The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-06-11

her to be out of sight of it's homely
stepStone. Certainly not when every
one else was gone too and loneliness
and silence were left to reign.
Suddenly Merwin started as his eve
lighted on a familiar sight. There,
by the edge of the well, stood the old
brown water pail. and closely beside it
a ray of sunlight, glancing through the
apple trees. glistened on the slanting,
slippery, water-splashed stones. The
boy turned to his sister with the
healthy red stricken out of his freckled
cheeks and absolute terror dilating his
blue eyes.
Melissa he gasped, 'gramma's in
the we'll, She s ben DRAWN water,
COS the stuns re all wet, and she s
slipt in. You run just as fast as YOU
can an tell Mr.. Peckham and Mr..
Dayton. an I'll get the Hill boys,
they're mowin' uo the bridge"
Melissa waited not a moment. With
a howl of terror she flew out of the
house and the yard and her bare feet
spatted wildly down the dusty road,
while Merwin's thumDed even more
rapidly in the opposite direction
Mrs. Peckham sat by her side Win
dow, braiding a rug in peaceful en-
joyment of that pleasant season after
the dinner work is done up and before
it's time to begin to see about supper.
From up the road there came a sound
like a stifed wall.
What under the canopy s that?
Can't be one of the calves s got out
an s baain' for its mother
Louder and louder grew the cry and
Mrs Peckham put down her rug and
started for the door.
I'll go down to the gate an look.
sounds like a child in perfect distress
BY the time she reached the gate the
It'll arINr a
terror stricken. dust and sweat be-
grimed little object flying red hair and
streaming eyes and breath reduced !
TO a gasping sob. Why, if il amt
Melissa Higgins, What under the
canopy s the matter child Suthln'
drefful happened up to your house?
.Oh. Mis- Peckham, oh, Mis- Peck |
ham, Gramma's in the well. Gram
ma s in the well. She's slipped in |
where the waters splashed, an we |
can't find her anywhere an pa an
mas gone up to Pettipaugh, Oh, send /
Mr.. Peckham quick, quick,
1t was some seconds before Mrs
Peckham could comprehend the gasp i
ing. incoherent speech. When she did
she was properly excited.
Good land sakes alive. child, you
don't mean it! Old Mis- Higgins in the
we'll, Why. that's awful! And Henry
and his wife nine miles away at Pet
tipauG, Here, you can't run any far
ther. and you're clean tuckered out, sit
down on the doorstep an fan yourself
and I'll cut around the corner TO the
Daytons and tell them. Mr. Peckham
is down there helping Asher Dayton
NOW" She threw her apron over her
head and in her turn cantered off down
the dusty road
Miss Dayton upstairs, folding away
some bedding which had been airing.
looked out through the ''dominy win
her," IF there amt Florette Peckham
nnrryin' down the hill right in the mid
lie of the road without any bonnet. |
shouldn't wonder if suthin' terrible had
Cow got mired or suthin'.
I'll go down to the door an meet her."
The ''suthin' " that had happened
proved to be more terrible" than
fancy had suggested. Miss Dayton
threw her apron over her head and
lurriedly led the way 10 the bars into
.he barn lot where the men folks were
II work. Asher was the only one in
sight and he appeared stolidly disin-
crested to leave his work at the end OF
he field. and replied only by loud in
,uiring ''heys?" TO their shrilly stouted
ale of woe. At length he seemed to
gather from his sisters frantic ges-
ures that something out of the usual
inc had happened, and slowly stumped
,ver to meet her.
When he had learned her Grand
however. his manner changed. and he
Exhibited the mans ability to do some
hing practical in an emergency upon
which woman generally depends. I'll
ret Whitley right into the wagon SOS I
o get there quicker and pick up Peck {
lam on the way. He's gone up 10 his
,arn on an errand. And herei We shall i
reed ropes. q course; just hand me
hat one on the nail"
III.
Far up on the road to Pettipaug
orlorn little figure trudged over the :
with WEAKNESS in every limb,
)ut desperation. in the frightened little
leart. Probably never again would
Merwin Higgins feel that sorrow of
lalf -comprehended danger and abso-
ute helplessness which now engulfed
lis childish sould. The Hill boys had
,een duly dispatched to the scene of
rouble, but he dared not go back with
hem. So he set his face toward pa
ma and Pettipaug and hurried on.
Up at Pettipaug the Higgins family
we're enjoying mildly festive treat
f cake and lemonade before going to "A
ed. Aunt Loizy was just filling
Ienry's glass and saying that the
sater from their pump never tasted
ute so good as that she used to drink
{ home. when the outer door swung ;
men ON the threshold stood dustv |