The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1885-03-18

| we COulu get lTOlIl Ollc pltCc w dhOtiiol
pretty comfortable every day, and if
there was storm we'd put up till 1t
blew over
1t was Christmas mornin' when we
started, before light, and clear and cold
as piece of ice. The sun came out,
though, after a while, bright enough.
The snow was deep, but it was packed
hard, and we drove over the smooth
prairie like mad. AT noon we stopped
for dinner at a farmers named Perkins,
but we didn't want to lose much time
such good day, so we were on the
road again shortly after one.
cit was along about half-past two
when, all of a sudden, Lem looked off
at the sky behind us, and, says he,
What in thunder is that black cloud p
and, sure enough, right back of us
was big cloud; and yet not cloud
neither, sort of darkness, more like
you know how ii looked if you've
ever been in a regular blizzard-and it
wasn't creepin', it was comm along
faster than any express train you ever
saw. We whipped up as lively as we
could, and Lem headed for little house
that we could just see way off on the
skyline. But the cloud was goin' about
hundred times as fast as we were,
and it wasn't fifteen minutes before we
knew it wasn't any use, our tearin'
along so.
GO 1t grew darker and darker around
us, till it was all kind of a twilight,
but once irna while this twilight would
sorter lift like, and then we could see
two or three clumps of trees there were
in sight, and the little house off on the
skyline, full six miles away, and they
looked white, as if they were made of
snow. I've heard since that that sort of
thing is common in billiards., but /
didn't know it then, and we both
thought it was mighty queer.
"There seemed to be sort of gath
erin up of the air all the while. /
couldn't think of anything only that
there was a great giant close by us,
putin all the air there was into a big
bag so as to fling it out on us afterward
in awful winds. What made it seem
more like this was that it grew close,
sorter suffocatin' like, made it hard for
us to breathe, and the whole thing
made us feel afraid, just as / used to
when / was little shaver and they shut
me up in the dark.
Lem's-and it couldn't have been much
whittier, poor fellow!-when he turned
round to me and, says he, Tim says
house. Pm afraid we're gone
Just then there was gust came
whirlin', blindin' sort of gust, full of
: snow, and Lem just caught hold of my
hand and shook it. 90, my God!' says
1, -
Tim; give 'em my love if you ever get
home l didn't say anything like that !;
was dazed-like, and, besides, hadn't
been sick, and l suppose felt little
stronger.
" Gust number two struck us before
we were fairly over the first one. The
cart swayed and toppled, and we both
jumped down and cut the horses loose,
Just as the cart fell over and went to
smash, and everything in it blew out of
sight quicker N wink. The horses
galloped off before the wind, snortin'
, and kickin', and l never saw 'em again.
, eve sorter lay down on the snow
and caught hold of each other, but the
next whirl that came separated us, and
, poor Lem was gone, the first / knew.
? | suppose he was killed, for he never
has been seen or heard of from that
f day. l don't know why l wasn't car
| ried off the same way. l tell you that
wind was something - well - awful
, There isn't any word that | know
though, that begins to express it."
: "No," put in Mrs. Hardaway, at this
. point, as though she had spoken without
meaning it, in her absorption in Tins
, narrative. ''No, it's worse than awful
I've been there; know how it isl
Tins countenance lighted up, and {
D noticeable increase of respect for hi
/, story was indicated upon the faces O.
+ his auditors. 1t seemed at least to b,
: brought down to the level of probabilit,
= by Mrs. Hardaway's impulsive words.
r Yes, it was worse than awful,
r went on Tim, after moment, " and i
n had GOODNESS in it that seemed some
i how to take the heart right out of me
strong earthquake shock, and you know
|. how sorter weakly that makes you feel
e Well, this gave me just such feeling
G as I've had in earthquakes; and thi
just didn't let up in a little while, a
the first two did; it just kept right OF
v a-whirlin' and a-blowin', as if it WASH
s ever goin' to let up. 1t blew me owe
v the snow like feather, but, as luc
Il would have it, it didn't take me up i
/ the air, as I've heard it does tax
l. men sometimes. / lodged against a
u uncommon high pile of snow, and Their
s lay, nearly frozen to death. l wa
havin' a regular hand-to-hand figh
!. with the storm, when all of a sudde
| the cloud of snow that was over m
l. sorter tore in two, and / could see
d house, or a part of one, half tippe
n over, and not dozen rods away fror
n me. knew in minute that it mus
,. be the little house that Lem and / ha
,e seen off in the skyline"
l. Oh-h-h!" cried'' Skep" ThomI
~ son. "Let's see that house was 81
D." miles off at last accounts"
n 81 don't care!" insisted Tim, stoutly
W "When that snow-cloud sorter broke
could have thrown stone, if I'd ha
T. one, and hit that house, weak as | wa'
f. 1t was SEEM that that reused me W
1t really seemed to give me courage
re and l crept along towards it on a
S. tours. Such a hash as there was
Mt There were pieces of pig-sty and a hel
coop; and, as true as l live, if thel
a wasn't part of baby's cradlel
| "' Lord!' thinks |, where's the baby
st Can it be that father and mother an