Semi-weekly south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1883-1889, 1885-05-01

| iNAtN IA NllN Nllll'l bllNlO WIN Wv
womel folk Mrs. Car was n sister OF
hers walk it OYER tn range to Eure'ia,
and drop in on us one night about SIGHT
o'clo k!
at began showing Just abou the
time she got there, and by morning it
was foot deep; and before it SOP ell
it was even W tn the top of orr cab II
windows! Then the sun inc out and
melt ii it little, then it foe harI,
and there was the est 'shleng snow
Won ever NV. BY this tine Mrs Lee
had gone DO 1t hllt cray o5er not
hav'ng her babi; and she felt 50 ba |
about, it thlt | o lcre to take my shoes
and slip ov. to Carr's and Lr.ng The
child over TO he.
To tell the truth, | wanted baby
around the hous9 to maxi thing; leas-
ant TIL ough the winter
"A JaJu! 70 max. thing, pleas
ant! ! Is the m n eva y?' murmured
tn enginec. But Uncle John went
on without noticing that remark,
"Nel'ic was about three years old,
not very large for ner age, but strong
and he r.y, and | thought | could
knock up some kind of rough sled at
Cars, bundle her up vel, Ii lul her up
to the top OF the divide then sling
her on my back, and III, rest of the
way was all down hill.
"Well, | got to Cars all right,
made my sled, stayed all night, and
started off bright and early the next
morning.
Gentlemen, were you ever in the
mountains about sunrise in TIE winter
time, with the snow covering every
thing, an an icy crust al overt? No?
Well, then, you've mi is ID one Of the
most dazzling ghts that man ever saw.
All tie colors of the rainb w, all the
hues of all prec Gus stones ruby, sap
Dhire, pearl, emerald, diamold-hash
from every twig of every tree; the trees
are pillars of frosted liver, and under
foot a sea of crystal m 'xed with fire.
1t reminded me, tlat mora NO, of the
HYMN had recently been hearing Mrs.
| Lee sing:
"'Jerus lem the golden
| With radiant glory blest!
beneath thy coltem platiOn
Sink heart and vO &C Opprest,
With jasper row thy billwarks,
Thy streets with EN- raids blaze;
The sardiuS and tn, topaz
In thee un te their RVS:
Thy splrndent walls are lucent
With hyucnthne light 80.
The light that has no evening,
That needs nor mo N nor sun,
The ght divine uLd golden,
The light that is but one!'
II hal stopp ID moment at the heao
Of Lost Trail Creek, to look down the
canon at the marvellous scene, when
hearl little Nellie, whom | had forgot
ten for a few minute. cali out:
"Oh, what a bid pussy! Unkie John!
Unkie John. see the BID pus 'y-tatl'
Il looked around, and there, just
above the trail, and not the length of
this log from the s,ed, stood the fine It
| specimen OF a m )untain ! on think |
ever saw. Twas queer, but at first
sight, | didn't feel BIT afraid -
in fact, hardly surprised, at seeing him
there. am not poet, as you know,
but was so near to one that morning
that really think had forgotten for
the moment tina. there was any such
thing Us danger or death on Earth.
LAS looked at him, my first thought.
derived, suppose, by an association of
ideas from the hymn which had been
running through my head, was:
"LcOnem de tribW lutte
"llc was 50 stately and massive, so
digniiiei and cant find any word to
express his look but magnanimous-
that for moment felt nothing but a
kind of wondering admiration.
"Then, in flash, | woke up. There
was that blessed baby, holding out her
little hands and calling: Pussy, pussy!
pity p :ssy! come an pay VIZ Nellie.
Come to Nell c, pussy; Nellie love 90.
And there, not ten yards away, facing
her. was that yellow brute, u cruel,
savage, greedy b.as,, wh) might the
next second ugh! it makes me SILVER
now to remember it, And TO think
that | was u powerless to help or pro-
tect her as she was herself - that the
slightest move on my pat would prob
ably only hasten the tragedy:
80 we stood there, how long don't
know. Nellie coaXing and pleading, her
eyes sparkling, her black curl' dancing,
her rosy cheeks glowing, and her little
mittened hands outspread to the grim
beast that stood, with head turned
littl3 to one side watching her steadily,
and as motionless as if carved out of
rock.
II don't know whet, erit was instinct
n,. I,s,N,r,,t;A,, chat 1nrt L.,
step slowly backward, pulling the sled
aft r. me. Foot b. foot the distance
widened, the great cat keeping his yell
low, UNIV mixing eyes on Nellie as she
slowly turned her head to keep him in
sight. | think we might have left him
there, ii she, de'pairlng of his coming
to her, had not turned to me and cried:
''Unkie John, please 1T Nellie get
out and pay wiz hlr bid pussy-tat!
This seemed to break the spell which
had held him, for he stepped slowly
down into the trail and followed us.
Backwards went drawing the sled
with my left hand, and keeping my
right on the butt OF my revolver, rea ly
to fire If the worst came to the worst,
and he crouched for spring.
''lf any of you want the hardest job
you have ever had, just try walking
backwards up steep, icy trail, on
twelvc-foot Norwegian snow-shoes, not
turning your head to see where you are
going. didn't dare turn around, nor
take my eyes off the tawny baasr that
was following us. Every now and then
he would stop and rub himself against
a tree, arching his back. and purring in
a deep, mIilol bass, just like com
mon house-cat only II hundred time,
as loud. Then he would turn out from
the trail, quicken his pace Il little and
for bundled wards or so. walk abreast