Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1919-02-26


bur+s much to be drownd-edY
"Hurts much2" gasped the old sea-
man.
yves. sir. Do people that get
drownd- ed feel much pain? Is 1t a suf-
ferin' way to die? / want to know,
BENJAMIN. cause my papa and mamma
died that way" continued the child
choking q little. "It does seem as
though I'd just got to know"
save. ave." muttered the man. Il
see, An l kin tell ye, Car'lyn May, as
clos't as anybody kin. I've been SO
near drownin' myself that they thought
l was dead when was hauled 1nboard.
"Comin' back from drowning is
whole lot worse than bein' drowned.
You take it from me-"
"Well," sighed Carolyn May, I'm
glad to know that. It's bothered me
good deal. If my mamma and papa
had to be dead maybe that was the
incest way for them to 60"
Since Joseph Stage 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 its furnishings.
After listening to Benjamin Hardy's
story, the hardware dealer felt less in
clined than before to close up the af-
fairs of -arolyn Mays small ''estate."
Not that le for a moment believed that
there wa possibility of Hannah and
her husbnd being alive. Five months
had passe. In these days Of wireless
telegraph nd fast sea traffic such
hing could OF be possible. The imagi-
nam Of Impractical hardware mer-
chant could 1t visualize it.
One day YIN Carolyn May was Wis
iting Mrs. GormleShet burst in quite
unexpectedly, for 1t Wa not yet mid
afternoon.
"Mr. Stagg has let me o~to take
Carolyn May slidin'. The iceain't
goin' to be safe in the cove for 'ng
now. Springs in the air o'ready. Bo.
brooks are runnin' full"
Carolyn May was delighted. Al
though the sky was overcast and
storm threatening when they got dow
on the ice, neither the boy nor the lit
tie girl gave the weather a secon'
thought. Nor had Mr.. Stage consid
cred the weather when he had Above,
Chef to leave the store that afternoon
Chef strapped on his skates, ant
then settled the little girl firmly on he
sled, with Prince riding behind.
The boy harnessed himself with tn
long towrope and skated away from
the shore, dragging the sled after hin
at brisk pace.
ooh, my!" squealed Carolyn May
"there isn't anybody else on the ice.
"We won't run into nobody, then,
laughed the boy.
1t was too misty outside the cove t
see the open water; but it was there
and Chef knew it as well as anybody
He had no intention of taking an,
risks-especially with Carolyn May II
his charge.
The wind blew out of the cove, toe
AS they drew away from the shelter o
the land they felt its strength.
Naturally, neither the boy nor tn
little girl-and surely not the dog
looked back toward the land. Other
wise, they would have seen the snow
furry that swept down over the tow
and quickly hid it from the cove.
Chef was skating his very swiftest
Carolyn May was screaming with de
light. Prince barked joyfully. And
suddenly, in startling fashion, the.
came to a assure in the icei
The boy darted to one side, heele'
on his right skate, and stopped. H
had jvrked the sled aside, too, yellin
to Carolyn May to "hold fast" Blu
Prince was flung from it, and scram
hled over the ice, barking loudly.
ooh, dear met" cried Carolyn May
"You stopped too quick, Chef Conn
ley. Goodness! There's hole in tn
ice"
"And I didn't see 1t till we was al
most in It," acknowledged Chef. sit
more'n a hole. Why! there's a grea
field of ice broke off and sailin' on
into the lake"
"Oh, my!" gasped the little girl.
The boy knew at once that he mus
be careful in making his way hom
with the little girl. Having seen on
great assure in the ice, he might com
upon another. 1t seemed to him a
though the ice under his feet was Ii
motion. In the distance was the SCUM,
of a reverberating crash that coult
mean but one thing. The ice in tn
cove was breaking up!
The waters of the two brooks wer
pouring down into the cove. Sprin!
had really come, and the annual freshe
was likely now to force the ice entirel.
out of the cove and open the way 70
traffic In a few hours.
CHAPTER XIII.
The Chapel Bell.