The weekly Thibodaux sentinel and journal of the 8th Senatorial District. [volume] (Thibodaux, Lna. [i.e. La.]) 1875-1898, 1884-01-05

home before baby was quieted. And she
began singing to the little one. But there
were ono OF two false notes in the song. and
baby evidently had IN ear tor music. for
he refused to be quieted.
Then, just as two blg tears were coming
in her blue eyes, the front gate opened, and
Jacks step was heard. In moment more
he was in the room, hearty and big as ever,
but very wet and pale.
"There! there! Alice, darling. kias ma
again. but don't put your arms around me.
fur I've had duckin.. Why, darling, taint
nothin'. Yer needn't be frightsnd-now
Hain't yer found out by this time that log
ger is liatle ter get wet: There, there dear.
Don't ye cry 80. Thank God, I amt hurt I"
The great brawny fellow, vet as he was
took the fair girl in his arms, and was strok-
ing her hair and kissing it.
"Oh. Tn SO happy, said Alice, laughing
and crying at once, and giving him little
squeezes and taps-running from his arms
to the closet and back to his arms again,
getting kisses and dry clothes as fast as she
could.
"Now, Jack, don't say word about it till
you've Ind your supp.r," she said few
minutes later. "But what shame it is
that supper is spoiled. Shall cook you an
oiher2"
"Spoiled, eh? Well, 1 rather like spoiled
things like these ;" and Jack laughed as he
drank the hot tea that was slowly bringing
him out of the chill of his icy bath.
But when the supper was over, and baby
was asleep. and Alice had filed up the pipe
that she pretended to like the smoke of be-
cause Jack had smoked so long that he
thought he couldn't stop, and when she saw
that it wns fairly lit and drawing all right,
she nestled down close beside him and said
"Now, Jack, tell about it.
"Well, Alice. dear, it was a mighty close
iit will tell you: There was dozen of
MS sortin' logs up at the bottoms, fer to feed
the mills tomorrow. an good many logs
had come down through the day, an kind
o jammed up things SO they was some dan
ger o the boom breakin., cause the water is
higher'n usual just now. Jim Brown an me
was together, an I see Jim looked sort o,
serious 20 asked him bout it. He didn't
soy nothin' fur minute, but pretty soon he
ny4-
"'Tom Gagged oughter know, he says the
boom is strong but I reckon If they is
much Of jam up above, it'll tear things
when it does bust. An judgin' by the looks
of the river, reckon they is . bad jam
somewhere
81 looked up the river, an sect they was
mighty few logs comm down, and knowed
they must be. Just then Bill Hovey come
down an says
"'They is jam mp to Wilson's Bend
"Twarn't only two O'Clock, an knowed
I was likely to sit back at the usual time, SO
I didn't send ye no word, but Jim an me
an half a dozen O the fellows jumped into
a wagon an drove ups fast as we could go.
When We got there We see 'twere bad jam,
fur another one further up the river had
busted an piled up the logs mighty thick.
When one bus onto another that way, ye
know, it makes it had. Well, we worked
nigh an hour trying to start her from the
shore, but t'wasnt no use and finally Jim
said,-
"'Twon't do to let this so on. We've got
to work in the middle Who'll go with me?'
and he started out for the jam in the middle
o the river.
"Well, l see the boys all look at me. They
knowed well enough that was the best man
to go-I knowed it too, but thought o you
an waited minute. But the other fellers
said they wouldn't SO went.
"Tore got to where Jim was. see that
If we did start it from the middle. we'd
likely have to come down on the logs to the
boom. an knowed it were a mighty risky
job. But twas the only way to tho mills.
an somebody had ter do It, 90 Jim an
worked the best we knowel for q half an
hour. At last we started it, an see there
was just chance O getting to shore. Jim
was Just ahead of me, an We was goin' as
fast as We could, when the thing give way,
an We was sailin' down the river at about
fifteen miles an hour
Eve hadn't gone . quarter Of mile
afore the log was on turned, an in steppin'
round, one o the spikes on my boots snapped
of and slipped in hung on to my pole,
an made bridge tween the logs, an was
just climbin' up when another log struck the
end Of it an splin,ered it into bits. fell
back, and thought was clean under, but
the two logs just clamped me BY the neck.