Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-03-09

|
7 Miss Spinks followed in melancholy 81
lence. Presently the passage on the leve
became impossible, and l was forced +
) turn up the steep hillside, trampling dow
, the briars, as | went, to ease the way 70
5 nv companion. A few seconds later
, missed the hap-fap of her wet skirts be
i hind me, and turned to investigate. Sh
, was standing in an attitude of hopeless
detection in my extemporized path, appar
emily incapable of proceeding.
If you really cared to have me will
you, you would have offered to help me w
} here" she gasped.
returned. and holding out the crook O
my stick. said quietly:
If you will take hold of that, will dc
my best"
She grasped it, and proceeded slowly
towing her along, and fervently wishing
that the way were less steep or she less
heavy. Suddenly the tension relaxed
there was low wall, the sound of heavy
fall, and Miss Spinks had "gone to the
ground" was at her side in an instant
What has happenedg' l cried in
alarm. " You are not hurt ~
There was no reply. Miss Spinks sat
huddled together in an inelegant mass,
rocking herself to and fro, very nine
teenth-century Niobe in impness of dra-
perry and copiousness of tears. / was at
my wits end what to do; consequently /
did nothing.
This state of things lasted for some min
utes, but at length, seeming to get the
better of her paroxysm of weeping, she
sobbed forth:
"Oh dear, oh dear / didn't (sob) think
you could be so cruel (half-a-dozen sobs).
You've brought me here (sob), and now
you won't even speak to me (sob, sob, sob).
4 And now you'd better go on and leave me
here alone to die ! Boo-hoe, boo-hoow
This was more than human reason could
stand. | took her by the arm, drew her
hands from her face, and said in my stern
est accents
Listen to me, Miss Spinks. You are
making a fool of yourself Now, either
get up at once and cease this nonsense or
L must leave you here, to get home as you
can"
My resolute attitude had an instantane-
Gus effect. Miss Spinks dried her eyes.
rose to her feet, and said humbly,-
"Oh, Mr.. HASTE, Pm very sorry 1 was
so foolish. won't cry again; but l
thought, as you wouldn't talk to me, thai
you were tired of my society, and wished
| had never come"
| | could neither DENY nor confess the
truth of this surmise, so held my peace.
We resumed our fermer positions, rela-
lively, to my stick and to one another, and
| proceeded on our way; /, like Sponsors
hero, feigning seemly merth," and she
"coy lookes." Miss Spinks grew more
cheerful, and ten minutes rough walking
| brought us to the further gate.
Arrived there, | looked up stream for
the sportsmen. There was not sign of
them. Then, for the first time, l recol-
lected that, just above the entrance to the
cover, the river branched off at fork,
crossed by plank bridge; and it flashed
upon me that the other hunters had taken
the farther branch. suggested this solu-
ton to my companion, who received it
with blank dismay.
How are we to get to them" she
asked; mot back through the wood again,
surelv?"
eve can go out to the middle of this
field" i said, and from there we can see
the other branch, and Judge whether it is
worth our while to try to overtake them"
| u.
The field sloped more gently than the
wood, and left narrow level space at the
edge Of the stream, which here swept
round the foot of the hill. This level
space was rallied off and had gate at one
point, behind which single plank, laid
across the river, gave access to the tongue
of land between the two branches. As we
got farther out, and could command a
view clear of the wood, the CLINT of a red
coat on the far side of the valley proved
my theory correct. pointed this fact out
to Miss Spinks, and she owned, at last,
that pursuit was hopeless. At the same
time | noticed that by crossing the stream
and going down the right bank on our re-
turn journey, we could recross by the
bridge at the entrance of the wood, and so
avoid scrambling through the cover. My
companion gladly agreed to this
plan, owning that she was tired,
and even expressing doubts of her
power of reaching the station on foot. l
CALAMITY offered my stick; but Miss
Spinks, whose temper had quite recovered
its balance, with timid glance and slight
hesitation, suggested
81 believe / could get on better if you
would not think me very bold, by taking
your arm"
| could not refuse, and in another mo-
ment was supporting the greater part of
her weight in the descent of the grassy
slope, an arrangement TO which, from the
complacent expression of her face, she APP
peared to find no drawbacks
But her happiness was destined to be
short-lived. A terrific below, which woke
the echoes of the wood, caused her sud-
denly to grip my arm with painful tight
ness, and me to face about apprehensively.
Fifty yards of, at the summit of the hill,
stood fine young bull. Miss Spinks ut
tered shrek of terror
"Oh, save me. save mep' she calculated;
"we shall be tossed we shall be killed n'
"Be quietw / shouted sternly; 'loose
my arm, and keep cool % Half-paralyzed
with fright, she obeyed.
"Now walk as fast as you can towards
the bridge. Don't run, or he will be after
you. / will keep him off as long as can.
When you get near the gate, run your
hardest. Now gow
Sand leave your" she shrieked "Leave
you to perish Oh, never, neverw
"You had better be sensible, and do as
tell you," | replied briefly. "Unless you
Wioi W PERISH, dS you Gall IL yourself, you
have no time to lose. Now start at once
he's coming"
The last words, though not strictly true,
had the desired effect. She looked unut-
terable things at me, and set off at rapid
hobble for the foot of the hill. l, mean
while, kept my face toward the bull, and
was retreating in good order, slipping of
my coat to accelerate my fight in case OF
attack.
The bull had watched our proceedings
without moving. Now he gave another
loud roar, charged few strides, aud again
halted. glanced over my shoulder and
saw that Miss Spings was making good
way, and gave her an encouraging shout,
while continuing my own retrograde
movement. Tie bull, taking my shout as
challenge, again uttered his war-cry,
tossed up his head and started in pursuit
'Run for your lifer' l yelled, suiting
my own action to my words, and finging
my coat wildly toward the pursuer. The
device was lucky one. He stopped a
moment to trample and toss the coat, and
allowed me to put few yards to my
credit, before he found that he was wasting
GOOD energy Then with a spurt to make