Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1904-02-10
comforter to Mrs. Murdo. Her agon,

altCA AOuk u TIC 6olS-d ollll,
figure in her white dress-watching
in dry.eyed, stony grief for the re-
turn of the rescuers. AS the men
came in ,one after another, and Buff
fles was reluctantly abandoned for the
night to the gruesome perils of the
bush and the balloons, she paced up
and down, wringing her hands in an
inconsolable anguish of tears.
my darling baby, my darling boy;
what will jeff say? oh, what will jeff
say"
rte arrival of Captain Murdo was
LG.ry expected; the kraal he had
gone to visit on a diplomatic mission
to the chief was fifteen miles distant;
he would be certain to wait for the
GOODNESS of the night and the rise
of waning moon before returning.
1t was near midnight, the search par.
tic, h.ad all returned, elaborate plans
&c. Systematically securing the will
derless at the first CLEAN of daylight
were being discussed and arranged,
and was deputed to ride off to the
nearest kraals and obtain the valuable
assistance of the Kaffirs. hoped to
meet Murdo on the way and be able
to break the tidings to him. My Or
de1.I brought round my horse, and l
rot sway at hard gallop. making
70. {. fountain, landmark about half
way on my proposed journey. l reach
ed it without seeing or hearing liv-
ing thing, and dismouted for few
moments to slacken the girths and let
my good animal regain his wind and
dip his muzzle in the water. The
fountain was in the centre of dark
clump of trees; outside, the veldt was
lit up by pale moonlight; the lone.
illness of the place was weird, the
silence of the solitude quite awe-in.
spring
A creepy feeling, almost of fear,
came over me when l saw man on
foot, and in his shirt sleeves, carry
ing q dark bundle and advancing
stealthily t1wards the clump. He
walked around it in circle, peering
upwards among the trees apparently
in search of something. To my ut
! ter establishment l recognized the
man as Captain Murdo. Presently he
stopped beneath a branch, pulled it
downwards by the twigs, then care.
fully deposited his burden in the fork,
let the branch rise again, and started
running swiftly back in the direction
from which he had come.
|, was momentarily too astonished
and hesitant to call after him or make
, my presence known; so impatiently
/. awaited events. There was soon the
sound of pounding hoofs, and he rode
up, his bay stallion Sultan fighting
, for his head and bounding about ii
e a great state of excitement and fright
l His rider urged him toward the
r clump, the big horse snorting will
t rage, and as they passed under the
: branch Murdo, who was splendid
|. equestrian, rose in his stirrups, clever
r ly snathced the bundle from the fork
T. gave Sultan his head, and sped ava,
l. at stretch gallop homewards. l wa:
v after him like a shot, but mile Of
n two of veldt swept under us before m!
shouts arrested his attention, and hi
!. refined up.
e JEFF" gasped out, "Jeff-bat
g news-awfully sorry, old man-Buf
e fles is lost, our baby, our dear baby
/, carried off by balloons. Mrs. Murd'
l. is frantic-everybody at the fort hear
t. broken. We've done everything w
d could was on my. ,Way. Is. put tn
Kaffirs to wari. ~nenS sssssss
s forming reats of mystst 1os.Ss n0 df's'S
9 manship at the clump of trees What
n ever were you up to?"
n In reply he opened the bundl
wrapped SO tenderly in his jacket.
|, peered init was Buffles, Buffles sleeY
e ing like humming top! shout
r. know our baby among twenty tho,
n, said. kissed his little drowsy fac
lie and felt inclined to salute his fathe
r.. in the same manner, but SILENT
$, grasped his hand instead. We wake
lg our horses gently for while an
r. Murdo did the talking.
v. Most extraordinary occurrence
Collingwood. was riding noiselessl
Is. along a grassy bridlepath when
is troop of balloons crossed in the moo
lg light. Sultan, as you know, cherish'
ne a strong aversion to balloons, so /
I'd went up on his hind legs, wheele
n. about, and was for boiling in the o
posite direction; but in the fleetir
We glance had Of the creatures, wi
lc- were giving their peculiar, horr
he night calls, noted that the bigge
| Iu1,i IN H,,r oY
Or. thought l heard little cry
in strangely familiar sound that mat
nd my heart jump with apprehension.
he II spurred Sultan into char
IS. among the apes, scattering them
+: all directions. The big one with Il
nd bundle took bee line of its ov
its along the path. rode it down, VIII,
le- it dropped the bundle and made
he into the bush. dismounted, and,
nv my intense amazement, found t
white bundle was my own little sc
in OF course, there is no installing B,
eft fes-he is the only white baby for fiji
ad miles around. Recognizing me, i
ed beamed with geniality, and his smil
nd were proof that the young begg
in was sound. Sultan gave me We
les warm time of it; he obstinately CT
nected Buffies with the balloons, sno
lay ed, reared, plunged, and refused to
on me mount with the child. SO r
an down Bufles, tethered the horse to
ng stump, and was preparing to foot
en- home when thought of the Founts
ted Clump and the forked branch dod
he That was a success; and now, Collil
dy wood, my good fellow, ride on ane
ved and tell the wife-relieve her mi
on and prepare her for the joyful S
on prise. am utterly nervous and
strung"
sts shook up my mount and We
, along at a pacing race. yelling W
ON exultation like cowboy. The f
Ugh soon loomed close up. 1 could I
Ser tinguish the anxious throng still