The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1889-03-06

recognizing him for whom she waited,
she sank back upon the ground with a
deep sigh. They tried to take her away,
and she uttered such piercing cries that
they considered it best to leave her
there. They thought that she aust
soon yield to fatigue,
Whence comes to the weak and feeble
such strength in the great crises in lifel
Ask God; it is His secret.
The third day the child was still at
the shaft.
81 must put an end to this" said the
engineer, approaching her. "Come, my
little one, be reasonablel"
'Papa seek for papa!"
''Alas he is dead"
sNo.n
She uttered this tno' with such
energy that the engineer was struck by
1t.
"Why do you say no." he asked.
Gle would have told me-"
"Poor little one" murmured the
engineer.
And he made sign to the men to take
her away. But she clung desperately to
him, crying:
"Papa is not dead. want to go 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 repeat
ing:
81 want to go down 1 will find him |"
He was a tender-hearted man, that
engineer, and he took pity on her.
after all" he said to himself, ''that
will, perhaps, be the best thing. When
she has seen with her own eyes, she will
believe. This excitement, if it lasts
much longer, will kill her."
And, taking her in his arms, he bore
her to the car and gave the signal to de-
scend.
She shuddered when she felt beneath
her the yawning pit, from which arose a
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 dis
engaged herself, sprang to the ground
and rushed forward, calling:
Papa. papa"
The engineer, who could hardly keep
up with her, was tired of explaining to
her twenty times what he had already
explained-how the explosion had oc .
Cured and what they had done 10 find
the victims, ard the child kept qucs-
tioning him, and repeated:
Gle 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 reap
peared at the shaft she should be pre-
vented from going into the mine.
All his measures had been carefully
taken, and the next day, no longer think
ing of her, he was inspecting one of the
galleries, when he felt himself seized by
the arm of his 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
had thus descended into the mine
She told all this to the engineer and
obtained his pardon. Five minutes later
she again began her search, still full of
undiminished faith. The miners followed
her with plying eyes, Struggling their
shoulders. saying:
"Poor little PapaW
Little Papa kept on seeking with una
bated courage. Suddenly they saw her
running toward them, pale and excited
down there" she gasped. "Down
there Papa~
what Down therep" said the
miner.
'His blouse"
"Bah Where."
"Down therem
In a moment every one had heard the
news. and the mine was in q tumult.
The child declared that she had seen II
piece of blue cloth in the hole. which she
could not raise because it was held down
by an enormous block of coal.
"Whereln they asked her again.
She turned, followed by the crowd of
miners. Then she stopped and hesi-
tated.
She could not find the spot. All the
blocks Of coal resembled each other; all
the cavities were alike, all the galleries
were the same. And yet she was sure
she had seen that piece of blue cloth.
Where the blouse was, the man must be,
living, no doubt, and that man was her
father, and she could not find him
One by one, tired of the useless search.
]
by grief, the men withdrew and returned
TO their work. But they had hardly
taken up their pickaxes, when a loud
cry recalled them to the child.
'I have found it l have found itm
They pushed her aside and looked.
Yes, it was piece of blue flannel It
was a blouse There was a man there I
They set to work with will, and in
a twinkling of an eye the wall was beaten
down, aud in deep excavation they saw
a man extended it was Michel Pierrou.
He had been there three days and four
nights
Loud cries arose ON all sides, and,
ringing loud above the Others. a cry
escaped from the lips of a child She
threw herself upon the body and
clasped it in her arms, half mad, weep
ing and crying;
"Fapai papa"
He was nearly dead. poor Michel
Exhausted by lack Of air aud nourish-
ment he recovered consciousness only