Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1897-09-07
A PRACTICAL JOKE.
ny ADELAIDE LrND.

1t was MINDLESS day carly in July,
very hot and very quiet in my native
village of Somerston, except for the
brattling of water from the tail-racc
Of Uncle Tommy Deans sawmill, and
VIE chug-chug of his upright rip-saw,
Which was not cutting anything
He had gone to dinner and left his
wheel running, for there would be
more water than he needed back of
his dam in the afternoon; for then
the gates of the other dam-the dam
of the wooden mill about 200 yards
farther would be opened.
Those gates were now closed, that the
water might be saved and backed up
for the afternoon.
/ had been walking barefoot along
the river shore, looking for new eel
pots, below the lower dam, Uncle
Tommy's, when saw him cross it to
60 to dinner 1t struck me then that
it would be good joke to cross and
shut down his water gate when he was
absent, for was mischievous boy Of
IA, and he was one of those testy men
that boys love to annoy.
Of course / did not mean that any
one should see me-the fun would be
to hear him scolding about "idle,
worthless boys" without knowing on
whom to fix the mischief.
4 Hay low behind rock till he passed
out of sight, and then ! stood up and
watched for a few minutes the upper
dam-tbe dam of the wooden mill
which gave the foundation for foot
bridES on which the factory hands
crossed,
Not soul was in sight, SO climbed
up to the level of Uncle Tommy's
dam, and skinned across it quickly.
The cupboard was off for distance
Of about 10 feet in the middle, end
here / had to go carefully, for the very
narrow apex was Shiny and difficult
Nor even myskillful, tough, bare feet.
Z ] gained the sawmill, climbed on
the gate, and succeeded in bringing
it down, Then crouched in hiding
for full Ten minutes, FOR guessed
that Uncle Tommy would rise from
his dinner and come out to look
toward MS mill as soon as the chug-
chug Of his saw should cease to be
heard. When, by passing between
the piles of old boards, had seen him
stare, shake his fist furiously, and then
90 back to his meal / hurried back
to cross the dam as hard as could go.
At the place where the cupboard
was off had to move more cautiously,
and'here i happened tolook down the
sloping upstream side at the water.
Overhead the sun was blazing, and up
from the calm surface the rehec-
tions came dazzling into my eyes.
The next instant made false step
on the slime of the slope, and down |
went, slipping on my front, for my
sprawling hands failed to catch the
top of the boards.
To save my life ] could not stay my
literally to save my life, for |
could not swim stroke, and the water
was deep on the upper side of the dam,
Down | slid over the oo2e on the
planks, spreading my arms and trying
with the clutch of my fingers and toes
to stop nv descent. But slowly slid
till my feet were in the water, which
\ was some IL feet from the crest of the
Edam, and still ] went down and down.
My terror wasso great that iactual-
" did not think to shout for help at
first. The water stole over my ankles,
up my shins, over my knees; all the
time I was staring desperately up at
the blue sky over the top of the dam,
at my outstretched hands, and the
track had made in the slime.
In the middle OF that track was a
deeper, narrow one, a sort of channel,
/, that showed where the round-headed
brass buttons of my jacket had pressed
in. 1t was deeper than the somewhat
wider channel which ranwith 1.-THE
channel / had made BY digging my
chin downward.
The horrible water crept up little
by little to my waist, and now 1t
seemed ] was slipping more slowly;
still the ring of slight cold that
marked the surface kept gently rising,
or rather crawling, upward on my
body, seeming sometimes to pause,
and then to gain inches all at once,
until my waist was under, Then
desperately tried to haul up my legs
At the same time | clawed with my
hands, rising and flinging them. This
lessened the space by which my body
had friction on the slope, and shot
down quickly until the water was over
4 u. mn m