The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1905-06-08
WICkLYS WOODS
By II. w. TAYLOR

oiA, anu new away 10 the nlllS TOT SAFE
ty. Then, too, the air was filled with
green leaves. Little twigs of poplar and
oak, and pieces of the iron-like covering
of the shellbark, dropped about them.
| Lower bent the trees, as if preparing
for mighty leap, an attack upon all
the harshest powers of sound, and then
the whole universe seemed smitten with
one roaring, stunning crash that filled all
space with the darkness of flying leaves
and twigs, and branches, and dust, and
singing gravel, and the crushing, and
rending, and splintering of mighty trees.
Shouting something in her ear that she
was utterly unable to distinguish, he
seized her about the waist and literally
dropped her into the pit below the Hap
ping and beating tarpaulin. In an in
slant he was at her side. and here his
shrillest tones could be distinguished even
in the awful roar Of the cyclone, and the
redoubling crash of splintering trees.
Keep up against this side of the pit.
1t is safest here. Don't try to move, no
matter what happensI l will stand be-
tween you and the worst"
She knew that he took her in his arms
and pressing her to his breast, held her
immovable against the side of the firm
clay wall with her whole figure almost
welded into his own She knew it, but
she made no protest. She saw that this
was the very extremity Of devotion and
courageous self-interposition against an
imminent and appalling death.
She thought of it as with crash after
crash great trees Numbered down to the
Keeling, resounding earth, whipping their
smaller topmost branches down upon tar
paulin and taut cable netting, with stun
ming report like the crackle of rifles In
the roar of artillery. One great splin-
tered oaken branch tore through the
tarpaulin and pinned it against the oppo-
| site side of the pit at the very bottom of
the wall.
Then there came q mighty dash of
falling waters. and the fury of the cy-
clone had whirled away to the north
| east. She did not realize that the awful
peril was over, until he gently and almost
stealthily unclasped his arms from about
her, and drew back little way.
Il will get up and see if / can draw
the tarpaulin far enough over to keep
the rain out" he said gently as he reach
ed up and drew himself along the sturdy
oaken branch that the storm had hurled
upon them in its rage at their escape.
Presently he came back. Il couldn't
move it an inch,' he said, with faint
smile. But the rain will be practically
over in half an hour, and / think our
cavern of refuge will not be deluged by
that time
Nevertheless they were compelled to
abandon their cavern of refuge, as he
had named it-some minutes before the
rain had entirely ceased. Again he climb
ed up, and lying down upon the unbroken
cable netting, he reached down and took
both her hands in his own.
"See how apparent evils work out for
our good" he said laughingly. IF the
cyclone had not hurled this ragged oak
limb into our cavern, | should be COM
PEELED to make a rope ladder for you.
AS it is, you can walk up it with my
help. There. put your boot upon that
little snag. It's as hard as iron and will
support twice your weight. Now, let me
take you, so. There. You are once more
above ground, and safe. Look around
you and judge of the awful force of a
real cyclone, and the saving grace of a
pit that L assure you was not dug for
my neighbor, although fortunately she
fell into it at the right moment"
'Or was cast into it by my jealous
brother" she said with an effort at gay
ETY.. And then seeing the sudden shadow
upon his face, she FASTENED to say: Look
at this path through the forest, Mr.. Ma
son. Every tree cut down as if by the
blows of some titanic AK. Nothing but
the slender saplings and dwarfed bushes
remaining. Actually, / can see straight
down into the Argus-eyed village of Sand
town. And if l can see clearly, there
isn't so much as a roof lifted off,
mo! The storm Ieaped over that por-
ton of the river bottom-a long leap
probably from the opposite bluffs, alight-
ing just in the edge of your property,
Miss Lizzy. Look! Yonder are your
Argus-eyed villagers trooping up here to
make search for US. You see what an
interest they take in you. 1 believe that
is your father in the lead there-picking
his way through the debris of the storm.
Wave your handkerchief. Or does he see
us already? Well will resign you to
him while l undertake a tedious hunt
after my tent and a certain heavy chest
of valuable instruments that must be
somewhere in the ruins. l will see you
and make comparisons of mental notes.
this evening or tomorrow afternoon, Miss
Lizzy. Sorry for the spoliation of that
pretty dress and lovely hat! But did
my best"
He was gone before she could even
begin to form a fitting reply. Hours af-
terward she accused herself of genuine
Sandtown rudeness, in not thanking him
in some fitting phrase.
CHAPTER VI.
On the morrow there was the congre-
CATION at Mount Zion as usual, to hear
''that air Teller" lecture on some eyery-
day theme, when the regular preacher
was not there, and what happened two
Sundays out of the four or FIVE in each
month.
After a little waiting everybody was
seated in the new, white little church,
save and excepting dozen goddess boys
of fifteen to twenty years, who came
galloping up like troop of wild Indians,
and sat in their saddles or rode about
under the long, dropping limbs of the
sparsely growing beeches that cast their
COOL quiet Sunday shadows over Mount
Zion Church.
Even they ceased their ordinary occu-
patton of switching each others horses
to make them jump, and knocking of
each others hats to compel the unfortu-
nate hatless to dismount in order to re-
ooror 10 porfion IF bio C,,uIo- y