The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1883-11-30

ing of that scene. She glanced at her
mother, and did not wonder that she
had no leargfor Thanksgiving this year.
Indeed. she thought they all had more
cause for complaint than Thanksgiving.
Half blinded by tears. she started up,
and, going to the window, looked out.
1t was frosty starlight night. There
was no snow on the ground, but here
and there patches of ice were forming
over the pools of still water left by the
heavy fail rains.
why don't papa come??' said Tiptop,
fretfnl!y
He will come soon," said the mother,
| soothingly, and in obedience to an old
| habit, began nabsent-mindedly humming
| Greenville, the one tune she knew, and
| by whose aid she had year after year
| hummed the Gates babies to sleep.
Is papa at the shopw asked Dear, in
| the first lull in the humming.
! mo; he went down to the cotton mill
with a load Of bobbins, and he ought to
be here by this time"
'May go little way and meet him?"
asked Dear.
"Yes," remembering that Dear had
been III the houae all day-"only first
| light candle aHd make the tea, and put
more wood i'll the stove, and bring me
Tiptop's night dress, and unite the boys
shoes, and wear your hood and don't be
gone long"
Dear had closed the outside door,
ready to start on run, when she heard
old Fans whinny in the direction of the
barn. Papa has come, and is unhar-
Messing Fan" thought she, feeling a lit
tie disappointed that she could not meet
him and ride home. Instead she
turned to the barn.
steaming as if SIZE were having vapor-
bath. Papa had load home," til ought
Dear as she went up to pat Fan. But
what was that she stepped on? A thill?
Yes broken thill, still hanging to the
harness. Startled, Dear glanced around
| the yard. The wagon WIS not there,
and now she saw that oly part of the
harness was on the horse, and that was
trailing on the ground
Before this fee, ing in her heart had time
to take shape, Dear opened the stable
door and let Fan il, and, carefully clos ng
the door, ran fer the street. The road over
the, hii lay, like three narrow foot
paths, with straight ridges of turf be-
tween, and along these narrow paths
Dear sped with flying feet, stralning her
| eyes to see she dared not think hat.
At the brow of the hill she Paused and
looked down. Th, road wound like
brook down the long hillside, turning
to the right and to the left. with here
and there steep pitches and many bars,
till it was lost in the darkness far down
toward tae valley. AS far as her eyes
could reach there was nothing unusual
to be seen; but at her feet lay broken
harness strap. Up that road Fan had
come, and down that road Dear must go.
On and on. over bars and pitches,
scarcely touching the ground, loose
stones hit by her feet tlving before her,
till, suddenly, halfway down the steep
est pitch, she came to apace in the
road where the stones and the gravel
had been plowed up as if by the plung-
ing of horse.
Here lay the wagon-seat. A little far
ther 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 run backward till it
capslzed; and across the steep gutter by
the roadside lay load of plank which
had slipped from the wagon as it
went over. Here was a part Of the bro
ken reins. belonging to the harness
with The ends under the load OF plank.
The wagon was her fathers. Dear
knew that; but where was her father?
She stood and looked OH either side, up
the hill and down into the valley. Moth
ing moved; there was 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 ;leep channels in the
waterways 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.
20 papa, papa what shall do?" she
called again, and as she listened with
stralning ears, she heard, or thou.h ht
she heard, q low moan near her. She
dropped on her knees. Papa, papa,
are you here?" 1t was prayer now!
Surely she heard sound as if In answer
| and it seemed to come from the plank
that had slid over the gutter.
In an instant Dear was ever there,
| peering among the panks. She could
plainly now. She tried with frantic
haste to raise the planks, but there was
not strength enough in her small arms
for that, and almost without thought
she darted, not up the hill to her moth
er. bat down into the black valley at the
| foot of the hill, where u cart-path leading
from the woods intersected the road
| Along this dark path, ovcrgrown with
aiders, she went till she came to a low
shanty built between two trees, and,
bursting open tile door, she cried:
30 Blady Mccoy! come quick some :
thing dreadful has happened on the
hill"
"What is't yer sayin'?" said the star
tied Biddy, starting from her seat, but
as Dear was alre ldy out of doors, she
added, suiting the action to the words;
Here, Bridget, take the baby, and you
Nike" to stupid boy by the fire, "get
yer lanthern ami come along;" and with
out waiting to put anything on her head
she followed Dear.
The child was already out of sight but
Biddy went on at sounding gallop till
she came to the foot of the hill. There
she saw the small figure Rying before
her and beckoning her on.
',Shure, ah something dreadful has
happened" said the breathless Biddy,
crossing herself as she :came up to the
wrecked wagon. SIS any one hurted?''
us Dear called her to help.
"I'm atraid-Pm afraid there's some
one under the planks," gasped Dear,
trying single -handed to lift the load.
'Here gurl, that's no way 10 Warruk,
tax the top one first. Mike, ye lazy
sowl, get along wild yer lanthern" and
her voice went down the hillside like the
blast Of trumpet, starting even the
slow Mike into run.
"There, houd tfat," said she, hand
ing the lantern to Dear, aud with Bid
dv's stout arms at one end and Mike.
at the other, the panks were flung 'ovel
into the road, Dear held her breath
and before the planks were all off taey
could see that man lay there stretched