The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1893-12-13


yfigher than the creek bed and
Zhed its shore just in time, for
there was a dirty scum, pres
the torrent, kissing over the
! hot sand.
lem pulled me up into the big tree,
"a just as he did so a wave, all OF ten
Eet high; leaped upon us. 1t reared
3ystraight up into the air, hurting tim
! Der dead cows, "a pail from some
rancher's door, a woman's hat and a
J chair. / thought, as these things
s. wbirled by, had anyone else been sur
4 prised, too, and would we go floating
CHASTITY gayety down that black
d river? Close behind this ave came
u second one, and the two chased each
other in diabolical merriment they
! churned up the sand, dug great black
shollows between each other and went
tumbling along, followed by a foam
ing stretch of water, too swift for waves
3 in its pell-mell haste.
4 AS the water rose Glenn dragged me
. further up the tree, both OF us wet and
j shivering.
Around us as far as we could see was
u wide world of dark waves, boiling,
rolling, hurrying on. There was a
strange fascination in it, too. l knew
no swimmer could breast thai awful
current: that the teacherous sand
would drag him down. like a giant
armed OltOpus, yet there was such q
swift motion of water, such u rolicking,
dancing glee, such "a whirling of air
and shore, that one wanted to join the
procession and hurry along, too.
The waves were full of rotten tree
trunks and debris of u wooked hillside,
showing the clouds had come down
some mountain side some miles away,
! and with the trees were homely house
hold utensils and furniture, a calf and q
washtub that sailed jovially along till
it struck Il timber and succumbed. |
had seen II wagon disappear on the
crest OF the first wave, but [ was sure
the horses were safe. Then [ began
to think of ourselves. The tree was
| swayipg p~erilously, the water seething
| madiy about its roots.
is it still rising" [ said to Glenn,
4 who answered Yes" quietly holding
| me tight all the while.
Don't let me go !" I cried ~piteously,
at least luC us die together" / be-
came var that he held me very
t close and was brushing the wet hair
+ of my face.
Y 81 wish l had my coat" he said
3 yours is SO thin. How you tremble /!
Do l hold you too tight? Is this the
end of your ~martyrdom, 1 wonder! Poor
}, Molly your married life has been one
Q long torture
lit would not have beer if you had
d loved me-" | said, and then / told him
of all my troubles that | had boarded
up and gloated over as u miser does
his gold. | told him of the saddle he
II promised, the nan other little acts of
o. neglect, of things that 60 to make up
the sum of Il woman's happiness; his
# Indifference to baby's sickness and my
" own woes. 81 had no friend" | STAN
= mered, "no II to bid mo have hope
d and take up heart again. Oh, Glen,
there are more tragedies in the home
ly everyday life than will ever be
d written in books OF understood by
o. men !"
% | saw his face droop, his mouth
# culver, and then | felt u sob rise in his
,r breast. Glen crying-the great
10 strong man! | could not bear that
IL Forgive me, | was wrong" said
ID 81 fancied all this. You did not near
ID it," But he only muttered, "Blind
NJ Blind !"
IN Still the flood went on still the dark
waters encompasscd us about, till
thought. Verify, the doodgatcs 0
,n tree rocked and writhed in the torrent
IN Glenn told me simply and honestly
* that he had not understood.
Il. He thought | was cOntented, and h,
-. was not used to the little caresses tina
se como natural to other men he had n
H. mother or sister-dear, quiet old Glen
ID to teach him. But he was bittcrl,
in sorry, and he thought from my raving
q after baby died, that | hated him an,
to blamed him for the child's death. |
was so good to hear him reproacl
of himself and to have him kiss me i
n. that passionate grief, that [ was in
Il. different to the nood or the future.
cl For a moment we were silent, an,
looking into his dean face, | mercifull
Id did not see the coming wave, but
er heard the founder roar echoing tn
far-away thunder peal and comini
with the crash Of a gale in q pin
", forest, or the breaking of the surf on
he rocky coast. There was one swif
lk moment of agonized expectation whe
1T washed over use. bending the tree t
mn its level, but it went on and the ire
did not follow.
nc remember Glen kissed me and sal
err he thought the water was going dow
us but somehow | did not heed. / thin
,f | tainted. When | did begin to realiz
as again, the flood was quite low, gone q
NY swiftly as it came. Ouly a mudd
he brook creeping down the sandy cree
cr bed where II might river had been
81, the sun had come ont bright and war;
NO and the storm was past.
ed What havoc and desolation tn
an storm caused was recorded in all tn
he papers, but our deaths were not anon
&c the disasters. | fancied that grea
he volume of water roaring on to TIN
lie Platte River, swelling its tide t
wash the shores OF sandy plains an
he fertile meadow lands far to the turbr
O, lent Missouri, ending at last in a shir
ut ing blue sea, the great Gulf of Mexico
r. SHALL carry You, little thin thing?
said Glenn.
nv You might slip" | said, so hand
finland, / W children, we crosse
of the slippery land to the ranch tw
n miles away. On the hill by the cree
| saw or wagon bottom up, and by tin
he ranch we found our horses feedin,
ed quietly. Lucky, Clem's matches i
lis the silver case | had given him lon,
in before. we were married-wcre dry
~ and we built up Il fire in the fireplac
in the log cabin. When | stood Their
to dry my clothes took my treasure
ont OF my wet pocket and put them b.
,e the fire. Glenn came in with som
ho wood and saw them. He stoope,
nd down on n knee and took them in hi
~ hand.
m Il was running away when I sa,
NV you," | said, determined to keep n
more secrets from him.