Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-11-20

wall. The crowd cried in a half suppressed
whisper, as they saw the flying figure coming
with streaming hair and set lips. Here
comes the by's fatherh
In less than half a minute Mr.. Finn stood
non the pile of loose rocks underneath his boy.
The confused murTner of voices which greeted
his fathers approach attracted the attention
of little Mike He turned his head and saw
the crowd watching him That one swift
glance showed him the prayerful attitudes
and the pallid faces of the men and women
and the frightened glances of the little chill
dren. A great fear fell upon him and the
top of the wall seemed to his strained vision
to loom thousand feet above him, and the
rocks below him reached up their serrated
edges like Alpine ridges 70 mangle him. The
ominous silence, too, oppressed him like a
funeral pail and the voice of the yellow bird
singing in the tree only fifty feet away fell
on his ear like the notes Of the golden harps
his mother had told him were played on by
angels beyond the clouds His lip trembled
and he began to whimper, just as he had
done after whipping, and shrank closer and
closer TO the wall. A big tear stole down his
tanned cheek and fell upon the upturned face
| of his father, who shivered as though bolt
from crossbow had struck him at the con
tact, A groan slipped from Mr.. Firms lips
and was echoed from the crowd below.
At this critical time Mr. Finn reached up
ward his brawny arms aching TO receive a
| living burden, and from his lips faltered these
words:
Now, Mickey, put yer fut in tn crack
below Aye, that's tn lad! Now, hang on
wild yer hands! Careful, sonny, CAREFUL"
A piece of stone disocatet by the boy fell
upon the rocks A shudder ran through the
crowd. Then the climbers foot slipped, and
a half suppressed AIR broke invountarily
from parted lips in the road But Mickey
did not fall His body swaycd outward, and
by lucky chance he a ain secured his foot
ing Mr.. Finn lowered his hand at interval:
to cross his breast, and his lips moved, but
his eyes never left the form of his boy, which
was yet twenty feet above him
mickey, brave lad. stiffen yerserl" sale
he. LUX out, now Work yer toe well in
All, hal Now We hav It'll Dig in wild Eel
nails"
Slowly and carefully the inauistive to,
felt its way along the face of the wall unit
it met a crack and never did child SHOW
the affection for its mother which Mel
showed for the wall But as he made hi
way slowly downward he was gradually get
ting weaker. The excitement was beginnin,
to sap his strength. He was now within
twelve feet of his father. The twilight wa
rapidly falling, and the wall was draped il
shadows. The darkness hid the cracks II
rested his toes on projecting piece of stone
there was swapping sound. a brief glimps
of arms wildly tossing, Il cry of terror fror
the crowd, and the boy shot outward an
downward But Mr.. Finn was watching
and as the body of his son came down hea
first he seized it as the eagle clutches the ifs
when the osprey has dropped it. A chez
i rent the air and went echoing over the hill
for the boy was in his fathers arms.
Mr.. Finn folded his boy close down agains
his hickory shirt. and smile irradiated h
i swarthy face such as comes only in thos
p, moments when the human soul is stirred b
, the passion of joy. The crowd presse
, closely around to catch glimpse Of the littl
g hero, aud Jack Doolan said in an awestruc
4 whisper:
'Are We much hurled Mickey21
1 ''On'y me nose is skinned was the reply
And up the Old Point road the little Or,
Y cession went, the children running eagerl
ahead and the elderly persons walking s.
d berly behind ard commenting gravely upo
n the special providence which lowered ovt
J the most venturesome boy on Coouey Islam
When the excitement had died away thu
d evening and Mickey had scraped out the M
a lasses pail, he stole out of the gate into tt
I road, and all his youthful comrades gazed
him with the awe with which Napoleon WI
o regarded by his soldiers
S The goats were driven home by Jack Do
n lan.-Ernest Jarrold in New York Evenin
g Sun.