The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1892-01-08
RISING SUN, COUNTY, MD,

sLINwooD, Lincoln, Eng. April IA, 49,.
ITO Mr.. frank Howard British legation,
Rome, Italy.
Come to me. Allis we'll. AGNES"
And now, leaving Mr.. Jack Digby to
ponder over it in vain, we must go back
in our story and explain the how and
wherefore of this wondrous telegram.
The reader will remember that Mr..
Graydon's cottage has been described
as standing on the bank of the Humber,
some distance down stream from Lin
wood hall.
The river, or estuary rather. is at
this place fully two miles wide at food
tide. but no more than one mile at low
ebb. Exactly in the center of the
stream, when the channel is full, and
therefore about mile from either
shore, there is a little mound of rock
which rises above the general level Of
the bottom, and yet at spring tide is
submerged to q depth of seven or more
feet. Between this rocky islet, or
mound, and the Linwood shore there
is, when the tide is ont, no river at all,
the bottom here being much higher
than that of the true river beyond the
islet. Consequently at such times this
tide channel is mere waste of sand,
and the young people of the neighbor-
hood were i'll the habit of walking
across it to the rock, where they were
sure to find, retained in its frmness,
numbers of curious shells and marine
plants, ever being brought in by} the
sea.
One Saturday, on which day, as she
sometimes laughingly phrased it,
Agnes did not keep school" she was
sitting in the April sunshine on the por-
tico of her fathers house, her hands
busy with some light work and her
thoughts far away with certain wan
derer beneath italian skies, when, hap
pening to glance across the now empty
bed of the river, she saw two children
whether boys or girls, she could not at
that distance tell just leaving the rock
and, apparently, running towards her.
At the next instant she heard, to her
horror, the well-lxnown loar of the in
coming spring tide, and ut once realized
the awful fact that it must overwhelm
the little fugitives long before they
could reach the shore; for, even now,
81 could see the foam-covered edge of
it's fast-advancing waves MT half a
mile below. The distance was too
great to signal the children intelligent
", much less to call to them, and Agnes
could only watch their progress in an
agony of dread. But now they, too,
caught sight of the rushing waters, and,
after hesitating moment, turned and
ran back to the mound, where they
would be safe for, possibly, twenty min
utes. On this day Mr.. Graydon had
gone TO the city of Hull, and there was
not living soul about the place, ex-,
cept little maid-servant and Agnes
herself, nor was help of any kind near
enough at hand to be of use in this
pressing emergency.
Fortunately, however, Agnes Gray
don was no millz-and-water miss. From
earliest childhood she had been care
fully trained in out-of-door exercises,
and was as much at home on the water
as in her saddle, and now she deter
mined to save the i1nperiled children
if it lay within human power.
Her own light, servicGable sl1iff was
in the boat house at the foot of the
bank; and, catching up couple of
wooden shawls, she ran down, seated
herself in it and waited for the, now,
too tardy tide to set it afioat. A
moments consideration will enable the
reader to understand the fearful nature
and imminence of the danger.
Agnes must, perforce, remain help
less and inactive until the tide should
cover the whole eXpanse between the
bank and the island with depth of
water everywhere sufficient to carry her
boat. She would then have to row
full mile; and the question was
whether she could make the distance be-
fore the rising flood should inundate
the rocks deeply enough to sweep the
children away?
The problem would soon be solved
for now the first curling wavelets
hissed along the sand under the boats
bottom and IN few moments the light
craft was free, then, in brief space,
there was room for the oars to dip, and
the 1.-THE young rover shot away
away! away! in the solitary race, life
the prize, and the forfeit, death! The
curved spruce blades flashed and
quivered in her strong little hands, and
scattered sparkling drops of spray. as
with rapid, telling strokes she sent the
beautifully modelled skiff along its
watery course.
With uncovered head-for she had
never once thought of her hat-and her
lovely unbound hair falling in bright
cloud over her shoulders, she bent to
her work with the strength and skill
born of long experience; and, as she
now and again looked around, tried to
believe that she should bc In time, al
though. she trembled to think how
frightfully great was the risk of failure.
The matter might have been a compar-
atively easy one had the course been
over slack water, but now the surging
tide was setting strongly up stream,
producing a heavy current, and Agnes
was Obliged to pull almost eatirely
with her left oar in oFler to avaid be-
ing carried far above the goal, Little
more than one-half the distance was
covered when she saw. to her dismay,
that only the highest point of the rock
was visible!
In another minute, this, too, disap-
peared, and the girls-as she now knew
them to be-clinging fast to each other,
stood, apparently, on the surface of the
water. II was barely possible that they
might so stand until it should reach
their waists. If not, they were lost be-
yond hope. But now the brave young