Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1889-08-23


denly attacked with a 6t of the st.
Vitus dance, until one by one they
found themselves in she same pre-
dicament. Then they all knew they
were tied, and their demeanOr be-
came suddenly frantic.
"But it was after Lunsford had
tied the feet of all fourteen of them
and fastened the ends of the cord
together. Then he threw eau
ton TO the winds and rose suddenly
in the middle of a circle with his
hands stretched out grasDing the
cord on opposite sides.
"Alas, for his temerity The old
gander who was free set up ter
rible 'cronk crOnk " The geese
answered in notes of despair, but
the old fellow seemed not to have
lost the courage of leadership, for
he lowered within safe distance,
and by a series of energetic cronks
inspired them with a Sudden and
desperate resolution.
Gall at once the gander, with au
unearthly cronk that sounded TO
LunsfOrd like the wall of the
damned, lifted his clumsy body and
led the flight. With a tremendous
Topping ald a succession OF
cronks that strangely resembled
the 'Heave, hO' of the negroes,
they rose from the water and sailed
away toward the sky, carrying
LunsfOrd with them. Before he
knew what was going 70 happen
he was fifty feet from the ground,
and when he realized his perilous
position he was too high to drop.
He was IN for a fight. lie must
migrate whether or no, and up
under the edges OF the clouds, as
the cool winds of the upper air
famed the perspiration from his
brow, he had time TO think over
the situation. Where would he
land, and how far from home :
Would these fool birds drop him in
the ocean or gulf? In the meantime
his position was exceedingly irk-
some. He had managed to draw
the two sides Of the circle together
so that he was virtually standing
in the stirrups Of his many winged
steed, but he was standing on his
hands and his arms began to tire.
The geese on his right and left
were so close that their wings rub
bed against his bare sides and
chafed them. They tickIed his ribs,
and but for the peril aud and pain
Of the situation he would have
been forced into involuntary laugh
ter.
He was many times reminded Of
the ludicrous situation, and repeat
edly asked himself whether he was
not the biggest goose in the lot.
"All thought OF mirth soon lett
him. The situation had changed
from discomfort to extreme peril.
The muscles Of his arms could not
stand it much longer. \ cold
sweat gathered on his brow, and
he began to nerve himself for the
worst. lie was resolved to face
death like a brave man, and he
was willing to go, but to die at the
hands of lot of geese was a dis.
grace to which his lofty spirit
would not be recOnciled.
"To the bitterness of this dis.
grace and the agony of leaving all
that was dear in life, a new and
unspeakable horror was nov add
ed. lie was passing over a town
and he could see the people gather
IN clusters along the streets and
twist their necks to look up in tue
sky. 1t was large town aud the
suburbs stretched away for nearly
q mlle. To his uDutteIable horror
he rememb bered that lie had left
his clothes on the bank of the
creek. Even if he had them it
would have been Impossible to put
them ON. This new fanged vehicle
of his had no facilities for making
toilettes and he had to remain az
nature formed him, without any Of
the superhuities Of fashion. Not
even fg leaf encumbered his per
son. II was an admirable flying
costume, but was not appropriate
for public performance. lie was
just congTatuiating himself that he
was too far above those curious
eyes for them to discover his cos
tune when he saw that one group
held a long field glass. He bent
his agonlzed face once more rigidly
to the front. AT least they would
not recognize him.
"Just at this time he noticed
that the occasional cronks began
to grow ieebler, and that the geese
appeared 10 LABOR IN their hight
They were becoming tired, and
would inevitably sink under his
weight very soon. Then he prayed
that the wings of the geese might
be strengthened for season. lie
was willing even, like Jonah, to be
cast into the sea ; anything, rather
than land in that town. Then
he clucked encouragingly to his
fourteen winged steeds and gently
jerked the cord as If he were jerk.
lug the reiDs of his horse, but still
they labored. The old gander's