The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1906-03-22

bss tail upheld 10 . tsnss curve and be
black murle os,s,rstcbsd. Thep The stop
ped aud svsrs her bead 10 ssriss OF ball
circles. lowsriag I, At every swsep. Whs'
her nose jast grssed the ground she uf,sre'
= broken. coughing sound, and huneh''
serseif, nimbiy ~ sprIasing cat. strsigh
q, SAWYER.
Up 20 that moment sawyer had xivci
her snly . cursory glance. Nov he sioot
.tlil aad locked II her. His sducstiop h
the matter Of cows wn very irccmplets
bal he realized now that II be and the H.
t,e red beast should meet. he consequstcs'
~naid be unpleasant. he dropped bis gun
quite forgetting Il was possible mesnt OF
defense, and hopped into the reeds u
seemed only few seconds later when .
loud cracking and splAshins rose At hi,
hesls,
Really alarmed now, be ran ~ be hsn
not run since be was boy, throwing him
sslf at the sea Of reeds that half-uphelc,
hsif-retsrded him. His feet SLAPPED q
quick tattoo on the hidden ooEe. He step.
ped on = wabbly "tussock," reelsd from Il
10 a little pool. splsshed through the semi-
,i,cid stuff 10 . shower Of spray, AID found
himself on the brink OF vide, deep drain
where unhealthy piuki.h mud Clustered ~
II varni, he'd, and Sex med TO her up at him
through i,idescent, c,e-like bubbhs.
II Was an upclsan-lsoking sink, but ths
red COW was behlr him, and hs went Of
the edge like frog. He struck With tn
.ouhd of an exploding soda.wster bottls
ssd kept on sinking, through the raucio
crus, and deep into the pudding like mud
fhen something "wbooshsd" BY him. anc
landed with an explosive grust and spsl-
tar Of slime. II was the little red COW.
Sawyer VAS rather amused at the plighi
INTO which be had drawn bis pursuer, for
sbe was bosged TO her belly, ~ helpless a.
fly on gummed paper. Then be disoov.
ersd that he WAS trspp'd himself Tn
mud held him as II II were hot rubber
Wrench and pull aud sway ss be wou'd, h.
vas inmovshle from mid-thish down. Tn
color receded from his ruddy fsce IN
.tresks.
The little red COW, born to the grim ways
OF the marsh, did not struggle ss 40 ioex.
perienced animal would have done. Sb,
knew that would only cause her to s,nl
dsep,r. Occasionally she lifted ore Of he
should, rs ard pulled slowly and evenly OF
the imprisoned leg; but Sawyer, waicbitP
her anxiously, could not see that she gain.
d nythipg, At esch deliberate efior, he
long tail stifisned sympathstically, and
once the brush Of II almost struck Sawyer
across The cheek, for she had fallen At ~
angle across the drain, with hcr stern a-
ward the late object OF her pursuit.
That tail fi,shed in front Of Sawyer lib,
q ray Of hope. He wa ched for T., his flo.
gers Get like springs. his mild rigidly con-
centrated on everv ripple Of the red cow
akin.
At the same time he was curiously con.
cious Of little brown bird swinging and
singing ljght.heartedly from reed on the
bank, Of the stir Of lace.like vapor high II
be blue arch overhead. aud the insisten' |
odor Of sulphur that rose from The mud.
BE was conscious, too, that he WAS get.
tling deeper. It made him desperate, sn6
ne picked up handfuls Of mud and threw
hem at the poor COW. and reviled her. |
This startled her out Of her her despairinb
calm. Her tail 6sw out as she straint d |
dumbly to!extricate herself. and ~ lucl |
sould have 1t Sawyer caught the tail.
he had learned from the red COW that Il |
sas best to 90 at the business quietly
Polling strongly and evenly on her tail, be
wisg'ed bis feet until the pressure abou
th ~ WAS somewhat looeeppd. Then |
bent over, ~aistcost 10 the mud. and wr'g |
gled and kicked downward, his hands Incl
'rg up the tail, while the COW glared round
At bin with black, protrudiug eyes anc
a u'cles jumping With fear.
All at once, with hind Of sticky Sigh.
bis lsgs drew out Of the rubber boots, ano
sawyer went hand over hand along th
ISL, Gliding on his stomach Ike . turtle
he era slsd up over her hips, straddlsd he,
sharp back. and began to laugh hystert
,aly.
A shadow swept over him and be looked
W. stilI grinning foolisbly. A big, SCOT,
srowp bird WAS wheeling close above him
- fitting wings. Another was descend ms
rom the clouds In complainant circlef, anc
! bird came slouchipg over the reeds.
Sawyer had heard about buzzsrds ano
heir diet, and the inference was not anus
ng. Az be watched them, two slightsd
lpon the tagging rail OF what hsd once
seen part ofa cow-pen. The third came
traight and toftly 1t him he got feet.
ng impression OF = red, nsked, Nth en-
trusted neck and ruiT Of soiled feathers
Then, alnolt before be could throw up bis
'rm, the hooked bill snapped, and he fell
pang 10 bis cheek and the warm trickle Of
blood
The buzzsrd dipped on. sstorished At its
'igoroua rec ption, ard iiiued the two OF
he rail. These caich-basins OF the marsk
we're their friends. Anything that fell Int
hem belsrged TO the buzz,rds even 'uslIy.
his thing evidently bad not bes n In quite
ong enough, but the three buxxards could
ford TO wait while.
The bussuds buIched together smica-
'ly, their bald heads bobbisg. Sawyer,
aappirg bis cbssk-oons, looked o. thsm
with f,Ar and hatred. Tben be Looked At
he Ieaftst bank. IL Was tn rect s~ay-
en- fsei Of shahing. botrnnle.s ecIe. he
s.Il knew shat ~osld happen to hin II b.
q, . se.kipged foot On that 4
BE ,bcssht bard and loAe The SOP
urned bot spot On ths top Of his head
sters tie tsir sss THE. and The bosrgd.
h,xk th.tr lupsS n invs nerisIv~lw snn.t