Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1889-01-21


For forty hours had they not exhaust
ed every means? There was, doubt
less, something strange in this disap
pearance. Living or dead, Niche
ought to have been found, and they
had not found him.
The chief engineer had himself di
rected the search, but all in vain. II
the opinion of all nothing could be
done, and it was possible that, by the
force of the explosion, the unfortu.
nate man had been buried by the fall
ing debris, but 1t was impossible tc
tell how or where.
For forty-eight hours little Miss
Papa waited anxiously, but without
manifesting the slightest uneasiness.
At every human form that 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 tried
to take her away, and she uttered
such piercing cries that they consid-
cred it best to leave her there. They
thought that she must soon yield to
fatigue.
Whence comes to the weak and
feeble such strength in the great cri-
ses of life Ask God; it is his Sc
cret.
The third day the child was still at
the shaft.
81 must put an end to this said
the chief engineer, approaching her,
"Come my little one, be reasonable.
"Papa! seek for papar'
''Alas ! he is dead
Ono
She uttered this emo with such
energy that the engineer was struck
by it.
"Why do you say no?'' he asked.
stHe would have told me-
s'Poor little one - murmured the
engineer.
And he made sign to the men to
take her away. But she chung despe-
rately to him, crying;
'Papa is not dead. I want to 60
down. l will find him."
They bore her away, and left her
with the school teacher. An hour
later she was back at the shaft, and
clinging to the engineers knees, she
kept repeating:
81 want to go down. l will find
himr'
He was tender-hearted man, that
engineer, and he took pity on her.
CATER ALL" he said to himself,
''that will, perhaps, be the best thing.
When she has seen with her own
eyes, she will believe. This excite
ment, if it lasts much longer, will kill
her,
And, taking her in his arms, he
bore her to the car, and gave the sig
nal to descend.
She shuddered when she felt be-
meath her that yawning pit, from
which arose foul air, which almost
suffocated her. The engineer felt her
little arms enclose his neck, and her
curly head was pressed against his
own.
When they reached the bottom, she
disengaged herself, sprang to the
ground, and rushed straight forward,
calling:
Papa! papa p
The engineer, who could hardly
keep up with her, was tired of ex-
plaing to her twenty times what he
had already explained, how the ex
plosion had taken place, where it had
occurred, and what they had done to
find the victims, and the child kept
questioning him, and repeated:
'sHe is living! Seek for him -
She would have remained down
there in the mine three days, as she
had already done at the surface, if
they had not taken her by force and
carried her up.
The engineer gave orders that she
should be taken back to the school
teacher, and also orders that if she
| reappeared at the shaft she should be
prevented from going into the mine.
All his measures had been careful
ly taken, and the next day, no long
er thinking of her, he was inspecting
one of the galleries when he felt him
self seized by the arm Of the coat.
1t was Miss Papa.
She had escaped from the school a
second time. Repulsed at the shaft,
she had slipped into an empty coal
car and thus descended to the mine.
She told all this to the engineer
and obtained his pardon. Five min
utes later she again began her search,
still full of undiminished faith. The
miners followed her with pitying
eyes, struggling their shoulders, say
ing:
''Poor little papa!''
Little papa kept on seeking with
unabated courage. Suddenly they
saw her running toward them pale
| and excited.
''Dwn there!'' she gasped. ''Down
there Papa p
"What? Down there p said min
er.
Ellis blouse -
.sBah Where -
"DoWn there"
In a moment every one had heard
the news and the mine was in tu-
multi. The child declared that she