Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1894-12-26


sports.
ESQ, on this New Years day, all of
rs, even down to 9-year-old Margery,
thought constantly of the faraway pair
But the rites of hospitality could not be
neglected, and by and by, stimulated
by the purposed gayety of our visitors,
oil of us young folks Joined, just in the
cleaning in romping game of hide
and seek
'At ordinary times our big ten room
loghouse was lighted by homemade tai
low candles, but on festive occasions
my mother used sperm ones. Numbers
If these were now burning, in addition
to the great open fires, making all with
in doors ;,,together too light for tho
proper enjoyment of our game; SO, by
unanimous consent, we agreed that no
hiders' should have the privilege OF tho
fast darkening wood shed, stable and
nearest barn.
''The play went merrily on for half
an hour. or so, each successive seeker
generally routing out the most cunning
ly concealed 'hiders' in no time But
then little Agnes Warwick so artfully
hid herself that the seeker of the mo-
ment, utterly failing to discover her,
was finally obliged to call upon the
whole crowd for assistance.
ssHigh and low, up and down, through
stable lofts, between wood piles, behind
straw stacks, inside the big tanning
mill, over grain bins and under the barn,
we hunted without success Then, gath
cred in a cluster on the thrashing floor,
we were about to give up and let the
little mischief find herself, when,
through the open door, into which the
pale moonlight streamed. dark body
rushed, shot past Us and sprang over in
to a nearly empty haymow, whence in
stantly came a great rustling and Sc
ries Of inarticulate cries-from the now
discovered Agnes-which sounded to us
like those Of fear and pain.
A bear! A bearp screamed the
elder Miss Warwick. "a bear is killing
the childp These brutes are quite plenti
ful in cur neighborhood.
"'Pshaw! exclaimed my brother
Hugh, bears don't come out in winter.
No, nor they don't have long tails
either, guess wisely observed little
Margery.
Recovering from our momentary as
tonishment, we young men and boys
were in the act of rushing to the rescue
when out Of the manhole Of the NOW
crept little Agnes laughing half hys-
terically and encircling with one arm
the neck of q big black dog!
why. it's Princei Donald's Black
Prince! all OF US simultaneously shout
ed for now we plainly saw the peculiar,
heart shaped breast spot which was the
only speck of white on the glossy coat
of our long lost friend.
''It really seemed as if the wise old
fellow had stealthily watched our play
until he found what the trouble was,
and then, with deliberate purpose to
surprise us, had dashed pest without
greeting. and guided by his unerring
nose had speedily torn the hay off the
form Of his well remembered playfel-
low, for pretty Agnes Warwick used to
spend fully as much time at our home
as at her own.
fNow, having SO well succeeded in
creating sensation, Prince threw off
all disguise, and after hilariously jump
ing upon each Of US in turn gamboled.
barked and frislzed around in an ecstasy
of delight while we all started in
wild race TO the house.
Evidently some one-perhaps with
news of Donald-had arrived, for a
strange sleigh stood before the open
door, and as we neared the house we
could hear my fathers voice ringing
out i'll tones which did not sound like
those Of grief.
There's word from Donald! Come
onr yelled my brother Archie as he
sprang to the leading place.
sThe other 16 Of us followed pell-
nell, almost tunbling over each other
in our eagerness, and burst like cy-
clone into the big parlor. Then the old
roof shook with our half frantic cheers,
for there, in the center of the room,
stood Donald himself! He was brown
as an Indian and bearded like-well,
like any gold digger, but was the same
old Donald still, while, clasped to his
breast, with her arms about his neck,
lay my dear little mother, softly crying
in speechless Joy"
Here poor Fred almost broke down,
and not homesick man of us all could
trust himself to speak. Presently, how
iver, the young fellow-he WAS c.:ly IS
went on:
"Boys-I-tell you-this--was-al-
most-too-much for me. I'll never
forget that time if I should live a thou
sand years. 1t seemed like getting my
brother back from the grave itself. Some
Of us cried like babies, and even the
stern old colonel himself had to pretend
that the open door blew the FIRE smoke
into his eyes.
eat last we quieted down little,
and after the two hungry travellers
Black Prince and his master-had eat
ell q good dinner, Donald told us his
story. 1t would take me all night to re-
peat it in full Besides l can't tell it
as he did, SO I'll just give you the mar
row Of it.
NFii SOlOu llC anu dll tlO
other passengers had to pay $40 each
III mule hire, with pair of big Mexi-
can spurs thrown in for every rider, in
order to get across the isthmus. More
than one-half Of the crowd already had
symptoms Of the fever when they got
to the city of Panama, and 26 poor fell
lows died there while waiting week
for Pacific ocean ship.
s'Donald was stricken down almost
at once and lay for three months be-
tween life and death in the house of Fa-
ther Laporte, kind French Canadian
priest who took good care of him and
his effects, and when he was able to
dictate wrote for him to my father,
though neither that letter nor three
others written from different places by
Donald himself were ever received-a
quite common occurrence during the
first two years of the California excite
ment
During the whole of his masters
illness Prince stuck close to him, though,
as Father Laporte afterward related,
nothing but the dogs own fierce courage
and fidelity had prevented him being
stolen by covetous thieves.
''At last Donald got strong enough to
Gail for San Francisco, where he arrived
e. Il -e,f