Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1891-05-06

was empted by dozen good customers.
She then started toward her unforbid.
ding home on the mountains, and hard
ly had she left, before a middle-aged
man, who had Just come in by the
train, inquired the way to Henry Lis
tons house on Maryland Heights. He
was shown, and at once started over
the bridge. He was not far behind
the child when he reached the Mary.
land shore and turned into the road
that skirts the river bank and follows
hard by the foot of the mountain. But
little distance separated the two as
they left behind them the country store
at the end OF the bridge. Perhaps 200
yards had been walked when q
sharp report as if lightning had struck
near the town startled the people for
mile about. 1t was followed by q
heavy rumbling sound like the roar of
distant artillery. Hundreds of eyes
were rivited toward the mountain side,
down which was tumbling a great
rock, weighing many tons, followed by
shower of debris. Both the stranger
and the child were in the track of the
moving mass, and the people held their
breath with painful expectation that
both would be crushed to death. The
girl, frightened out of mind, stood
still and looked into the very jaws of
death, for she was directly in the track
of the largest stone. The man, seeing
her peril, rushed up, grabbed her, and
pushed close to the face of the over
hanging rock. He had just reached
3 h., IL coI
about him, and the largest boulder
struck the hard foundation above him
and his charge. II bounded clear over
the road and rolled fifty feet beyond
into the river. There was sigh of
relief and loud hurrah on the other
side of the Potomac from the throats
of hundred sturdy men when the
stranger led the girl into the road, both
Of them unhurt.
This incident filed the villagers with
much curiosity to know who this man
could be that, in looking for the home
of Henry Liston, had saved this strange
girls life. The mystery was soon
solved. Both man and child were back
into the town in less than an hour
from the time they had started over
the river.
When Horace French, for such was
the strangers name led the weeping
girl out of her peril, he asked:
"What is your name?"
"Helen Liston," said she between
her sobs.
"My God! you are my child!"
81 knew l didn't belong to them
people," she said, as the man took her
in his arms and kissed her again and
again. For few minutes she could
not realize what had or was happening.
But she finally grew to understand the
change that was at hand and wept for
joy. Father and daughter took the
train that night, and she left forever
the scenes of unhappy childhood and
the name of Helen Liston for the
North; with one of the citizens of the
town he left money for the old vaga-
bond on the mountain who had passed
for his child's father. He also dropped
the fact that the soldier from whose
loins she sprang had redeemed his
promise to come some day and take
her away.
Why she had been left to grow al
most to womanhood with these harsh,
worthless people will never be eN-
planned. 1t is just as well that it should
not be. Helen's lifelong wish to be
taken away from her strange life was
realized, and she is now .'the fine lady"
which the old hag swore she never
should be. The day she went over to
her better and higher hopes the huge
chin dropped off the great stone face
she had SO often looked upon in child
ish awe, and the father whom she did
not then know had saved her from be-
Jug crushed to death by it.
FRANK A BURR.