Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1886-12-23


gone on.
Not until she had passed the line Of the
haze thicket ana felt the sudden pressure
OF the black shadow of the woods did Lucy
abandon wholly the laugh that had gone so
merrily with her from the instant in viii,
she had resolved that this fine young fell
low must have lesson. Now, however. it
had gone, utterly, and in its place was an
lll-de1ned feeling of discomfort that grew
upon her and hurried her along.
! IL was about this stage of the journey
that she began to wonder if a young man
unacqualnted with the country as this
| young school-teacher was-and a little bit
angry and disappointed, as this young
man probably was-might not get lost
The day had been of a purplish gray out
in the fields. Here under the thick tangle
of lnnumerabe long, scraggy, knotty black
! jack limbs it was at the very least an ugly
murky brown. This young school-teachcr
of fellow! Of course he couldn't know
any thing about the woods! And on such
day-But bark! Was not that some
body calling? Calling with a strange prop
erty of fright, of terror, of anguish in the
voice2 Yes! There 1t is again No. all is
silent save the undulatiug roar of the wind
rushing or ripping over the crags of the
blackjack limbs.
! She stopped and listened with such an
intensity of effort that she heard the slow
ing throbbing of her heart, retard d by
suspension of her respiration. Then cry
clear and distinct but very distant strange
ly distant:
"Help! helpl Hilloa hilloai helpw
| 1t was the voice-his voice. She could
not be mistaken. She did not hesitate an
instant to debate the question of whats was
to be done. She had heard his cry for help.
| fr,loi r1v h.,
had that quality of courageous promptitude
not at all infrequent in women: and she
sprang forward through tangle of tall
briers and hazel brush, up over a small alb
rupt mound that she remembered never to
have seen before, and then she thought the
earth suddenly sunk from under her. and
darkness-thick black, palpable darkness
| enveloped her. Then, after an indefinite
! time, she seemed to fight her way up
through clouds that rapidly thnned and
rolled away, and in dim twilight she saw
familiar face above her, and heard words
in familiar voice. Nay, there were actu-
| ally kisses upon her cheeks and lips
"What is the matter, Will!" she seemed
to hear herself say as if from distance.
"You are alive and almost unhurt, dar-
ling" Then another shower of kisses and
| very pleasurable sensation of enfoldlng
arms about her.
''But where are we? What makes it so
dark?"
''We are in the bottom of some confound-
| ed well, or pit, or something of that kind.
tumbled in. And then l suppose l de-
coyed you into it by yelling as did"
He spoke in such a selireproaChing tone
! that she could not help instituting the hug
ging and kissing upon her own motion in
! stead of acting as mere recipient of these
Sn1i 70 I,,t1
Pm gladI fell in here. How awfully
lonesome it would have been for your
And then both at once parceiving the su-
preme righteousness of such speech,
laughed immOderately and in perfect con-
cert until the very woods above them must
have rung along the strident strings Of
black jack branches that swayed and VII
brated above the purple gray of the vast
hazel tn clzet.
''You ought to have fallen in here for
condemning me to walk with Lena" And
then he fastened to add, as if afraid she
would retort and put the matter out of his
mind:
''But what want to say now is that I'm
astonished more and more at you"--
ssAstonished at me? For falling in here and
not getting hurt? Just look at this bed Of
leaves blown in by the winds! Why, it
must be three feet deep" Lucy laughed,
thrusting her arm down among the brown
leaves that indeed covered the bottom to
an unknown depth.
''No; but to think Of your great courage
and prompt coming to my rescueP Will
said, looking at her with growing admira-
ton. 81 really never saw the like of it'll
Now, nineteen out of twenty girls would
have screamed and ran back to the house
for man. You said nothing; but ran
right through the brush briers and every
thing, right straight"
''Down into this old abandoned and for
gotten iron-mine," she interrupted, her
eyes sparkling and her cheeks glowing with
the grateful tonic of genuine praise. But
do you think me courageous, thenp'
''The Greeks would have deified you.
And really it has made you SO pretty"
''Wasn't before, STRIP
ssYes; but you are five times as pretty
now"
There was another interval of something
like country hugging and kissing which I
beg to inform the reader is radically differ
ent from the city article. Then Lucy said,
with an attempt at gravity rendered neces-
sary by the situation:
''But we must try to get out of here"
'Not bit of use,'' said Will, shaking his
head and looking up. II tried it faithfully
and desperately before yelled once.n
''What are we to do, then2" Lucy asked,
with much concern.
''All we can do is to haIloo till somebody
hears US and comes to the right spot.
brought you that way, you know"
''But we might have to stay here all
day.
Gail day We might have to stay q
week. I'd thought that all over befor5 you
came"
Such look of amazement and despair
came over Lucy's face that her companion
took refuge in a laugh that sounded rather
hollow and forced. Perhaps the acoustics Of
the old shaft had something to do with it.
But Lucy Pin was not the damsel to be
frightened into silence. Her practical mind
took in the situation at once.
''Well, I've got my basket Of dinner along
with me, anyhow. We won't starve imme-
diately." And she produced from among
the leaves the basket, right side up and
nothing spilled or broken. WHIPS eyes
frightened; for he was young fellow Of
good appetite, among his other good quail
ties.
''What have you got in it, Lucy9 Well
make an inventory like ship-wrecked