over her head
and ran across the road safe in the
knowledge that the morning express had
passed. The light fall of snow dulled
the sound of a special freight-train slow.
ly rounding the corner just at that mo-
ment, and Sallie was struck by the
cow-catcher as she stepped on the
: track. and was thrown violently to one
side.
Stunned by the blow, she lay on the
ground unconscious. She did moi
hear the cry of the engineer, who
had witnessed the accident; did no
know that the train had stopped, or thai
/, she was surrounded by a group of strang,
men. M -
The engineer and one of the brake
men entered the house and found i
deserted. No other dwelling was il
sight.
To leave woman lying insensible il
: an empty house was out OF the question
and SO at last, after calling in vain fo
! assistance, they laid her in the conduct
ors Car to carry her to the nearest sta
ton, some miles further on.
When she regained her consciousness
it was her turn to feel all those pang
of regret and repentance that WI
3 suffered, and to make resolves of he
, own, if ever she returned to live up tc
t them.
She could not move or speak whel
5 the train stopped, and the men took he
from the car suposing she was perhap!
1 fatally injured. I., .r''.... 80,
/! She did revive, however, but onl,
+. enough to whisper Wills name ant
r town in reply to persistent questioning
t before delirium set in, and when he
e husband reached the hospital where
they had taken her, she did not know
Y him, and it was weeks instead of day
: before she could go home.
: In the meantime, Will sold his farm
to Royal Phelps brother, and bough
, another close by Mystic, and two mile
Y from any railway. He knew tha
t neither he nor Sally would ever agail
l feel safe at the old place.
So far, their first quarrel has beer
s their last; the resolutions have beef
, well kept Sally can make pot-pie ant
rve-bread, as we'll as many other things
quite as skillfully as Cousin 'Phrony
and she is so happy with her husband
, and her baby that she sometimes think
! Win lost all his bad temper when h,
r found his wife at Seyms, Rose Terri
/ Cooke, in YoutRs Companion.
4 n-.A.