The Northern Pacific farmer. [volume] (Wadena, Minn.) 1878-1885, 1883-11-29

Before this fee ing in he, heart had time
70 take shape, Dear .epeped tn, stable
door and let Fan L., ard, caro ualiy clos NO
the door, ran for IT, street. The roadoyer
toe hiA 10y, like thfee narroWfoot
patns' Wtr4 straight ridges Of turf be.
tween. and along these marrow 'paths
YEA. sped with flying feet, stralaink hex
- es to see she dared not think = Hat.
SAtthe brew 81 the hill She reused and.
looked down: Til road Wound like q
brook down the long hillside, turning
to the right add to, the. left. With here
and there steep pitches and many bars,
tal It was lost in the darkness far down
seward gtae Y ,lley. As far as her eyes
could reach there was nothing unusual
to be seen; but at her feet Law g broken
hara rssstrAp. - Upthat road Fan had.
come, AMI downtha road Dear naust 10.
On and on, over bars and pitches,
scarcely touching the ground, loose
stones hit by her feet flving before her,
till, suddenly, halfway down the steep:
est pitch, she came to aplace in the
road where the stones and the .ravel
had been plowed up as if by the plung-
ing Of horse. -sw T.. II
Here lay the wagon-seat. A little far
Their on lay two or three planks across
the road, and at the foot of the steep
pitch lay, on its side, a wrecked lumber
wagon, which had runsbackward till it:
.capsized; and across the steep gutter by,
the roadside lay q loads of plank which
had I. slipped from the wagon -as iii
went over. Here was part Of the bro
Ken reins, belonging to the harness
with The ends under the load of plank.
The wagon was her fathers. Dear
knQW that q hut - l. co&L
She stood and looked on either side, Up
Ing moved; there IVES not even wind
enough to bend the tall dead grasses by
the roadside, and no sound was to be
heard In all the still night but the gurg-
ling and babbling of the little brooks
that had quilted deep channels in the
water ways on either side of the road.
Dear could bear this silence no longer.
Papa, papa, where are you?" and the
wild cry went up the hillside and down
into the valley bringing no answer.
~ papa, papa what shall l do?" she
called again, and as: she listened with
stralning ears, she heard, or thou hit
she heard, a low moan near her. She
dropped on her knees. Papa, papa,
are you here?" 1t was a prayer now!
Surely she heard a sound as if IN answer
and it seemed to come from the plank
that had slid over the gutter. : "~--2~ -
In an instant Dear was over there,
peering among the planks. She could
see nothing but she could hear a sound
plainly now. She tried with frantic
haste to raise the planks, but there was
not strength enough in heE small arms
tor that, anu almost without thought
she darted, not up the hill to her moth
or. bat down into the black valley at the
foot of the hill, where cart-path leading
from the woods intersectrd the road
Along this dark path, ovcrgrown with
al'lers, she went till she came to low
shanty bull, between two trees, and,
bursting open door, she cried:
20 Biddy Mccoy! come gu ok some :
thing dreadful has happened on the
hill" -
"What list yer sayin'?" said the star
tied Biddy, starting from her seat, but
as Dear was alre .dy out of doors, She
added, suiting the action to the words;
Here, Bridget, take the baby, and you
Nike" to a stupid boy by the fire, get
yer lanthern ami come aiong;" and with
out waiting to put any thing on her head
she followed Dear.
The child was already out of sight but
she came to the foot of the hill. There
she saw the small figure kylng before
her and reckoning her on.
"Shure, all something dreadful has
happened" said the breathless Biddy,
crossing herself az she came up to the
wrecked wagon. Is any one hurted?"
as Dear called herto help
"I'm afraid-I'm afraid there's some
one under the planks," gasped Dear,
trying single handed to lift the load.
"Here CURL, that's no way to warruk,
TAX the top one first. Mike, We lazy
sowl, get along wild yer lanthernw and
her voice went down the9hillside like the
blast of a trumpet, starting even the
slow Mike into run.
"There, hou!d that" said she, hand
ing the lantern to Dear, and with Bid
dy's stout arms at one end and Mikes
at the other, the planks we're flung over
into the road. Dear held her breath,
and before the planks were all off ,ey
could see that a man lay there stretched
in the bed of the gutter. The }planks
were over him like a roof, or the cover
of box, and, when the last one was
off. Dear saw her fathers face, still
and white, but she could not utter a
sound.
"Howly Mother, help u.s." calculated
Biddv. ''Take his feet, Mike, and help
drowned intirely if he's no kit already"
For as he lay damm;ng up the narrow
channel, the choked water had risen
and spread around him in an ever-rislng
pool.
As they took him up and laid him
down in the road, the motion seemed to
hivr n 49, D;ll,,
over him with the lantern, saw his eyes
in bewildered way, and then clutched
at the reins that were still in his hands,
shouting: "Whoa, Fan, whoaw Then
he slowly raised himself on his elbow,
and seeing the planks 3, scattered
about him muttered: "Why! she's got
away"
"Are ye much hurted, SURF" asked
Biddy, concernedly, taking his arm as if
she would help him to his feet
II don't know, I'm cold," said he
slowly. -.
can we'll We might be lynn in all that
wather," and she told them how they
found him lying in the gutter, with the
blanks over him, but not on him, and
the water around him.
sis that y u, Dear? and has the horse
gone homer" asked he after q moment:
seeing the little, shaking figure beside
him. 5s Hsass$ Z ~ I a i, ii. (,
eyes, papa" and all at once the con-
vuls We sobs leaped beyond her control.
and che fell on her knees, quite unable
to say OF do anything but sob.
The sight and the sound of her sobs
did more than anything else to restore
her father to himself With Bid'y's
help he slowly rose from tae ground,
and, aftv standing moment he SAID i,
steadily: Il believe am all right, onl
cold and little confused. The fall must
have stunned me, but for your help, my
good woman, I should have been dead
man soon."
ut was yer little girl tould US. We
shouldn't have known"
He held his h md to Dear, and she
caught it aud heldit under her chin, till
unablesto speak. $ { E
"Doye think ye could, walk sur? Ye've
no right to be standin' here wild yer wet
clothes"
Thus admonished they began to move:
Biddy and Nike and the "lanthe.n"
went with them to the top of the hill.
BY that time Harvey Gates had obtained
full possession of himself, and he bade
Riddy goodnight, telling her he would
see her on the morrow.
Nov, Dear" said he, "run home and
tell your mother quietly, that the wagon
broke do n, hut that am all right and
will be in directly.", +
1t was not until near noon the next
day, when Dear broke into an irrepres-
s'ble fit Of sobbing, that her mother