The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1884-12-13


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possibly slide safely down the bank anC
out upon the ice, where Mr.. Bun would
find it embarrassing to follow.
| Quicker than the thought. | had tori
| the obnoxious scarlet cloak. from the
teacher shoulders, and, holding it by
the tassel, 1iourished it so Extensively ii
the animals eyes as he drew near that
he Swerved from his path, with a low
snort of fury, and directed his charge al
once against myself, who had leapt as
far away from Miss Lincoln as l could
scrambled back to the very edge Of
the embankment and even as felt the
hot breath of the beast upon my face
threw my heels over my head with Il
shrill, derisive boot, and, curled into d
ball, still clinging to the cloak, rolled
down the steep incline and out upon the
river. The eXasperated bull pitched
headlong after me, tlouudered mo-
ment in the drifts, through whose crust
he broke forthwith, and rendered
frantic by his obstinate and ugly wrath,
blind to everything except that tlutter.
ing red rag, rushed heavily out upon
the thin sheet of ice, which crashed and
gave way beneath him. In one instant
more he was caught as in a trap, the
greater part of his body immersed in
the bitter cold water and Jagged edges
of ice cutting his tough hide at every
struggle. .. -. ......
Well! That was all. There was
nothing more for me to do but rub my
poor lame legs and hobble up the bank
again. | felt that did not cut exactly
a heroic figure, as crept YEARLY across
the snow, leaving Farmer Ingram and
his men to eXtricate the believing bull,
which was in danger of drowning itself
by its impatient plunges. My only re-
greet was that the red tassel had been
wrenched from the cloak. found Miss
Lincoln, her eyes flooded with grateful
tears, supporting my grandfather, who
was much shaken by the excitement and
the fall, and more severely hurt than
any of us as yet surmised by the tramp.
ling he had undergone
As | limped up to them, hat crushed
and jacket awry, brushing off the
patches of snow from clothes with one
hand, while in the other | still grasped
the cloak and tassel, Miss Lincoln, tc
my CONSERVATION, threw her arms about
my neck and kissed me.
You are the dearest little boy in the
world, Ralph, she cried, with no trace
of the spelling-5ook left in her eager
speech, chow can ever thank vou?"
But L think finer thrill passed
through my frame, when the white.
haired sea Captain, for the first time in
our two lives, gave me his honored hand
and said in those deep tones, never be-
fore so gracious to my ears:
"Well done, my grandson. 1t was
the deed of a Rainford'
My LOG has burned to ashes. I must
light my chamber candle and 90 to bed
There is nothing more to tell, unless
you care to hear that when ! was actu-
ally confronted with the question,
found it easier to ask Miss Lincoln for
the red tassel than for her hand. and
my grandfather fora medical education
than permission to set up housekeeping.
why do you choose to be q doctor,
RalphS" he queried, not unkindly.
WHIST better use can | make of my
brains. since they are all of the Rainford
in me, than by setting them to the help
of other poor fellows, who may be in as
hard a case as mine?" l answered in
the shrilE tone that penetrated his dull
ears most readily.
LAY, ay, that is true, he responded,
musingly,. your eyes have a flash like
your fathers, Ralph. 1t is the spirit,
after all, that makes the man"
And my poor grandfather, who never
knew another well day from the hour
when the bulls hoofs passed over him,
expended his money upon me literally
and lived to- feel his sutlerings lightened
by my skill. After working hard at my
books this side of the water, | studied
in the foreign hospitals for several
years, and published little pamphlet,
upon my rctarn, which gained me some
convenient reputation amongmy neigh.
bors. | did not marry Miss Lincoln
largely for the reason that shepreferred
to marry some one elsc--a missionary
with gray beard, who took her off tC
Turkey, where she died ten years ago OF
the fever. But | find myself, with my
easy, bachelor habits, pretty eomforta-
bic as the months 90 by. have a little
money, Il little fame, little goodwill
up and down the street, and ~ profession
that gives my intellectual activities and
my human sympathies equal play. J
have few treasures, too. That massive
cane, with the whale tooth head, is one
of them. And if l should open the
secret drawer in my office desk you
would find there nothing very pathetic