Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1888-11-22

|
the pressure Of heavy thoughts, began to
| think that the best thing she could do
would be to try to follow his example,
when suddenly there came knock at the
boards which served for door to the
shanty.
"Who is it?" she cried, with a start.
| 'Me-Mr. MeesCn,'' answered the voice.
Scan come in?"
eyes, If you Eke?" said Augusta, sharp
| ~, though in her heart she was really
| glad to see him, or, rather, to hear him,
for it was too dark to see anything. It is
wonderful how, under the pressure OF a
great calamity, we forget our quarrels and
| our spites and are ready to jump at the
prospect of the human companionship Of
our deadliest enemy And ''the moral OF
that is" as the White Queen says, that as
we are all night and day face to face with
| the last dread calamity-Death-we should
throughout our lives behave as though we
saw the present shadow of his mind But
that will never happen in the world while
| human nature is human nature-and when
will it become anything else?
''Put up the door again." said Augusta,
| when, from rather rawer rush Of air than
usual, she gathered that her visitor was
within the hut.
Mr.. Meeson obeyed, groaning audibly.
| ''Those two brutes are getting drunk" he
said, Swallowing down rum by the gall
| Ion. I have come because [ could not
/ stop with them any longer-and I am so
| i'll, Miss Smithers, so i'll! believe that I
am going to die. Sometimes I feel as
though all the marrow in my bones were
ice, and-and-at others just as if some
body were showing a red-hot wire up them.
| Can't you do anything for me?"
| Il don't see what is to be DONE" an
swered Augusta, gently, for the mans
misery touched her in spite of her dislike
of him. "You had better lie down and try
to go to sleep"
''To sleepr' he moaned; show can I
sleepF My blanket is wringing wet and
my clothes are damp" and he fairly broke
! down and began to groan and sob.
''Try and go to Sleep" urged Augusta
again.
| He made 10 answer, but by degrees he
| grew quieter, overwhelmed, perhaps, by
the solemn presence of the darkness Au-
| gusta laid her head against the biscuit
bag, and at last sank into bIissful oblivion;
for to the young sleep is a constant friend.
| Once or twice she woke, but only to drop
| off again; and when she finally opened
| her eyes it was quite light and the rain
had ceased.
| Her first care was for little Dick, who
/ had slept soundIy throughout the night
and appeared to be none the worse. She
! took him outside the hut and washed his
face and hands in the stream and then sat
! Dim down to q breakfast Of biscuit AS
/ she turned, she met the two sailors, who,
although they were now fairly sober, bore
upon their faces the marks of a fearful
| debauch. Evidently they had been driak-
! ing heavily. She drew herself up and
looked at them, and they skunk past her in
! silence
! Then she turned to the hut Mr.. Meeson
was sitting up when she entered, and the
bright light from the open door fell full
upon his face. His appearance fairly
| shocked her. The heavy cheeks had fallen
In, there were great purple rings round
the hollow eyes, and his whole aspect
| was one Of q man in the last stage of ill
ness.
Il have had such a night!' he said
| 'Oh, Heavenl such night I don't be-
Heve that 1 shall live through another"
| NONSENSE said Augusta, ''eat some
biscuit and you will feel BETTER
| He took piece of the biscuit which she
gave him, and attempted to swallow it,
but could not.
ut is no use" he said; 81 am dying
man. Sitting in those wet clothes in the
boat has finished me-
And Augusta, looking at his face, could
not but believe him.
CHAPTER IX-AUGUSTA TO THE RESCUE.
After breakfast-that is after Augusta
had eaten some biscuit and IL wing that re-
manned from the chickens she had man
| aged to cook upon the previous day-Biu
and Johnnie, the two sailors, set to work
at her suggestion to fix up long frag-
, ment of driftwoOd on point OF rock and
to bind on to it u flag that they happened
to find in the locker Of the boat. There
was not much chance Of it's being seen by
anybody in that mist-laden atmosphere
even if anybody came there to see it, of
which there was still less chance: still.
they did it as a sort of duty By the time
this task was finished it was midday, and
/ for wonder there was little wind and the
sun shone out brightly. On returning to
the huts, Augusta got the blankets out to
| dry, and set the two sailors to roast some
of the eggs they had found on the previous
day. This they did willingly enough, for
they were now quite sober and very much
ashamed of themselves Then, after Civ
ing Dick some more biscuit and four
roasted eggs, which ne took to wonderful
Iy, she went to Mr. Meeson, who was ~
| ing grooming in the hut, and persuaded
him to come and sit out in the warmth.
BY this time the Wretched mans con-
ditioD was pitiable, for, though his
strength was still whole in him, he was
| persuaded that he was going to die, and
could touch nothing but some rum and
| water.
Miss Smithers,'' he said as he sat shiv-
ering upon the rocks, II am going to die
| in this horrible place. and am not fit to
die! To think of me-" he went on with a
sudden burst of his old fire, 'to think of
| my dying like starved dog in the cold,
| when Ihave two millions of money wait
| ing to be spent there in England! And
would give them all-yes, every farthing
of them-to find myself safe at home
| again! BY Jove! I would change places
with any poor devil of u writer in the
| Hutches! Yes, / would turn author on
| twenty pounds monthl-that will give you
some idea of my condition, Miss Smithers,
| To think that should ever live to say
that I would care to be a beggarly author,
who could not make thousand year if
he wrote till his fingers fell ofl-ohl-ohF"
and he fairly sobbed at the horror and
degradation of the thought.
Augusta looked at the poor wretch and
then bethought her of the proud creature
she had known, raging terribly through
| the obsequious ranks of clerks, and carry
ing desolation to the Hutches and the
many-headed editorial department. She