Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1918-09-13

awe Been So Near orownln' Myself,
That They Thought Was Dead
When ! Was Hauled lnboard.
clos't ms anybody kin, I've been 80
near drownn' myself that they thought
| was dead when | was hauled inboard.
"ComIn' bOck from drowning Is q
whole lot worse than beln' drowned.
You take It from me-"
"Well," sighed Carolyn May, "rm
glad TO know that, It's bothered me a
good deal, If my mamma and papa
had to be dead maybe that was tho
incest way for them to co.
Since Joseph Stogg had listened to
the rambling tale Of the sailor regard
Ing the sinking OF the Dunraven, he
had borne the fate Of his sister and
her husband much In mind.
He had come no nearer TO deciding
what to do with the apartment in New
York and It's furnishings.
After listening to Benjamin Hardy's
story, the hardware dealer felt less In
cllned than before to close up the af-
fairs Of Carolyn Mays small estate"
Not that he for moment believed that
there was possibility Of Hannah and
her husband being alive. Five months
had passed. In these days of wireless
telegraph and fast sea traffic such a
thing could not be possible, The lmagi-
nation of the practical hardware mer-
chant could not visualize 1t.
one day when Carolyn May was Wis
ltlng Mrs Gormley Chef burst in quite
unexpectedly, for 1t was not yet mid
afternoon.
"Alr, Stage has let me off to take
Carolyn May slldn'. The Ice amt
goln' to be safe in the cove for long
now. Springs In the air o'ready, Both
brooks are runnin' full
Carolyn May was delighted. AL
though the sky was overcast and
storm threatening when they got down
on the Ice, neither the boy nor the lit
tie girl gave the weather second
thought. Nor had Mr.. Stage consld-
cred the weather when he had allowed
Chef to leave the store that afternoon.
Chef strapped on his skates, and
then settled the little girl firmly on her
sled, with Prince riding behind.
The boy harnessed himself with the
long towrope and skated away from
the shore, dragging the sled after him
at brisk pace.
"Oh N.Y. squealed Carolyn May,
'therc isn't anybody else on the lce."
1--WE won't run into nobody them"
laughed the boy.
1t was too misty outside the cove to
see the open water; but 1t was there,
and Chef knew 1t as well as anybody.
he had no intention Of taking any
risks-especially with Carolyn May in
his charge.
The wind blew out of the cove, too.
AS they drew away from the shelter Of
the land they felt its strength.
Naturally, neither the boy nor the
little glrl-and surely not the dog
looked back toward the land. Other
wise, they would have seen the snow
furry that swept down over the town
and quickly hid 1t from the cove.
Chef was skating his very swiftest.
Carolyn May was screaming with de-
light. Prince barked joyfully. And,
suddenly, In a startling fashion, they
came to assure in the ice
The boy darted to one side, heeled
on his right skate, and stopped. He
had jerked the sled aside too, yelling
to Carolyn May to "hold fastw But
Prince was flung from it, and scram-
bled over the ice, barking loudly.
"Oh, dear mel" cried Carolyn May.
"You stopped too quick, Chef CORN
ley. Goodness! There's hole in the
ice |"
"And l didn't see 1t till we was al
most in It," acknowledged Chef. Its
more'n a hole. Why there's a great
field of ice broke off and sallin out
into the lake."
"Oh, myl' gasped the little girl.
The boy knew at once that he must
be careful In making his way home
with the little girl. Having seen one
great assure in the Ice, he might come
upon another. 1t seemed to him as
though the Ice under his feet was in
motion. In the distance was the sound
Of reverberating crash that could
mean but one thing. The Ice in the
cove was breaking up!
The waters of the two brooks were
pouring down into the cove. Spring
had really come, and the annual freshet
was likely now to force the Ice entirely
out of the cove and open the way for
traffic In few hours.