San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1888-07-19

Janet Harding unmarried would have
been bad enough. but with husband. two
giddy girls and an overgrown boy OF II.
could stand i'll Mother thought could.
and mother rules our house. d" ..
when we started on our bicycle trip
to Dixville Notch | planned to see the
Hardings. bowl leisurely up to the door.
Introduce myself to Mrs. H., joke with
the girls. and then proceed; but man pro-
poses. etc.
"As luck would have II my bicycle
broke down, and ! had to leave It at the
Falls. q little village five miles from Lam
caster, for repairs. Clark and Anderson
went on without me to North Stratford,
where was to meet them by train, and
| proceeded on foot to the Harding farm,
some two miles from the Falls.
1.-The farm, q smooth interval dotted
with fields Of ripening grain. and the
large verandaed house and great roomy
barns clustering about it. but not too.
near. all bespoke plenty. comfort and
Hospitality, did / say, Well. shan't
take It back, although l found the door
locked and not living thing in sight ex-
cept an old white hen Mark the excep-
tion. for that hen plays an important part
in my adventure.
II noticed her. and in particular
marked the proud, complacent step, the
conceited 'car-car' she uttered, Is she
looked at me knowingly from the corner
Of her eye. Little did ! think-but no
matter You will see by and by the
golden thread that binds all the points
together.
and |, but Janet Harding was not. MOI
the girls, nor the boy. nor Mr.. Harding.
II decided to 60 to the barn and lie
down on the hay. the new mown hay. and
await their coming
For me to think Is to act. A few min
utes later had climbed to the NOW and
ensconced myself under q brace in the
corner where the afternoon sun glinted
through a long crack. making slanting
dnstbeams across my breast.
Il made a few verses as | lay on the
fragrant hay. but didn't poetize long |
fell asleep. and dreamed, and my dreams
grew thicker and blacker and heavier. un-
til at last dreamed that Janet Harding
and her whole family were seated on my
stomach. and oh, the pressurei groaned
better of then, for Egyptian darkness
where the light still sifted through.
Where was II What was the matterf
I couldn't think. the horrible pressure
was SO maddening. ALI about, around.
above, was packed piles Of oats. not
shelled oats, you know, but oats before
they are threshed. on the stock or what.
ever you call it, While | was asleep |
had been moved In. and that's all there
was to It. except that couldn't move
hand or foot Two or three loads must
have been thrown on top of me, trod
DOWN and clinched. 80 to speak.
Well, tumbled around bit and got
my hands free and poked the grain away
| from my face a little was in a corner.
| as | ted you. under a brace and this
gave me a chance for my life. that and
the crack, which gave me breath of air
IN the hot, sitting place. | was just as
sffectually immured as were the monks in
olden times when they were walled up in
their living tombs, for no amount of
strength served to lift the burden a
particle.
by and by something futtered at my
feet and rose up and cackled.
at was the white hen.
Il knew her and she knew me; but,
bless you. she didn't want anything of
me nor my company. ! could see that.
But she couldn't get out. oh, but
couldn't shef She cooked her head impu.
IDENTIFY to one side, stepped daintily to a
tiny aperture about half as big as her
head. and | saw at glance that she
meant business. The less sense the more
instinct. saw that the creature would
get out somewhere.
why not use her for carrier pigeon.
and thus establish communication with
| the outside worldf shouldn't care to die
here, and be pitched out to the cattle by
fork fuls, or put through a threshing ma
chine, although ! might deserve such
treatment, and couldn't get out myself.
Il tore a leaf from my note book and
wrote something like this:
Come to my rescue. ! am buried
fathoms deep in oats. northwest corner OF
the barn. just opposite the house. My
blue necktie is thrust through the crack.
Perhaps You can see it. l am moved in.
Your relative.
| FIRED INGERsOLL.
Il tied the note to the hen securely with
a portion of the necktie, the rest fluttered
from the barn, and Biddy stepped forth.
one foot up, the other foot down. care
fully, conscientiously. as hen does. and
by and by faint rustling spoke hopefully
Of her progress to my waiting heart. Mean
while ] was q prey TO anxious thoughts
Suppose she should never reach the
light. but perish in her perilous journey.
become hemmed in and unable to go any
fartherf Suppose she should lose the let
ter in her passage, but q triumphant
cackle assured me that the white hen had
reached the barn door. and. blessed sight
little later saw her through the crack