Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1898-03-24
tied, almost human, look in their large

aged to see all these minor features in
the play which afterwards came SO near
being tragedy, but every little thing
is indelibly impressed upon my mind,
even to this hour.
Our old horse was now fully alive to
the danger we were in. He trembled
and shook in every limb and drew the
rickety old vehicle along at a rate it
had never gone before. held the reins
and spoke encouraging words 10 him,
and tried TO comfort the brave girl at
my side. Tess was trying to keep the
cnders off us with a little silk parasol
-one of my gifts to her-but soon there
were so many holes burned in that
dainty relic of civilization that it be-
came a veritable colander, through
which poured red-hot binding flood
of sparks and smoke. A great Kissing,
cracking cinder lighted on her Tam
o'-Shanter and that soon was so near a
blaze that snatched it off and threw
1t away. Tess looked like an angry
goddess. Her long brown hair had es-
capped from its fastenings and swept
out behind in the wind our passage
created. As she held the reins while
| warded off great blazing fir bough
that came hurting down upon Us, with
her eyes sparkling with excitement, her
| face pale as ashes, and her lips set, she
| looked like another Queen Boadicea
driving her chariot of wrath over the
necks of her proud Roman insulters.
Even in those moments of agony won
dered how she kept up so marvelously.
We were now about half way home
and almost in the belt of flame. Things
might now get better, and if we could
hold ont for another half hour there
was a chance of our getting off with our
lives. tried to speak, but my throat
was so parched that could not utter
sound.
The heat was frightful. Clouds of
dense white smoke settled about us in
suiTocating closeness, while the thun-
der Of the falling giants Of the forest,
together with the sharp fusillade pro-
duced by their shopping branches and
the ever-increasing roar of the flames, |
made up grand and awful diapason. |
And the fire came closer and closer
"Tessl" | shouted, as put my arm
about her waist and drew her down be- |
low the sides of the crazy old vehicle. |
dear girl, our time has comet Good |
by!"
Dear Ben, good-by!" | read rather
than heard from her lips. 1t was inn
possible TO hear her words.
And after that, as the novelists say
all was like dream have a confused
recollection of heat so terrible as to
almost force my eyes from their sock
cts aud shrivel my skin up 10 parch-
ment-of the old horse dropping TO the
ground-of standing over my brave
Tess fighting off the blazing branches
of agonizing burns on my head, face
and hands. And then there came ter
rible crash! seemed to see 10000 stars
and all was darkness!
l never knew just how long was I'M
conscious, but it must have been for
many hours, for when consciousness
again mounted her throne in my soul
it was broad day. At first / could not
open my eyes at all. Then managed to
inst separate the lids, but it was the
acutest torment to do so. | afterwards
found that they lad been horribly
burned.
Full sensibility came back very slow
ly. For awhile was dazed. could not
think-only gaze upward stupidity at
the clear sky and wonder what had
happened Soon. however, it all came
back-all the horror and pain--and
attempted to start up.
MY God! Tess!" | groaned, as re-
allied fully where was and what had
But l found l was too
weak to do anything except barely
move my head.
When | could see about me, what a
lesolate scene it was that met my
blurred and crippled vision. As far as
my poor sight could reach there was 9
nothing but blackness, except overhead
"a landscape in Jet silhouetted sharp
" against the soft azure of the clear
Ky. y few feet from me lay the fig ,
IRE of human being! My God! 1t
vas Tess. And was she dead? Merci-
III Heaven. About half OF her clothes
we're gone and she lay motionless, as
though dead.
How | suffered at that sight no one r
lut myself can ever know. 1t was !
worse than my own misery. But |
,ould not move, and the hot tears, Of
which | was not ashamed, distilled i
rom my eyes like drops of liquid fire G.
md plowed red-hot burrows down my c.
cOrchpd cheeks And then I nuoi,, 81
apsed into uncorsciousness. !,
Whole ages might have passed before f
knew anything more. Then suddenly n
opened my eyes and saw. | was in
'ed at home. BY the bedside sat my L
mall sister Jennie. RI
You have been sick just three weeks n
Ien," said she. "and 'Tessie' = every -
M If 1S sid ..-rnss L., M nnt ~ y