Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1897-05-20

can she be? I'm afraid we have walket
| too fast and we have left her behind.
If Priscilla was lacking in discre
ton, she had other qualities which
) compensated, and accepting the situa
ton realized at once that there was NJ
time to lose in conjectuTing the caus'
Of her disappearance. She Therefore
bid John hasten on with the children:
Take the first stone steps you come
to" she said, run over to Robin s
where you will probably meet Sil
Humphrey, tell him what has hap,
pened. l am going back to look fol-
Rosamond, and without another
word, in fact, ere she ceased speaking
she turned, and almost Immediately
disappeared in the thickening gloom.
There was no time for expostula-
ton, and John, although uneasily con-
scious that there was danger for his
sister in returning, Obeyed like a true
soldier the commands Of his superio or
officer. And Priscilla, calling as she
hurTiedly retraced her steps, felt the
darkness settle around her. and the
water now and then tapping against
her feet The tide was rising fast.
and the wind blew strong in her face.
making her progress difficult and
slow
'Rosamond, Rosamond!" called
Priscilla again and again but no an
swer reached her straining ears. She
stopped once, thinking she heard a
cry and listened intently for the
repetition Of the sound, which soon
came again. "Rosamond, where are
you, dear? Priscilla has come fer you, .
she said encouragingly. For answer
she felt something light was now
SO uncertain she could see nothing
distinctly-rub against her feet.
STOPPING, she put her hands upon
FroIic. oh, my dear little dog" she
| cried, whatever can l do with you?
| Why in the world did you try to fol-
| low me-" She gathered his trembling
body in her arms, adding, she knew to
the difficulty of her progress; but for
the love SIZE felt for her favorite she
could not run the risk Of having him
drowned She carried him for a short
| distance, when the idea occurred TO
her, that if she were to throw him
lightly up upon some rock where he
CCUld gain a fOOthOld, he would be
safe though she knew a very miser-
able little BEAST until rescued. There
was no time to indulge in sentiment,
so as soon as a favorable rock pre-
scented itself she tried the experiment,
standing still a moment to see if it
met with success. Alas! almost i'm
mediateIy she heard his little body
fall with a splash into the water a
few yards in front of her.
Poor little FrOIic, she thought, you
shall not die in this way, and cropping
around a second time, upon finding
lin, tucked him wet and dripping in
side her loose blouse, where he nestled
cOntentedly.
The gathering clouds, she row be-
came aware, threatened an Immediate
shower which would OF course make
her situation more uncomfortable and
1etard her pIOgress. but her brave
spirit was not to be daunted, and on
she went. Her only thought was that
Of ROsamOnd's safety. She must be
close at hand" she said, aloud, IF I
could only make her hear me-
The wind was now blowing a gale
and peal OF thunder with an accom-
panying flash of lightning made her
realize her fears in regard co one of
the sudden tempests, so frequent in
40 iaJrD
The vivid flashes of lightning
which seemed now to come almost in
cessantly served only to confuse her
aud make the darkness greater. She
battled with the wind for every step,
but she persevered on her errand with
untiinching fortltude
AS I have said, although Priscilla's
progress had been slow she had in
reality reached the beach. Could she
have seen ahead but a short distance
she would have discovered her where
abouts by light which burned day
and night in Father Vincent's house, a
retreat for Roman Catholic priests
Which stood at the edge Of the woods,
isolated for miles from any habita-
tiCn, Robins's shanty excepted. but
as nc ray of light met her eyes she
continued to grope onward until
re OK called Point Judith jutting at
food tide far out in the water con-
frohted her From this landmark she
realized where she was and felt en-
cOuraged to know she was lear the
beach, and she hoped near to Rosa
mOnd, who could not now be far away.
The water around Point Judith was
new ankle deep, and as she attempted
to pass the giant rock the wind blew
against her with such force she lost
her footing and fell. She was up again
in moment, but with her clothing so
wet and heavy she found it difficult to
move. Frolic was now trembling so
violently his vibrations seemed to
shake her from head to foot, which
did not tend to make the second effort
an easy matter.
L must pass this rock she said,
shutting her lips firmly together, "else
what will become of poor little Rosa
mond?" but the wind blew so fiercely
against her that ere she had taken
many steps, in spite of her utmost en-
deavors, she a second time lost her
balance and fell forward into the
dark water
After regaining her feet, this time
W it'll greater difficulty than before, she
made up her mind, as great drops of
rain began to fall which increased I'M