Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1883-02-27
NEW SERIES, VOL. XVIII, no. 8.

will, too
sGag him, boys, before We put him
in the wagon1" ordered the leader.
tPapa's struggles was of no avail,
and gagged and bound, he was carried
out of the house, and soon / heard
wheels rolling away.
Two of the burglars stayed behind
to ransack the house, i supposed.
Hearing their voices, / turned and
fed into my room, locking the door
behind me.
Oh, what could I do? AT that mo-
ment j realized how weak n woman
isl Oh, if there was only some way
whereby 1 might save my father from
death or infamyI
Crouching upon the floor, I wrung
my hands in agony of spirit, striving
to think of some plan.
Footsteps were heard coming up
the stairs. held my breath in sus-
pense. Would the ruffians try the
door, and finding it locked, force it
open? No, they passed on.
just then little rustic in one cor
ner of my room made my heart beat
with renewed terror; but relief came
instantly, when / perceived that the
noise was made by my little pet, the
carrier-pigeon.
knelt down beside its cage, sob
bing softly.
"oh, you poor little thing!'' ]
whispered. ''IIelpless and tiny as
you are, you are safer than amt
Suddenly, like n divine revelation,
there came a thought:
Could not Bijou, the pigeon, carry
message to Larry? Larry had said
that the little creature could do such
thing. Why not try him?
With trembling fingers / seized
pencil and paper, and wrote the fol-
lowing words:
''LarryI Larry! for Gods sake go
to the bank Take plenty of men
with you. Burglars have carried papa
there TO compel him to open the safe.
Hurry! Your MEG.
t'P. 81 send this by Bijou.'
This put in an envelope. and tied
the latter around the birds neck
The little creature did not seem the
least bit frightened, but looked intel
ligcntly at me with its bright, gentle
eyes. As quietly as possible, opened
the window and set the bird on the
sill.
For minute it stood there, turning
its pretty head irresolutely; then
spreading its wings, it slowly rose and
SCARED away, oh, heaven be thanked
in the direction of Eimwood.
just then there was violent racket
at the door, a succession of kicks,
which soon spIintercd the panels.
An instant later, as 1 stood there
paralyzed by terror, the two burglars
burst into the room.
Course it!'' cried one. t.that clIlo-
roform didn't fix her, after ALL
"Bind and gag her like we did the
old lady; then she'll be safc,'' said
the other.
= =
When my senses came to me, /
found myself lying on the couch in
the sitting room down stairs.
1t was bright daylight, and the soft
summer wind, laden with the breath
of flowers, was stealing in at the open
window. Larry's face, kind, loving,
anxious, was bending over me. Then
L heard dear old Doctor Rogers kind
ly voice say, ''Drinlt this, little girl.
and you'll feel BETTER" pressing
tumbier to my lips.
where's papa2' 1 murmured,
family
'tYour fathers all right, darling"
said Larry.
'tAnd did Bijou come to you? Oh.
[ prayed that the bird would carry
the note! Did you get it?''
Yes, love; but never mind it now.
I'll tell you all about it when you get
stronger
TELL her now, Carroll. She is all
right. 1t will do her good 10 hear all
about it, sad the doctor, patting my
cheek; and he continued: t.I'lI leave
you two together, while 90 and see
to Miss Judith Oh, you needn't be
frightencd!'' seeing my anxious look.
''rhere isn't anything the matter with
your aunt. Only she's been pretty
badly scared, that's aII?''
"well, you see, Meg, :" Larry began,
when we were alone, 81 happened to
sit up rather late last night. / had
been away all day, and when j re-
turned home at tea-timc, 1 found some
law business awaiting my immediate
attention. AS / sat writing in my
room, it was after midnight / think,
suddenly 1 heard tapping at the
window-pane. At first paid no heed
to it, thinking it to be only the wind
blowing twig or bit of vino, but as
the sound continued, arose and went
to look.
al beheId something white futter-
ing against the glass. What was my
surprise to find that it was little Bijou!
L opened the window and hurriediy
read the letter he brought; and it
wasn't long before my father, Uncle
Henry, the three men-servants, and a
couple of policemen and myself, were
hurrying down to the bank.
1--WE reached there just in time,