The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1883-08-08
HOW TLDY DROVE THE COWS
HOME.

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HOME.
p "Where is that boy 'BimelechP" said
Aunt Huldah, in an aggrieyed tone.
There amt a chore done, and the
white turkey has gone across the field
to steal her nest again, and the guinea
pigs are squealing for their supper
enough to deafen you, and the wood
wantin' TO be chopped, and Jonas gone
to see his mother. Why he couldn't
have a mother hvin' in this town in
stead of ten miles off don't see; but
hired men have no consideration for
other people, any more than boys have.
l should like to know who is going for
the cowsi'
Aunt Huldah was . little cross, but
then-poor womani-she had had q
hard time to manage the farm and
make both ends meet since Uncle
Joshua died. And although she did
scold sometimes, she was very kind to
'Bimelech and Tidy.
'Iwill go and bring home the cows, "
said Tidy. 81 can ride Lightning
bare-backed. 1 have done it ever so
many times"
'.I don't think poor old Lightning
will ever run away with anybody" said
Aunt Huldah. .sBut it's hard work
for you to take down the bars and put
them up again. 1 don't believe in
girls doing such things, when it's what
boys are for. But there's no telling
what time that boy'n be home. Per-
haps you may as well go. And you'd
better hurry, for it's lonesome road,
and it will be dark before long"
Tidy had old Lightning out of his
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ling. But there was no such thing as
hurrying old Lightning. He knew as
well as Tidy did that they were only
going for the cows, and he didn't mean
to hurry his stiff old bones on any such
commonplace occasion. 1t was long
time ago that Lightning had earned his
name. Jonas, the hired man, said he
was ''slower than stock-stilI'' now.
Tidy broke off beech switch, and
|. tried that as a persuader. She did
want to get the cows home in good
time, so that Aunt Huldah need not
think too much about 'Bimelech's alb.
sence. He had a bright new half-dollar
that he had earned by picking berries,
aud there was circus over at Gran.
berry Center. Tidy didn't knot1 that
he had gone there, but she was pretty
well acquainted with boys. You couldn'i
have 'Bimelech for a brother without
being.
Instead of having his pace quickene6
by the beech switch, Lightning, not
being accustomed to such things
stopped short, and turned his head
aronnd to look at it. Then he twitcheG
it out of Tildy's hand and serenely
munched the green leaves.
After that Tidy returned to mora
suasion, and told him how important il
was to have the cows MIXED, and the
milk taken care of at the proper time
for of the cream was to be made Aunt
Huldah's goldenest, sweetest, fragrant
est butter, that was expected to take 8
prize at the Agricultural Fair, and ou
of the prize money Aunt Huldah hac
promised to buy her, Tidy, a new cam
brio dress-bright blue with tiny spots
to wear to the Sunday-school picnic
can't say that old Lightning wa:
touched by these arguments, but he die
begin to go little faster, and before
Tidy had fairly decided what color Il
have the hat trimmed with which Aun
Huldah might have money enough tc
buy her, to go with the dress, she hac
reached the pasture
Instead of being close beside the bars
as they usually were at night, the COW.
were huddled together in a distan
corner of the field, as if they wer,
frightened, and suddenly as she stopped
Lightning at the bars, he began Il
shiver and pant with terror.
"What can it possibly mean?" saiC
Tidy, aloud. But before the word
were out of her mouth her heart seemed
to have stopped beating. From behinC
clump of bushes there suddenly ap
| peared a huge shaggy brown creature
that walked with numbering gal
straight toward her. -,
= Tidy knew in a moment that il wa
a bear. 'Bimelech was very fond O
natural history and knew as mucl
about animals as the school-master him
self, and he was always showing pict
ures of animals to Tidy and explain
| ing all about them.
A bear he certainly was, and bis
one, but how he could have got ther,
was a question. Since the days of he
great grandfather Tidy knew no bear
had been seen about there.
She had not much time to think, how
ever, for Lightning, quivering in ever,
limb, dashed over the fence
who had not leaped fence for twent,
yearsi-and with Tidy clinging fo
dear life to his neck, went on a deat
run across the pasture, over a ston
wall on the other side, through tn
brook, and halfway up the hill, Wher
he stopped exhausted.
Tidy slipped down to the ground
She thought the bear, at that distance
was preferable to Lightning in his pres
ent state, which might lead him to dasl
off again at any moment, for Light
ning's terror had not abated. He wa
only exhausted.
Tidy thought of the COWS with
dreadful sinking of the heart and locke,
about her for help. But there was no
a house or a person in sight.
She stole softly down to the ston
wall, as if she expected the bear to ap
pear from behind any bush by the way
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