The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1883-08-18

through his mind; may be she had fallen
from the door of the baggage-car and
been lost in the woods, if she escaped
uninjured. Perhaps she lay in that cold,
black river the train crossed so many
times, which only few months ago
had engulfed score of others, each
perhaps as dear to some one as Lofty
to him I; and all because of his own
carelessness! How could he have for
gotten her? What was business of any
sort compared with LottyP
He was not habitually praying man,
but with the instinct that drives many of
us-most of us--to an Almighty power
for help when trouble and danger press,
he lifted up fervent prayer to God to
help him to bring back his lost Lofty.
Poor man! he dare not go home and
face his wife, who was feeble always,
and now worn out with the care of
sick baby. He could not bear to think
of going to her with the truth of the
case--which he could not know himself
until the evening train brought out Tom
Scott; and he would not go to her with
dreadful uncertainty.
There was nothing for him but to wait
at the station till the train came in.
His brother George was in the ticket
Office at West Waring, filling his place,
on the snpposition that he and Lofty
had gone to Hartford so he need not go
back there.
1t was two o'clock by this time; in
fifteen minutes the milk train would
come along. There was just chance
Lofty might have been put on to the milk
train from the platform at Bright Brook,
which was flag station close by the
siding, when Tom Scott found her
father had not come aboard.
Why had he not thought of this be-
foreP A wild thrill of hope ran through
his heart, he could scarce wait for the
train to come up; why should hep he
could run down to the Tuck junction
and get on the cars there; so off he went
again at full speed, and boarded the
train the instant it slowed.
sis my little Lofty aboardP" he call
ed eagerly, turning white, worn face
and hungry eyes tSsKard Conductor
Smith, who stood in the caboose door.
mo, sir; nobody but them you see
settin' before you" smiled the con-
ductor, quite unaware of the agony his
answer gave the expectant father.
Mr.. Park dropped into seat that was
luckily vacant close beside him. There
was no child there, but a small boy of
about Lotty's age-a boy as black as
black could be, who turned and looked
at him with grin.
Mr.. Park laughed; he was so tired,
SO anxious, so cruelty disappointed, that
he laughed aloud, but it was a laugh
worse than O cry,
Everybody turned to look at him, but
the train stopped, and being close to the
door, he got out first, went over to the
freight station, sat down on a cheese
box, and leaned his head against a
beam, entirely worn out.
The freight-master asked him some
trivial kindly question, but the poor
man shook his head silently; he could
not speak; so the other went his way
and let him alone. He saw that some
thing was the matter he could neither
NEEDLE with or help, but he told his
wife that night that he did wonder what
allied Park for he never saw such a
face in all his life as his was that day.
1t seemed as if the afternoon never
would go by he heard three o'clock
strike from somebody's house near by,
and as the minutes wore on he thought
| that the clock had run down, but he
pulled out his watch and it was quar-
ter of four. Almost time for the West
ern train to come in then arose the
question in his mind whether the sus-
pense would be shortened if he got on
that train and went down to East Hart
land to wait for the evening train out
He would know sooner, but what would
he knowP Was a horrible certainty
easier to bear than suspenseP
Some men would have accepted the
alternative at once, but he shrank from
it, partly because he was weakened and
worn with the terrible strain of the last
few hours, and actually felt unable to
make the exertion; partly because, like
more than half the other people in the
world, he wanted to delay shock that
was probable as long as it could be
done.
The train steamed in he heard the
hotel-porters crying out their short,
sharp invitations he heard laughter,
the buzz of tongues, the driving off OF
carts and carriages, the clatter of an
unruly horse's hoofs, and the obiurga-
tons of his driver, but he never lifted
his weary head.
His thoughts took new turn he
went back to the day Lofty was first
laid in his arms, little, helpless, fret
ting baby of day old. But how proud
he was of his girl, even from her baby.
hood how he had watched every new
trick, and laughed with delight at hei
broken baby-language how scared she
was at the locomotives the first time he
took her down on the platform, hiding
her fair head in his breast and sobbing
with terror
Poor little soul he wondered if she
had been frightened when she fell of
the train, or if she had been spared thai
terror by instant death. He shuddered
at the idea, and made great effort tc
control himself, and dispel the dreadful
fancies that haunted him. He got ur
and walked up and down the freight
depot, then he went over to the waiting
room, picked up a New York paper
somebody had left behind, and sat reso
lutely down to read it. There was 9
great deal of news in that paper, but
he never knew it. All he saw was =
"Lotty! dear little Lofty! lost Lottyr