Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1895-01-21
CHAPTER XIII.


times from the mere situation.
They may sail in their small boats or
float on their RATS for days and days
with the same monotony of ecene-the
water beneath, the sky above. There is
a horror, q loneliness about it-a feeling
as If shut out from the world-and even
where there are three or four together
to keep one another company some one
will go raving mad within the week
When q man is lost on the plains those
who may set out to search for him go
prepared to shoot him down.
They may have to do it to save their
own lives. If lost for but q single day
he will fall down and weep at sight of
his rescuers. He is weak and maudlin
like one drunk
If lost for two days he may be so I'M
der the influence Of terror that he will
run away Ut sight OF human beings.
If he has been wandering about for
three days and nights-beware! The
chances are nine in ten that he is dan
gerOus.
And if this feeling is SO strong upon
men in their prime and men who may
have weapons of defense and the expert
ence Of years, what must it be in the
case of 4 woman fleeing out into the
darkness to escape the murderers Of her
husband and the abductors Of her child?
The mother was near enough to hear
her daughters cry of pain and the
shouts of the man who Overhauled her.
For moment she thought of returning
to give herself up, but then came the
thought that if Lizzie was to be rescued
and the murderers punished all depend
ed on her. She could see through the
entire plot now, but she could not be-
ieve that it included any one except the
four renegades. If she could reach the
camp on the river the men would turn
out and hunt the four to their Deaths
The widow and mother was crouched
on the earth within thirty rods of the
wagon when it drove away. She feared
to move until she could DO longer hear
the rumble Of the wheels, and then she
rose and ran forward, believing she was
following the trail of the train She
remembered it was only six miles, but
it was two long hours before she stopped
for a moments rest. She saw no signs
of q stream. She had come far enough
to reach the south fork, but where was
it?
Almost like a flash of lightning the
thought came to the woman, Il have
gone wrong-I am lost!' The thought
took away her courage in a moment,
and she found herself unable to reason
intelligently.
She was lost-lost on the great plains,
and that by night!
Then the poor woman did exactly
what many man has done. Instead of
resting until the alarm had passed away
and until daylight should come to guide
her Alright, she rose and ran away from
herself, or tried to. All night long she
wandered about in an cratic way and
daylight found her back within half
mile of the spot where the wagon had
stood.
She seemed to have aged twenty years
in single night. Her face was pinched
and drawn; her eyes were sunken; her
form bent as if she bore burden on her
shoulders.
'They are lost! I've got to find 'em-
Daniel and Lizzier' she muttered as she
faced the sun. "I've called and called,
but they won't answer. Coo-eei Coo-eel
No, they won't answer"
She was advancing slowly upon the
dead body of her husband.
''Wheres Daniel? Where's Lizzie?"
shouted the woman. ''Why, this is
Daniel! He is asleep! Poor man, but
he must be tired!'
She had discovered the body.
''Poor Daniel, but you were lost.'
the woman as she sank down
beside the bOdy ssYOu are tired and
sleepy. Yes, you may sleep. will keep
very quiet. Maybe Lizzie will soon
come"
She rocked her body to and fro as if
she had a child in her arms, and now
and then she reached out her hand and
patted the arm which lay stif1iy extend
ed on the earth beside her.
The sun climbed up and up.
Would some of the trainmen ride
hack to see why Brown had not joined