Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1888-12-05

had said to her: Gle is ali right. You
will see him again." ALI how she
hoped to see him. Then she suddenly
recollected the morning on which her
father had said to her:
SCI will not die without letting you
know"
1t needed only that to give her the
certainty that he was living.
A child's faith is strong. 1t is not
easy to drive out an idea which has
once taken root in their minds. So,
when the next morning-she had re-
manned there all night-they tried to
make her understand that there was no
hope, that she would never again see
her father, that they had explored all
the galleries, searched every corner
and had not found him, she shook her
curly head and began to weep, saying:
''Seek for papa ~
They paid little attention to her.
For forty hours had they not exhausted
every means? There was. doubtless,
something strange in this disappear
ance. Living or dead Michel ought to
nave been found, and they had not
found him.
The chief engineer had himself di-
rected the search, but all in vain. In
the opinion of ali nothing more could be
force of the explosion, the unfortunate
man had been buried by the falling de-
bris, and it was impossible to tell her
where or how.
For forty-eight hours little Miss Papa
waited anxiously, but without manifest
ing the slightest uneasiness. At every
human form which appeared at the
opening, she started forward and, not
recognizing him whom she waited,
she sank back upon the ground with a
deep sigh. They tried to take her
away. and she uttered such piercing
cries that they considered it best to
leave her there. They thought that she
must soon yield to fatigue.
Whence comes to the weak and feeble
such strength in the great crises in life ?
Ask God, it is His secret.
The third day the child was still at
the shaft.
81 must put an end to this" said the
little one, be reasonable
Papa seek for papa I"
Alas ! he is dead
No"
She uttered this 'sno" with such en-.
ergy that the engineer was struck by it..
why do you say no ?' he asked.
"He would have told me-"
"Poor little one,'' murmured the en-
gineer.
And he made sign to the men to
take her away. But she chung desper-
ately to him, crying:
Papa is not dead. / want to 90
down. | will find him.
They bore her away, and left her
with the school teacher. An hour later
she was back at the shaft, and clinging
10 fI1n
peating:
81 want to go down. I will find
him p
He was a tender-hearted man, that
engineer, and he took pity on her.
After all, . he said to himself, that
will: perhaps, be the best thing. When
she has seen with her own eyes. she
will believe. This excitement, if it lasts
much longer, will kill her."
And, taking her in his arms, he bore
her to the car and gave the signal to de-
scend.
She shuddered when she felt beneath
her that yawning pit from which arose
a foul air which almost sutfocated
her. The engineer ielt her little arms
inclose his neck, and her curly head
was pressed against his own.
When they reached the bottom she
disengaged herself, sprang to the ground
and rushed straight forward, calling:
Papa! Papa ~
The engineer, who could hardly keep
up with her, was tired of explaining to
her twenty times what he had already
explalned-how the explosion had tax
en- place, where it had occurred, and
what they had done to find the victims,
and the child kept questioning him, and
repeated:
He is living Seek for him l''
She would have remained down there
IN the mine three days, as she had al
ready done at the surface, if they had
not taken her bylforce and carried her
up.
The engineer gave orders that she
should be taken back to the school
teacher. and also orders that if she re-
appeared at the shaft she should be pre-
vented from going into the mine
All his measures had been carefully
taken, and the next day, no longer
thinking or her, he was inspecting one
OF the galleries when he felt himself
seized by the arm of his coat. 1t was
Miss Papa.
She had escaped from the school
second time. Repulsed at the
shaft, she had slipped into an empty
coal car and had thus descended into
the mine.
She told ali this to the engineer and
obtained his pardon. Five minutes
later she again began her search, still
full of undiminished faith. The miners
followed her with plying eyes, shrug-
gins the shoulders, saying:
Poor little Papa p
Little Papa kept on seeking with un-
abated courage. Suddenly they saw her
running toward them, pale and excited.
Down there !" she gasped. "Down
there Papa p
"What !? Down there ?" said the min
er.
ellis blouse ~
bah where ?''
"Down there"
In moment every one had heard
the news, and the mine was in 4 tu-
mutt. The child declared that she had
seen piece of blue cloth in a hole, |
which she could not raise because it was
held down 10y an enormous block of
COAL
Where ?" they asked her again.
She turned, followed by the crowd of /
Then she stopped and hest