The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1888-12-06
began to rua wildly among the debri',
which they had brought up from the


mine, crying: Papa! papa! papar
There werc, it is true, many others
who cried and who called "Papar but
not one in such dospairing accents.
The others they drove back, but no ono
could be found to push her way. They
let her run, poor child, from ono body
to another, sometimes stopping before
di,fgured face, he'itating for q
moment as il sho feared that she might
recognize her father.
No, ho was not among tho dead.
She grew calm,r, and sought among
tho living. He was not there. sho
questioned every one, but no one had
seen him.
OF the GO miners who went down in
the morning As had como up alive, IA
were dead. Thcro remained but one
to be accounted for; that one was
Michel.
She had made them explain all that
to her and she understood. She clapp,d
her hands joyously as il they had said
to her: ale is all rigLs on will soc
him again" Ali how she hoped to see
him Then sho suddenly recollected
the morning on which her father had
said to her:
Il will not die without letting you
know"
Itneoded only that to give her the
certainty that ho 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 tho 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: "S.ck
for papa"
They paid little attention to her.
For forty hours had they not exhausted
every means2 There was, doubtless,
something strange in this disappear
ance. Living or dead, Michel ought to
have been found, and they had not
found him.
The chief engineer had himself di.
rected the search but all in win. In
the opinion OF all nothing more could
bo done, and it was possible that, by
the force of the explosion, the unfor-
tunate man had been luti,d by the
falling debris and it was imposs bio to
tell where or how.
For forty eight hours little Miss Papa
waited nnxiously, but without mani
Testing the slightest uncasiness. AT
every human form which appeared at
the opening she started forward and,
not recognizing him whom she awaited,
she sank back upon the ground with a
deep sigh. They trial to tako her
away, and she uttered such piercing
cries that they consi lcrod it best to
leav, her there. They thought that
she must soon yield to fatigue.
Whence comes to the weak and fec
bic such strength in tho great crisis OF
life2 Ask God; it il His secret
| The third day tho child was still at
the shalt.
81 must put an end to this" said the
chief engineer. approaching her;
''come, my little one, be reasonable.
"Papa! seek for papa!
| ''Alas! he is dead"
"No."
She uttered this "no" with such en-
ergy that the engineer was struck by it.
why do you say NOT he asked.
'He would hav, told me-"
'Poor littlo one! murmured the en-.
gineer.
And he made sign to the men tc
take her away. But she c'uag desper
ately t, him. crying:
Papa il not dead. want to &c
down. l will fad him."
They bore her away and left her with
the school teacher A /, hour later sh !,
was back at tn, shaft, and, clinging tc
the engineers knees, she kept repe a
ing:
II want to 60 down! will fad
himw
IL, was tender-hearted man, thai
engineer, and he took pity on her.
AT all, he sal to himself, 'that
will, perhaps, be the best thing. When
she has seen with her own eyes she viii
believe. This excitement, if it last.
much longer, will kill hor."
And, taking her in his arms, he bore
her to the car and gave the signal t.
descend.
She shuddercd when she felt ben eatt
her that yawning pit from which arose
a foul air which almost suffocated h er.
The engineer felt her little arms inclost
his neck and her curly head was pressel
against his own.
When they reached the bottom sht
disengagei herself. sprang to the
ground, and rushed straight forward,
calling:
Papa! Papa"
The engineer, who could hardly keel
up with her, was tired of explaining t.
her twenty times what he had alread,
explaiued-how the explosion had tax er
place, where it had occurred, and
what they had done to fad the victims
and the child kept questioning him
and repeated:
''He is living! S,ck for him!'
She would have remained down ther,
in tn, mine three days. as she had al
ready done at the ,urface. if they haC