Waterbury evening Democrat., 1890-03-18

| cept any pay, except such as was forced uron them in the way Of presents to Mrs. Jones and the children. .HAPTER XIV. BUILDING THE DAM.
 The events recorded in our last chap. ter served, for time to arouse John Parsons from the unhealthy ment Il Cond ton into wh ch he was sinking; for so long as the lad's life was in dam ger every other thought gave way be- foro the one great fear of losing John ny, his baby, his only boy. But when the more imminent danger was past, tho fear of losing their home came aga n with rrdoubled force as he reaiiIei that hs Sild must always main a CT pple. dependent upon oth IS for every nuccs- sit and enjoyment in life.
 Ii was at thought of this, too, flat Mr.. Parsons broke down.
 Always heretofore she had been tho one 10 preserve a cheerful countenauce an to encourage her husband with cx- prcsSions of hope that the danger to their home might not be so great as he te@ eu. or if so there would come some way out of it.
 line law will compel the company to make good the damages if they occIr'' she would tell him; and even if we lose the land we will still have the stock and household goods and a nice little sum of money in the bank, and we arc not very old yet and will manage to live comfortable. 1 am sure; so don't worry, dear, it will all come out right in the end."
 But now!
 When she got down from the spring wagon, and Johnny was lifted out and carried in and laid upon the cot. from which, unaided, she knew he was never to rise again. q awful feeling of deso- lation came over her. Sle was as one bewilderod and lost in tie woods. The sky. tho hills, everything about her, took on the look they have when seen through piece of smoked or stained glass. The house itSef, nay. the very faces of her husband and children. seemed strange and unnatural and she moved from room to room as if in a dream, and when she spoke she heard her own voice as if it came from afar off, and was the voice of another.
 All day she was in th1s condition; but the second day she aroused horself by an effort of the will and resumed her usual round of duties, except that much of her time was of necessity gwen to the crippled boy, who lay in little cot which had been made for him and placed on wheels that he might bc moved about the house easily and out into the yard on pleasant days.
 Her husband nuw spent mast of his time in the house. The winter rains, which had set in some weeks previously, rendered outdoor work impossible for days at time. and if they had not done so John Parsons had lost all love for work on the ranch. Besides, Johnny Il, l.; JoI now,
 The little fellow had taken to his fathrr from before the me when he took his first baby steps. and had never been quite so well contcnted as when in his arms, or pcrched upon Ii hs shoulders, or following hiu about the 1 place; and now he could not bear to have him out of his sight during his waking moments.
 Often, too, in the night il. would waken and call in weak, piping voice. SO different from what it had been in health; and his father would arise and sit by his side for hours, moving his poor wasted body this way or that to give him a little more ease. or divert his mind by tales such as children love to hear, until he feli asleep again or forgot his pain.
 During the day he wheeled him about the house; or, if it was sunny. carried | him out in his arms to the poultry yard, ! that he might drop corn to his chickens and ducks; or to the pasture lot, that he might put out his hand and pet the colt that had been prom sod should be his when both were grown. upon which promise he had built a thousand castles in tic air, of encounters with grizzly bears and Indians, besides taking pre- miums for speed at all the fairs in the country:
 It seemed that the man had but one thought, one object in life now-that of caring for the crippled boy.
 Certain it is that he never laughed, except when once in great while something provoked the child to laugh ter; then the man always joined in. but at no other time did any member of the family see smile upon his face; ana he never went from home any more. not even to a neighbours,
 One day word came that there was to be meeting at the school-house to de- vise means to save the settlers from the overflow of the mines. and that his neighbors were anX ous for him to be present, for by this time the dan .cr was apparent to all. The floods caused by the rains had ovcrfiowcd the valley to a much greater extent than usual, al- though the amount of water which had fallen was no more than common at this season of the year.
 The washings from the mines had filled the creek bed, and at places had formed dams that checked the water
 and caused it to overflow fields never
 before submerged. and to set back upon
 little valleys which opened into the
 larger one through which the creek passed. Much damage to vineyards on the lower lands had already been done or must speedily occur, if the water was
 not drawn off,
 The water was thick with the clay ot the hills washed down by the mining companies, anal in pla"es where the dams had formed and for long dis 1 tances on ither Sido. sand anl gravel,