Feliciana sentinel., 1892-08-27

city-bred six-year-old child 60 half .
milo across the prairie by herself.
Why. she isn't tall enough to see over
the blue stem in the buffaloes' yallow.'
and she dashed away.
''At tho ranch only the frightened
housekeeper appeared. Nellie had not
come! Cap rushed in the house and
| grabbed y handful OF matches and .
blanket from . pile that was airing ON
the porch. This she dipped in tho
| watering trough as she flew by; then
| she jumped on Bret again, with tho
dripping blanket before her.
1.-The little mischief has gone down
in that ravine where we found the rab-
| bits nest, and il the wind changes ono
| atom to the northwest we are doomed,
| was her one thought as she dug her
heels in Brets steaming sides.
''Sure enough, as she neared the bank
Of the ravine, she saw q head of damp,
dark cnrls. and little girl came clam
bering and crying up the steep banks.
Cap slid to the ground and gathered the
frightened waif in her arms. 1t ws&
| too late to ride from the fire. With all
| the strength left her she struck Bret .
| stinging blow. Go home, If you can,
! she cried, and the snorting mustang
| hed before the flames, now hot upon
them.
cap struck matches and threw them
into the ravinc. The fire leaped up and
ran over the bank toward the creek.
Down over the hot embers, hands and
! feet blistering and the child in her arms
screaming in pain, Cap crept, dragging
the wet blanket with her. The oncom-
| ing flames swept to the edge of the ra-
vine, and hungrily licked UP the bits Of
! dry grass left. They singed Caps hair
| and nearly cooked her face. She could
! barely keep the frantic child under the
blanket, and could not save herself.
"The roar and crackle died away to-
! ward the creek. the air cooled little,
and then came Inconsistencies.
Just at dusk we found them. Tho
men had all taken the bridge road, two
miles around, but Bret and Cap had
gone right down over the rocky hill
| and across the stream. dangerous to
| ford at the proper place. doubly dan
gerous there; but they had dared and
won.
Henry and his men rode right into
the jaws of hell in the blue stem along
| the creek, and had to retreat till the
| the waters edge.
1--WE found Bret first. He had STUN.
bled in a dog hole, broken his leg and
| died in the fire. After search of four
! awful hours we found Cap. Through
the gathering gloom the crying of tho
child guided us to her. The wet
blanket had saved Nellie, but poor Cap
| WAS nearly dead. She had lost all her
yellow curls. Her face was blistered
| and her eyes swollen shut The waist
| to her new habit was irretrisva bly
| ruined and her skirts nearly burned OF.
"She was wandering . little in her
| mind, and when Henry gathered her
up in his arms she put her blistered lit
] tie hands about his neck and said. sor.
rowfully: IF I'd had a mother may BE-
I'd be different
THANK God, you are your dear. 1ov.
| ing little SELF Henry replied. with
grave tenderness, as he drew her dis
| figured face close to his loving heart
1T was a baptism of fire, but it
! burned lots Of dross out of several
natures, and blazed a safe and sure
| way for two of the best people 1 ever
knew to tread.
Yes" concluded Uncle Zarah. II
shall always insist that knowing how
to gallop' was in this instance very
desira BILE accomplishment. even if not
according to the English method. -
| Washington Star.