Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1889-12-26

rope has slipped again. Two more-one
more. The slender iron beam begins to
bend.
In an agony of terror Jacks father
yells to his son: clay hold of the crosse
boy-nopf and at the same instant Jack
looks up and realizes his position. One
glance only, for the moment has come
With vigorous spring he claspss the
iron standard of the cross, and as he
leaps to grasp it the rope slips of its
support and falls Gathering on the roof
far befow-Jack is clinging there, sus-
pended on the weathercockl
One dreadful groan from q hundsed
aching hearts, and then q silence fell on
us Like the Egyptian darkness silence
that might be felt.
Jack realized his position now. He
was there, hundred feet above the
solid ground, and no power on earth
could bring him aid. Bitterly he began
to repent his foolhardy attempt, and for
moment the terror of his position al
most unnerved his arm.
For the present he was safe. if he
could only hold on, and by winding legs
as we'll as arms around the strong up
right rod he relieved the straaR : kstle-
But how could he ever get down? Sup
pose his nerve should fail him? One mo-
ment of giddiness, and all must be over.
So we stood and watched, sick with the
fearful suspense, the women weeping
and the men staring, with. clenched and
impotent hands. Not one of them could
| help him, and almost frantic were the
prayers that rose now from one and now
from another that God would send some
] -
come, and half an hour passed and Jack
sat there clinging for dear life.
But stay! What is he doing now? The
wind had become too strong for us or
him to hear a word of the many mes
sages we tried to shout; we could only
watch; but certainly Jack was doing
something
With the utmost care he released one
hand and grasped, first of all, the oil
can at his waist This he carefully
emptied on the pivot of the weather
cock. Then an idea seemed to strike
him. Thrusting his hand into his
pocket he drew out his large, strong
knife and began to scrape away at the
stone.
All, that might do it! The snow, the
frost and the thaw had eaten away the
strong cement that bound the stones to-
gether, and even forced more than one
gap between them.
| In oiling the weathercock Jack had
actually stirred one of the stones from
its place, and the thought cane to him
at once: Couldn't knock off two or
/ three and get down inside the spire?'
1t was no sooner thought than at
tempted, for there was no time to lose;
strength might fail at any moment.
Soon the pallid watchers understood
as they saw the first small stone come
crashing down. Then you should have
heard the shout we gave! There was
hope still left. And yet what slender
hope! 1t was barely possible that one
tired boy should have sufficient strength
| to knock off SO much of the strong mason
| ry as needs must be removed; and, more
| over, if he should take away the stone
work would not the weathercock and
| cross and all come tum bling down?
Yet he must go on; it is the only
chance; and one by one his bleeding fin
gers detach the heavy stones from their
place. By and by there is a little
platform cleared on the top, and on that
he kneels, still grubbing away the
mortar with his knife.
Suddenly he stops, and with gesture
of despair strikes his forehead with his
hand. What is it? Some new obstacle?
| No; see, every thing depended on his
knife, and he has dropped it.
Down, down. glittering in the sum
light, it falls. Oh, is there no help
now? Such fearful death to die, to
fall a hundred feet, dead, at his
mothers feetl Can nothing save the
poor boy? See, now the ironwork is
surely falling over!
Jack crouches on the tiny platform,
and dares not hold any longer to the up
right rod lest he, too, should be
dragged down; and yet he might as well
go then as any other time-fall he
| must.
Back and forward in the breeze the
| weathercock rocks, looser and looses
every moment-for Jack has knocked
away its chief support, and now the
whole thing will go and leave him
shuddering on the bare summit
There was not long to wait. Men
climbed up inside the spire to the high
est point they could reach, but nothing
could be done; we could only look on at
the last horrible scene, and it speedily
came. With a loud crack. the weather
| cock rolled right over amid a cloud of
| QuSt, duQ Wu0u Lue QuSI 8Ndl
Jack was gone.
Gone! but where? We had not seen
him fall, as we must have done. No;
but when there seemed no hope the way
of escape was opened The weathercoclx
in its fall had done what poor Jack had
tried to dot had carried away a great
piece of the solid masonry of the steeple:
and even as Jack fell fainting from his
fearful perch loving arms within had
caught the boy, and his father was ten
derly carrying him down in his arms
1 can not tell you all that happened
| afterward. I only know that Jack was
taken home and lay for weeks in the de-
lirium of brain fever, and the first words
he said to me when / saw him again
| were:
sYou see, Joe. 1 oiled the weather
cock, but it cost me pretty dear."-R- E.
Johnston, in Golden Days.
| Time Would Tell.
Patient-Great Heavens, young man,
that's pretty strong medicine.
1