The midland journal., 1902-09-12

NO. 2.

pole gave him few inches more. He
clutched the shirt, put his other hand
through the loop and twisted it about
his wrist, slipped toward me as far as
he could on his knees and pushed me
the pole. Not moment had been lost.
could reach it, if caught quick and
firm, before had time to slip after re-
laxing my pressure on the rock. There
was nothing else to do.
A minute later 1 sat at the foot of the
hemlock, and death had once more fed
into the far dim haze of the unrealized
future, but l was cold with the feel Of
his breath upon me. 1t seemed hours
before two haggard faced men rode up
on unsaddled, foaming horses.
That night as the household sat
around the fireplace, all having with
me, l think, little special realization
of life's "human richness like the rose'
in contrast to ''cold, abysmal, blank,
alien eternity" said to my cousin, the
head of our family, that now he could
hardly refuse to listen to my prayer
ShhI oOlhSlAlAS OC uOuS lOI
that he be given some opportunity.
Il certainly cannot, my child" he re-
piled. "What do you want done?'
eve had better talk to him about it."
I said. ''He is the wisest person for
that question, by all odds. l think, if
he chooses quite freely, it will be to go
to some decent school for year. Then
he will know better how to decide for
the next year."
''Yes, yes" said my kinsman thought
fully, looking at Jim, curled up asleep
on the floor like little dog; 81 think
you are right; that he will absorb
knowledge through the pores of his
skin. He is remarkable boy, undoubt-
edly very remarkable boy. Make
yourself easy, my little girl. We can't
neglect him now" And he patted my
head as he rose from his chair.
The next day came the end, the stu
pid, meaningless, miserable end. can
not dwell upon it.
Rudolph was coming through one of
the little peninsulas of woodland that
here and there invaded the struggling
village. He caught his foot in a vine,
staggered against tree, appeared to
regain his foothold and then sank
down. Some boys at a distance saw
this, but what was it to call for special
| attention? They went ON.
/ 1t seems to have been more than half
an hour later that a man, coming along
the path, found the child, dead. He lay
under the soft, drifting, bright leaves
in a pool of blood. He had cut his
wrist with big, sharp knife, his pride,
which he had open in his hand when
he stumbled. An artery was severed.
He had bled to death.
By such fantastic fooling did chance
take the life that the day before had
been gallantly risked for mine, and so
were stilled the heart and brain to
whose power I owe all these happy
years.
For decade has passed since, alone in
the sweet, checkered autumn sunshine,
the rarest child, the most hope stirring
human being l ever knew, lay dying.
Would that these pages might give
some shadowy glimpse of that noble
| and splendid little figure and defy ever
so family and Intellectually the hideous
recklessness of the fate that there
quenched such life! He was buried
in the small, unkempt graveyard on
the hill. l have not seen the spot since
that winter. Perhaps half dozen peo-
pie in the world within as many years.
time remembered that he once lived.
Beyond these his memory is faded from
the earth as though he had never been.