Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-02-12
%4en sound, an awful sound, smote upon

NNSAA - SOehds Oil hN tui SOuuu, UPON
their ears
lis de ebil sperits!'' yelled Juba
The sound came nearer. The trees began
TO wave and bend, then TO crash. as they
were uprooJed and hurled to the earth.
"A cyclone! a cyclope!'' screamed Silas.
and leaped into the pit, followed by the
others.
Mr.. Rodgers and his family were still
sauntering down the road, and Aunt Bina
was still declaring that she would never
run from the Lord, when that sound smote
upon their ears and an awful sight an.
peared to their eyes; for away across the
great cotton field could be seen a strange
looking Sight-a gigantic inverted cone.
whether of aggregated dust or descending
clouds the beholders had no time to decide
it approached with fearful velocity. and
with an awful sounu that terrified the
bo!desj. As II passed everyt ming fell prone
20 earth; trees, fences, houses disappeared.
II seemed death incaruate; the fell DESTROY.
ar visible,
My God! it's cycloner' cried Rodgers.
appalled,. Run for the gold diggers' pit!
Kun. Laura! Don't faintr us his wife
staggered. RIM, Bina, rum"
But Aunt Bina needed no urging. Throw
ing the fat baby to her shoulder she darted
ahead of Rogers and his wife, and few like
the wind.
Not fer myself, Laud," she screamed as
she ran, mot fer myself; | eut arunnin'
rum you, but It's diSher chile, Mars Sans
baby, Use 'sponsible fer!'
Indifferent to the crowd in the pit. Rod
gers hurled himself and his wife in. Aunt
Eina was already there; she had lit on the
back OF Silas. The next second, with its
fagr fnl w,
clone swept by. The three sweetgums
were uprooted and fell across the pit, shut
ting them securely iii.
In i've minutes the strange storm had
swept by and all was calm and still save
for Il shower of rain.
But in the improvised cyclone pit hub
buD relgned; groanS, cries, prayers rent the
ar III Mr.. Rodgers commanded silence
They were packed like sardiues in a box.
so that they could not move. 1t seemed
strange that they could make so much
noise.
After some consultation Israel, who was
tail and slim, mounted the back of Silas
who was very broad, and after many struc-
giles and failures managed to scramble out
between the branches of the trees Find
ing an AK hard by he chopped a hole among
the limbs, through which they all finally
succeeded in escaping after a rude ladder
had been improvised for them to ascend on.
While these preparations were going on
the Imprisoned crowd INDUCED in some
lively passages. Silas could not refrain
from twitting Aunt Bina by asking how
she came there in the pit
Il cum YER" said she boldly, .'kase
b!eegter fetch Marse Sans baby. You
think gwinter low Marse Sums baby tub
be knocked tub peces?'
Il thought you wuZ one dat wouldn't
run frum Gaud, an yer you cum pIud-de,
junk in disher hole Please Gaud, ef |
hadn't scrouged tuh one side you'd hah
knocked my head OIL"
You t'ink | gwinter tex de 'sponsibility
OBJ disher chile an low inyt' ing tuh hap
pen tub it? No." cried She hugging up
the fat baby, nanny loves her boyn'
Hits all berry well bout de chile" Dur-
sued Silas, but how, | wanter know, you
gwinter answer tub de Laud fer runnin'
frum him? He ent a-gwinter tex no sicher
scuse as dat. He'll say, You trihin' run
away niger
''SilaS, hold your tongue" said Mr..
Rodgers, coming to the old woman's res
cue. Il thank God Aunt Dina could run
like deerhound, or my child would have
been killed"
And the Lord will say, Well done,
good and faithful servantr" cried Mrs.
Rodgers, weeping.
''Dey, now! what You got tub say tub
cat?" cried Aunt Bina triumphantly
II shu, Miss Laura said Silas. Il berry
glad Aunt Bina sabe de chile; Gaud knows
I'd had resked my life fer it myself Aunt
Bina bein' in position oh 'sponsibility an
truss, does right tuh run; faint as "A nuss
Use discussin' her duty, but rs sinner
wedder she should run from Gaud."
BY this time between faith and duty
Aunt Bina was i'll quite maze, but MIR
Rodgers cut the matter short.
Nobody can run from God, for he Is
everywhere, so it's a waste of time to try and
hunt a place where he isn't, but it's per
fectly right to run from a cyclone like
fury"
When the prisoners were released they
saw that clean road 100 feet wide had
been cut through the cotton field and the
woods as far as the eye could reach by the
cyclone in its awful march.
My friends" said Mr. Rodgers, rs he
looked around, perhaps it was lucky
thing that you dug this pit. else we all
might have been swept into eternity. And
our lives are the treasures that we found in
that hole
That night Juba disappeared. BY times
Monday morning the hands were in the
field gathering in the remainder of the cot
ton crop.-Paul Grant in Atlanta Constitu-