The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1892-06-17


haven't YEP He is cute OMEN no mis-
take. Noticed him, hev ye? Yesl didn't
know Dan was a married manP No
more did | m more is he. -------.
He's been an old bach so long now l
reckon on he couldn't muster up spunk
to pop the question if he ever got the
chance.
Comes second nature to Dan to be a
bashful critter, so he says, m suppose
he ought to know if airy one does. No,
Dan amt married m never will be, but
no amount of chaffin' m banterin' kin
ruffle him up about his bringin' up that
there little kid O. his'n. Kind o. seems
matched that Dan should have the young
OMEN, be a-bringin' of it up, though I
amt no flesh m blood relation to him.
Love him? Man alivel did you love
your mar when you was child, m do
you love your little kid now, bein' so
we've got one to love? Eff you don't
know what love is, m most men o. your
age do-mean the real, downright, old
fashioned article-ye know somethin'
about how Dan Fletcher loves that there
little kid.
There amt nothin' the man wouldn't
do fer him-nothin' that human bein's
have it in their power to don betwixt
you'n' me m the dam there, it's my
opinion as how he's spilin' of the boy
thinkin' so much of him. No, that's to
strong! Ye can't spile the little chap,
there's too much grit in him, too much
good, honest metal in him to low chip
pin m tamperin' with.
There amt no danger o. little Nance
getting spilled. Nance is a queer name
fer a boy-ruther uncommon, It any
IN. hut nan ho1 n cNuaathnn rt
once, years m years ago, name o. Nance
Nance Chase 1 guess it was, m he did
lot nightly on the gal, but she played
him scaly trick m got married to a
good lookin' do-nothin' man m left old
Dan in the lurch.
So Dan, he up m names the little
chap Nance" in honor o. her-her as
played, sech shabby trick; he's that
forgiving natur' natchelly.
Wal, I'm comm to my story pretty
soon-doos take me some some time to
p'ramurlate round fore l get RELY
started.
Mebby you rec'lec the big flood two
years ago this month-time the upper
dam busted m everything broke loose
m come a-tearing down here. We was
in this here lumber camp a-haulin' out
lumber for Gordon's sawmill. There
was big gang of us--rough, don't care
kind O. fellers, like what's alters in the
lumberin' business, We know; not so
awful bad, but-well, there want none
of us studying fer the ministry, sures
We live An here we lived, m here we
live yet-mcst of us-some's gone-Bill
Hicks m Josh Jones was drowned the
time O. the flood, m Sim Peters he
slipped his moorin's m went off N got
married, which some thinks as how Bill S
and Joshs fate amt no worse.
Howsumever, ainr goin' to say as to
that But, great guns! how I do cir
cumnavigate around! Wal, the night o.
the flood was a time scarey 'nough to
make a feller's hair STAN up purity
straight, tell you! Great jams O. logs
came a-tearin' along down river, grindin'
m crashin' 'gainst one mother like all
possessed. The current o. the river
swept t'other way from here, m want
in no great danger to speak of, but Bill
m Josh was further down river m was
washed away. .|.
Here we stood on this very identical
bank m watched that roarin' rnshin'
flood. Once and while a house would
come reeling down like drunken crit
ter, m the water was full o. floatin'
fences n old sheds N what not. But
all ter once Dan Fletcher he hollered
ont AZ tvI Idise tile dead, n pointed 10
little homemade cradle spinnin' along
on the water.
1t was daylight 'nough fer us to see
that there was little kid in it, m l tell
yet was 'nough to make Teller sick to
his stummick ter look at such sight.
But there didn't airy one of us stir
'cept Dan. Dan stirred now l tell ye!
There wasn't no sense in him-only hui
man natur' m human love m human
pity-more'n there was in the hull gang
of us other fellers.
I'm a-goin' fer to try to save the little
kid" Dan yelled-he had to yell, the
water made such roar-"mebby won't
make it, boys" says he, ''but L m a-goin'
to try, m eff don't come back no more,
Hello!" says he, m he was off along the
bank runnin' m watchin' that there
tossing cradle.
Wal, don't know just how long it
took, or just how he done it-none Of us
ever debut we know that Dan resked
his life to get clutch on that cradle, an
he got it, m come a-puffin' up awhile
after, white as sheet, with the child in
his arms an staggered into the shanty
with his burden. Then he dropped in a
dead faint an we he'd hard 'nough work
to bring him to, can tell vel That
faintin' showed what mighty strain he
had gone through, for Dan was as stout
as an OK an never done such womanish
thing as to faint away.
The little kid was good lookin' one,
with big black eyes and the purtiest
smile l ever see. He seemed to take to
Dan natchelly, m Dan he never thought
o. nothin' else but keeping the child.
Us fellers tried to chaff him a little at
first, but Dan he took it all so good-na-
tured there want no fun in it m we
quit.
The little Teller was bout two years
old, as cunnin' little chap as ever
see. Dan took all the care of him, slep'
with him nights m cooked up stuff fer
him to eat, N true's We live, was jest as
handy a-tendin' of him as eff hid a'ben a
married man with have dozen young
ones m shif'less wife,
All the rest of us fellers liked the lit
tie rat fust rate m was allus ready to
tend him, but there wasn't often a
chance, Dan he watched him so clost.
Course we didn't know what the little
kids name was, so we called him most
anything-Sonny, m Bub, m Kiddy-
but Dan he called him Nance.
''Laff, eff you want to, boys" he says,
says he, Nance it is, m Nance it shall
be! the little bugger's mine,-leastway
till some one turns up has got a better
right to him.
One night, about three weeks after the