The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1898-08-18
The Woman in the Moon
BY WILLIAM HERvEY WOODS.


A DELLA came out into the porch and
n leaned her head against pillar.
Massanutten rose up before her with
all his majesty disclosed, from the
shining river at his feet to the pine
trees that fringed his far-of crest.
The girls eyes looked toward him, but
she did not see. The sounds of sum-
mer day were in her ears. Fowls
clucked and cackled about the door
yard as usual. In all the tall syca-
mores by the river fish hawk was
screaming. and the voice of the river
itself came fitfully along the changing
wind. She did not hear. She heard
only the sound of heavy, stertorous
breathing. which came through the
open door. Little Ben Sisco, her only
brother. lay within unconscious, des-
perately hurt in fall he had got an
hour before; and Adela was alone with
him. There. was not horse on the
place, and she did not know of neigh
Dor, not even child or servant, near
er than Strasburg, four miles away.
Strasburg itself that day was well-nigh
deserted. It was the day of the SOL
diers' reunion at Fishers Hill, on the
other side of town. This was looked
upon as the great event of the year,
and the whole countryside had gone.
Adela herself was anxious to go, but
Ben had been croupy the night before,
and she had persuaded her father to
take the colored woman along to look
after the lunch, while she and Ben
stayed at home in care of Watch, the
big Newfoundland dog" She never
knew certainly how the accident hap
pened. There had been some sudden
commotion in the yard among the
fowls, and coming back from a hasty
investigation she had found the pitt
full little heap under the stair railing.
Ben had probably been trying to ride
it.
Adela worked over him with sink
ing heart. The tie between her and the
child was doubly strong. Their moth
er had died when Ben was baby, and
since then the girl, even now still in
her teens, had been mother and sister
both to him. There were only the
three of them, her father, Ben and
she; and she dared not think what
life would be without Ben, as merry,
winscme and mischievous little lad as
ever lorded it over a woman's heart
Bit one by one her efforts to revive
him failed. She had tried her last re-
source, and now. as she stood on the
porch, the one thought that was throb-
bling through her brain was how she
was to get the doctor. She had stood
thus but few moments when she lift
ed her head and looked toward the
mountain. A sudden purpose kindled
in her eyes, and she turned and went
into the house.
The sick child lay just as she had
left him. After a searching look at
him, she began to move swiftly but
noiselessly about the room. She drew
the curtain across the window; she
called Watch in and made him lie down
by the couch; she brought her hat,
and tall staff which stood IN the cor
ner; then, STOPPING until her dark hair
mingled with the child's sunny curls,
she kissed him again and again, and
rising, hurried out and shut the door.
The Sisco place lies at the end of
Massanutten, a range of mountains
which runs for 40 miles through the
middle Of the Shenandoah valley.
Adela had recalled the fact that for
some time party of men. in search
of health and sport, had been camping
out high up on the side of the noun
tain next to Strasburg. She meant to
climb up 70 the camp and get the peo-
pie there to send to town for DR.. Jack
son, while she hurried back to Ben. 1t
was mile up to the camp; but there
lay the only help she could think of,
and as for the rough and difficult
climbing, she did not think of that at
all.
There was no road, no path up the
end of the mountain. There was, how
ever, an old chute through which the
bark gatherers had sometimes sent
their tan bark down to the river. The
chute itself, the trough, had rotted
away OuG VIC Ad4 IL"
through the trees was still to be seen,
and Adela took to that. Other than
the rough journey, she knew she had
nothing to fear, for wild beasts have
long sipce gone from Massanutten, and
snakes are seldom seen. -
But the climbing was enough, as she
quickly found. even for her excited
strength; and she soon began to be,
thankful whenever the way led over
one of the rock brakes. in which Mas
sanutten's sides abound. On these
steep slopes the beds Of loose rock lay
like, a stairway, and she could step up
from stone to stone.
She toiled on until she had nearly
reached the top. Her breath was al
most gone, her heart was pounding in
her ears. But the camp was now with
in call, and, after moments rest, she
went on again. 4. &
She came to a rock-brake, and start
Cd over it. Halt way across, as she