Waterbury evening Democrat., 1893-09-27
A HERO.

At about o'clock on raw, blustery March morning the inhabitants of the little village of Shickshinly on tine up per Susquchanua were reused from slorp by hoarsc ehuuts and by the vio- leGt ringing of tGe church hrll. Men and lcys dressed ill haste, and crowd .oon Cungrr,Ht,d on the rivvv shore
 There WI. guol cause ful rNcitrmvnt Tho ice. which seemed mIarativgly firm on the previous evening, hal broken during the night The yellow tide. al- ready swollen To many feet uuovo its normal level, Was almost hidden by the heaviuE. grinding cAl,rs. And worst Cf all this unexpected event had placed ar unknown human being in peril. From | SCruO island came hoarSc shouts for help and at intervals the discharge of a gun. The red flashes could be plainly seen.
 Scrub island lay i'll midchauucl di- rectly opposite the village. It was hard ly more than u bar, for nothing grew upon it but bushes. Near the lower end was a small cabin. which some of the village boys built for amusement out of driftwood. Here the castawav had prob ably taken refuge. and his situation was extremely critical. In a short time the 1 cabin would surely he carried off bv tho rising flood and ice.
 As the crowd were speculaunc on the unknown ones identity and discussing the hopclcssrcss of rescue, Squire Tyson. tho most wcalJhy and influential man of tho village. came running down tho shore.
 Jasper i, OF the island. he cried, wringing his hands i'll agony He went over this afternoon to shoot ducks and has not rcturrcl homo. He must have fallen asleep ill tho cabin. and inc ice has carried away his boat. Will no one sayo my poor boy? Are you ell cowarls:'
 The unhappy man grasued a boat that lay bottom ur cn tho snul ; and tried to drag it into tho wutsr.
 Half q dozen men caught and held him.
 You will only throw your life away" they cried. No boat could move a dozen yards in that ice. We could save your boy if there was any chance at all. "
 The squire suddenly realized that this wastrue. He estood gazing mutely toward the island, his face rigid with despair A groan of pity burst from the crowd as another gunshot was heard, followed by hoarse appeals for help. The tide rose higher and higher but now clear spots were visible here and there, and all at once the river seemed to become free of ice.
 The meaning of this was plain. The ice had formed gorge somewhere up stream. Here seemed n chance of res cue, but no one was willing to take ad- vantage of it. The crowd knew by past experience that the gorge would likely break in n moment or two, and then the freed ice would sweep everything before 1t like an avalanche. In vain the squire appealed to them. In vain the poor boy on the island cried for help. Not a man would risk what seemed certain death.
 Suddenly a stoutly built lad of Is sep arated from the throng. and running up the shore a few yards he hauled light skiff into the water. He seized the oars that lay in the bottom and pulled sturdi- ly into the swirhng current, heading in diagonal course up stream.
 A simultaneous cry of amazement burst from the crowd. Some cheered the daring lad; others warned him back.
 God bless bimf' cried the squire, bursting into tears.
 Indeed, Curt Webb was the last one any person would have believed capable of such brave deed. He was an or phnn and worked hard for a livelihood in a grocery store. The village boys, headed by Jasper Tyson, despised and hated him because he had persistently , refused to join any of their mischievous depredations. He could never be in- duced to fight his tormentors, though Jasper and others dared him to combat ! many time. So the boys gratified their malice by calling him the coward" and by this epithet he was known in the vii. lage..
 But the "cowurd" was surely astonish , ing his enemies now, and his progress was watched with breathless interest No one expected to see him come bacl alive.
 Steadily the boat crept toward the is , land. Curt bent to the oars with all his might and managed to hold his owI ] against the fierce current. Occasionally ] he glanced over hia shoulder and wal