The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1905-10-13

! SWdyIuS anu me Sr1nuluS- Cl DtuTua
and posts and trees, a kinky, woolly
head kept close beside a golden one.
They rose; they fell; they rolled; they
tumbled, according to the caprice OF
the storm king, but nothing could tear
the faithful negro girl away from her
duty.
Suddenly they felt a still GOODNESS
rising about them. The tempest had
grown tired of part of it's burden, and
had cast these two down with boards
and tree branches and all sorts of de-
bris about them into the middle Of \
little stream; not small now, but
angry and swollen with the heavy
time.
"Oh, Marthy, Marthy, where are we
now?' pired the childish voice.
yves all right, and amt killed yet,
! Honey Lamb and don't you think
you'se gwine to be droWnded, Honey
Lamb, kase Use a prayin' powerful
agin it,
"Marthy, where do you s'pose
mamma is?"
DE good Lawd only knows, Honey
Lamb. She amt at home, kase Yves
brought most oh de house with u.s..
She must be somewhat, but de good
l-awd only knows whah."
"Oh Marthy! we're getting deeper
in the water! Why, Marthy, it's clear
up to your waist. Can't you get out,
Marthy?"
"No, Honey Lamb, my knee is
ketched fas' in somethin', and I KANT
move
'Oh, Marthy, Marthy! the waters
getting deeper and deeper all the
time. Why, it's up to my waist now,
Marthy!"
Don't you be gettin' scared, Honey
Lamb, kase Use a-prayin' all de time
powerful hahd dat you won't get
drownded. Dere's a lot OBJ stuff piled
up down dar and do waters backin'
up, but you jes' climb ap on dat board
out oh de water, and I'll hold you
dar, so you KANT get drownded.
OATS de way! Now you'se clean out
Oh de water"
ooh, Marthy, Marthy! The waters
clear up to your neck now-oh-oh
| OH"
Don't you be scared, Honey Lamb,
kase Use prayin' powerful hahd-"
! From the bank Of the stream a wom-
ans voice cried out: ooh, there they
are! There they are!" A mothers
iol- iy, no ,ho1o cS%
Hold on little bit longer, Marthy,
and the men will be there
ooh, Missus Hagen! Oh, Mister
Travers, Use so glad you'se come, kase
1 KANT hold on much longer. De
! waters clean up to my mouf now"
The men waded into the stream, but
before they could reach the two, the
arm that held Beatrice in place above
the water had fallen senseless and
the kinky head sunk beneath the
gurgling yellow waters, but Beatrice
was rescued unhurt, and the faithful
negro girls prayer was answered.
Cant you save Marthy, too?'
The men were trying. They got her
mead above water ana released the
mangled foot; then bore her out of
the stream, where they worked with
her until the big eyes opened once
again. She saw her mistress bending
over her.
ooh, Mrs. Hagen, won't you for
give me-" she sobbed
"Forgive you? What in the world
have l to forgive you for, Marthy?"
"Kase I went to sleep and let de sly
coon come and take Beatrice away. o,
Use so sorry, Mrs. Hagen, dat 1 went
to sleep and let the de sly coon GOMEZ"
'Why, you blessed child, you
couldn't have stopped the cyclone if
you had been awake"
Den you amt mad at me, Missus
/ Hagen?'
Mad at you, child? Well, I should
think not after you saved my little
girls life!"
ooh, Use so glad you amt mad;"
and Marthy lay back and closed her
eyes with a great sigh of relief-Coun-
! try Gentleman.