Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1885-05-06

by, Analysing flowers, and just sitting
still and watching the shadows drift
over the grass. and grew SO brown and
rosy
For myself, Igrew almost to hate the
long, still days, and, in spite OF the nov
er-ceasing winds, days so alike that you
could not tell one week from another
or Monday from Saturday, to long for
November and our return to the civil
lied world. September came, and /
thought OF the changing woods and au-
tumn sound OF winds among the branch
es, and il seemed rs though it would be
almost like Heaven to see tree. said
50 to Thompy, and she responded by
singing:
Ger oil the wide extended plain
Shines one eternal dayl
l shall never forget one day about the
middle of the month. Mr.. Herder had
been at the sheds near the house stack
ing corn fer the winter use of the cat
tie. We could hear him singing about
the place all the drowsy afternoon, and
now and again his wife would call
TO him in her high, sweet voice. George
Bradley was in town, and just about
six the boy came driving the cattle
before him. Mrs. Herder was at our
door with the baby in her arms inviting
us to come to tea. We all stood there
in the late sunshine watching the cattle
rs they came slowly over the prairie,
stopping to nibble the grass here and
there until urged on by the boy, who
rode spiteful little pony. As they
came up Mr.. Herder paused in his
work, and, seeing US, waved his hand,
Let down the bars to the Enclosure, and
stepped back, holding in his hand the
hay-knife with which he had been work.
ing.
The cattle passed in one after anoth-
er, and only the big Durham bull-Mr.
Herder's special pride-stopped to sam
pie the straw. Mr.. Herder struck at him
with the fiat side of the knife, and the
next moment terrible thing was hap
pening. Tho enraged animal turned
upon him, and, catching him on its
cruel horns, tossed him high in the air.
l saw the boy dashing away across the
prairie for the help which it would
have been madness for him to have
attempted to give. Iheard Mrs. Her
der cry:
"My God, the brute will kill him"
as she sank on her knees with look of
agony on her face, the like of which l
pray may never see again. Thompy
stood as If turned to stone, till, at a cry
from the defenseless man out there all
alone, she turned, and snatching the re-
volver from the wall where it had been
avoided so long she dashed by us to his
help.
"Arabella Thompson!" l cried,
clutching at her as she passed ME,
"have you lost your sensesP'
She was gone! 1 sank down on my
knees, and, burying my face in my
hands, lost all consciousness save of a
horrible sickening pain in the place
where my heart used to beat. 1 be-
lieve know something of the tortures
of the lost in that space. do not
know whether it was long or short, it
seemed forever. The first thing Of
which / became conscious was the
noise of voices in excited question and
answer. l raised myself from the
ground and saw George Bradley and
several others about the PROSTATE body
of Mr.. Herder. He still lived, though
badly hurt, and they soon had him on
the bed waiting for the doctor to come
from the town.
They found Thompy unconscious not
far from where the bull had died, the
revolver was some distance beyond;
where she had thrown it after shooting.
George Bradley brought her in in his
arms, and we could none of us make
enough of her.
"How did you ever do it, you who
IS \ Il
"There was nothing else to do" she
answered simply.
SHOW did you aimp" asks some one.
81 didn't aim, l just shut my eyes
and prayed and then shot and threw it
as far as 1 could"
believe she was more afraid of the
revolver than she was of that horrible
beast.
After that the two families got sort
of mixed up. Mr.. Herder, nursed by
us all, struggled slowly back to life.
Mrs. Herder could not do enough for
Thompy, and as for that George Brad
ley, he acted as though she belonged to
him.
began to realize about this time that
the prospect of our model old maid s
hall was growing beautifully less. 1t
did not improve my temper when the
cold weather began to threaten and we
with whole month yet to stay. When
November did come it found us fairly
showed in with no possible hope of es-
cape. OF course there was no use fret
ting, but that was no excuse for the ex-
aggerated cheerfulness with which
Thompy met this misfortune.
The long winter days, hopeless and
relentless, dragged by. There were
two people, though, who did not find
the days too dark, or the winter too
long, but it is rather slow fun for a
third party to watch the progress OF
love-making through a long Dakota
winter.
When the late, cold spring finally re-
leased me, | turned my back on my
ruined estate and blasted hopes, and.
leaving the happy lovers behind
me Oheir claims joined), found
my way back to the Sixth Ward school
house, a sadder, poorer, and, l hope, q
wiser woman.
My quarter section and my winter in
Dakota cost me just $800.23 (and ]
can't afford 10 spend the two cents in
chocolate creams), to say nothing Of my
ruined castles in Spain and the loss Of
my friend. Now, if any one wants this
valuable property, he can have it on
.'long time and easy terms. "-Chicagc
Tribune.
A Prose Poem.
Softly the moon shed its silvery ligh:
upon the evenin0 air