The Mineral argus. [volume] (Maiden, Mont.) 1883-1886, 1885-05-07

ont. At her still continued cry for her
father, some startled deer would pause
with foot uplifted and ear alert, 10
catch the meaning Of this strange, new
voice Of the night, before bounding
away in the darkness: and the fright
full screech Of the owl, always hideous
and strange TO stronger nerves, was a
response that would cause the child to
crouch and cover in alright.
To Cl,ristine's distorted vision came
every fancy. Each dark shadow was a
hidden beast TO spring upon her, and
cleaning eyes lurked in every bush.
Did she really have father and moth
er who loved her, or was she a
child of the woods, always to
&C in this terrible way? With
each wild fancy, Christine con.
tinued her hopeless wandering through
the long hours of that dreadful night,
occasionally breaking tho deep solitude
Of tho forest by the heart-brOken cry,
Papa o papa! where are your"
Long and weary had been the night to
the weeping mother, for sOrrows are al
ways sharper and burdens heavier dur.
ing the sleepless hours; but hope re-
vived when, with the first gray dawn Of
the morning, the colonists gathered by
twos and threes, bringing guns and
dogs ready for search after the lost
child. There were middle aged men,
heavy and stolid in features, with tarnish
ed knots Of silver IN their ears and wear
ing immense wooden shoes, long waist.
coats and leather brooches. There were
Young men and boys full Of excitement
and each being first to discover the lost
girl. 1t was decided to follow OLSON
to the clearing, form in line. and at q
given signal advance into the woods,
each man keeping in sight of his neigh
Dor. so as to cover all space, ana when
the child was found, fro gun twice in
rapid succession.
The only one OF the boys who carried
a gun was Peter Swenson, who walked
very erect and exclaimed boastingly:
If I see bear shall shoot him skare
between the two eve" And all the
boys looked on admiyingly but Nils
Peterson, who whistled to his large
yellow and white spotted dog, and
said. quite rs boastfully: II wouldn't
give my dog for the best gun in the
crowd. He isn't afraid of the biggest
bear you ever saw" which wasn't so
much Of a boast after all, as none of the
boys had ever seen tame bear. much
less . wild one.
On reaching the clearing, limo was
formed along the edge of the woods;
and at the given signal all advanced to-
gethor, beating the bushes, firing guns
and hallooing, and the search was kept
up in this manner until the MONDAY,
when o pause was made. ALI Of Carl
Olsson's bright hopes of the morning
were deserving him.
christine couldn't have wandered 30
far" he said. my poor child has been
devoured by some wild beast" And he
sank upon the ground and buried his
face in his hands.
But bark! Did his ears deceive him :
That surely was wo reports following
each other. Wildly he sprang to his
feet and rushed in the direction of the
alarm and the shot. christine il found
Christine is found!" ran all along the
line. Nils Peterson greeted them, ex.
claiming excitedly, Twas my dog that
found herr" And I heard him bark; ;
and when I saw twas Christine I fred
the gun" cried Peter Swenson, close
behind.
Joyfully they gathered around Chris.
tine who was standing dazed and be-
wildered, in an almost impenetrable
swamp.
Tightly cla.ped in her hand was the
pail she had carried all the while.
Many anxious days and nights Of
watching by Christine's bedside fol-
lowed, for a long fever came upon the
overweight system. In delerium she
once more bent over the babbling brook,
drinking. but with thirst never satisfied.
Again, the black form of the growing
bear stood before her in the path. from
which she was ever fleeing, calling in
heartrending tones for her father, who
sadly strove to soothe the trout led
mind Of the sick child.
At last one morning when she awoke
the wild, frightened CLEAN in her blue
eyes was gone, and in its place was the
old love light.
As her mother bent over her she
whispered: "Oh, such q dream as !
have had; I am glad the morning has
come"
carl, our Christine has come back
to us. Let us thank God, ;" said the
mother, softly; and there, by that hum
BILE bedside, the grateful, happy par
ents gave thanks for the Fathers loving
care bestowed on them.