Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1890-03-13
PUBLISHED AT LANCASTER WISCONSIN, IS 1890

hair, but she did not seem To understand
what 1t was she said. On the other
hand, she could. and did, talk 10 the
balloons, that seemed TO obey her Inn
pltcitly. Moreover, she would not allow
them to touch either Stella or the child
in her arms. Once one of them
tried TO do so, and she seized dead
stick and struck 1t so heavily on the
head that IL fell senseless. Thrice
Stella made An attempt TO escape, for
sometimes even Hendrika's giant
strength waned and she had to set them
them, and it was in these struggles that
.Stella's clothes were so torn. At length
before daylight they reached the Sltff,
and with the first break of light the as
cent began. Hendrikadragge them up
the first stages, but when they came to
the precipitous place she tied the strips
Of hide, of which she had a supply wound
round her waist, beneath Stella's arms.
Steep as the place was, the balloons as
cended 1t easily enough, springing from
q knob of rock to the trunk of the tree
that grew on the edge of the crevasse.
Hendrika followed them, holding the
end of the hide in her teeth, one of the
balloons hanging down from the tree to
assist her ascent. 1t was while she was
ascending that Stella bethought her of
letting fall her handkerchief in the
faint hope that some searcher might see
it.
BY this time Hendrika was on the
tree, and granting out orders to the
balloons which clustered about Stella
below. Suddenly these seized her and
little Tota, who was in her arms, and
lifted her from the ground. Then Hen
drika above, aided by other balloons, put
out all her great strength and pulled the
two of them up the rock. Twice Stella
swung heavily against the Cliff. After
the second blow she felt her senses GO
ing, and was consumed with terror lest
she should drop Tota. But she man
aged to cling to her, and together they
reached the cliff.
From that time" Stella went on, 81
remember no more until awoke to find
myself in gloomy cave resting on a
bed of skins, My legs were bound, and
/ Hendrika sat near me watching me,
while round the edge of the cave peered
the heads of those horrible balloons.
Tota was still in my arms and half dead
/ from terror; her means were pitiful to
hear. | spoke TO Hendrika, imploring
her to release us; but either she had lost
all understanding of human speech, OF
she pretended to have done so. All she
would do was to caress me, and even
kiss my hands and dress with extrava
CANT signs Of affection. As she did sc
Tota shrunk away closer to me. This
Hendrika saw and glared so savsgely a.
the child that l feared lest she wa:
going to kill her. ! diverted her atten
ton by making signs that | wanted
water, and this she gave me in wooden
bowl. As you saw, the cave was evi
IDENTIFY Hendrikas dwellingrplace
There are stores of fruit in il and some
strips of dried flesh. She gave me some
of the fruit and Tota a little, and made
Tota eat some. You CAN never know
what went through, Allan. saw now
that Hendrika was quito mad, and but
little removed from the brutes to whicl
she is akin, and over which she ha,
such unholy power. The only trace o
humanity left about her was her affection
for me- Evidently her idea was to keeI
mo here with her, to keepm away from
you, and to carry out this idea she wa: