Year: 1871

strengthened her in that awful moment
that fear dropped from her like gar
ment and her trembling ceased 1t was
then and thereafter that she never lost her
selfcommand, through all the trials of that
gloomy night.


She drew the bedstead toward the mid
die of the room, and placed table upon
it and on that she put the cradle. The
water on the floor was already over her
ankles, and the house once or twice moved
so perceptibly, and seemed to be racked
SO, that the closet doors all flew open.


Then she heard the same rasping and
humping against the wall, and, looking
out saw that large uprooted tree, which
had lain near the road at the upper end OF
the pasture, had floated down to the house.
Luckily it's long roots dragged in the soil
and kept it from moving as rapidly as the
current, for had it struck the house in its
full career, even the long nails and bolts
in the piles could not have withstood the
shock. The hound had leaped upon its
knotty surface, and crouched near the
roots shivering and whining. A ray of
hope flashed across her mind. She drew
a heavy blanket from the bed, and wrap
ping it about the babe, waded in the deep
ening waters to the door. AS the tree
swung again, broadside on, making the
little cabin creak and tremble, she leaped
on to it's trunk. By Gods mercy she sue
ceeded in obtaining footing on its slip,
perry surface, and, twining an arm around
its roots, she held in the other her moan
ing child. Then something cracked near
the front porch, and the whole front of
the house she had just quilted fell forward
Just as cattle fall on their knees before they
lie down-and at the same moment the
great redwood-tree swung round and
drifted away with its living cargo into the
black night.


For all the excitement and danger, for
all her soothing of her crying babe, for all
the whistling Of the wind, for all the un-
certainty of her situation, she still turned
to look at the deserted and water-swept
cabin. She remembered, even then, and
wonders how foolish she was to think OF
it at that time, that she wished she had
put on another dress, and the babys best
clothes; and she kept praying that the
house would be spared, so that he, when
he returned, would have something to
come to, and it wouldn't be quite SO desc
late, and--how could he ever know what
had become of her and baby? And at the
thought she grew sick and faint. But she
had something else to do besides worrying,
for whenever the long roots OF her ark
struck an obstacle, the whole trunk made
half revolution, and twice dipped her IN
the black water. The hound, which kept
distracting her by running up and down
the tree, and bowling, at last fell OF at
one of these collisions. He swan for
some time beside her, and she tried to get
the poor beast upon the tree; but he
"acted silly" and wild, and at last she lost
sight of him forever Then she and her
babe were left alone. The light which
had burned for few minutes in the de-
serted cabin was quenched suddenly. She
could not then tell whittier she was DRIFT
ing. The outline of the white dunes on
the peninsula showed dimly ahead, and she
Judged the tree was moving IN a line with
the river 1t must be about slack water,
and she had probably reached the eddy
formed by the confluence of the. tide and
the overf1owing waters of the river. I'm
less the tide fell soon, there was present
danger of her drifting to its channel, and
being carried out to sea or crushed IN the
floating drift. That peril averted, it she
were carried out on the ebb toward the
bay, she might hope to strike one OF the
wooded promontories of the peninsula,
and rest till daylight. Sometimes she
thought she heard voices and shouts
from the river, and the believing
of cattle and bleating of sheep.
Then again it was only the ring
ing in her ears and throbbing of her
heart. She found at about this time that
she was so chilled and stitfened in her
cramped position that she could scarcely
move, and the baby cried so when she put
it to her breast that she noticed the milk
refused to flow; and she was so tnghtened
at that, that she put her head under her
shawl, and for the first time cried bit
terly.


When she raised her head again, the
boom of the surf was behind her, and she
knew that her ark had again swung round.
She dipped up the water to cool her he;rr
parched throat, and found that it was salt
as her tears There was relief, though,
for by this sign she knew that she was
drifting with the tide. 1t was then the
wind went down, and the CRATE and awful
silence oppressed her There was scarcely a
ripple against the furrowed sides of the
great trunk ON which she rested, and
around her was all black gloom and quiet.
She spoke to the baby just to hear herself
speak, and to know that she had not lost
her voice. She thought then-it was
queer, but she could not help thinking it
how awful must have been the night
when the great ship swung over the
Asiatic peak, and the sounds of creation
were blotted out from the world. She
thought, too of mariners clnging to spars,
and of poor women who were lashed to
| RATS, and beaten to death by the cruel sea-


She tried to thank God that she was thus
spared, and lifted her eyes from the baby
who had fallen into fretful sleep. Sud


denly, away to the southwark, great


light lifted itself out of the gloom, anG


flashed and f1ickered and flashed again


Her heart futtered quickly against the


baby's cold cheek. 1t was the lighthouse


at the entrance of the bay. As she wa


yet wondering, the tree suddenly rolled {
little, dragged little, and then seemed tt
lie quiet and still. She put out her hani


and the current gurgled against it. Th'


tree was aground, and, by the position o
the light and the noise of the surf


aground upon the Dedlow Marsh.


Had it not been for her baby who wa


ailing and croupy, had it not been for tn


sudden drying up of that sensitive fOun


tain, she would have felt safe and relieved


Perhaps it was that which tended to max


all her impressions mournful and gloomy


AS the tide rapidly fell, great flock c


black brant futtered by her, screamin


and crying. Then the plover flew up an


piped mournfully, as they wheeled roun


the trunk, and at last fearlessly lit upon
Like d gray ClOuu. 1Atu IuG uCIOu u6'


over and around her, screaming and pre-
testing, and at last dropped its guant leg
only few yards from her. But, strange'
of all, pretty white bird, larger than
dove--like pelican, but not pelican
circled around and around her. At last
lit upon the rootlet of the tree, quite owe
her shoulder. She put out her hand an
stroked its beautiful white neck, and
4 never appeared to move. 1t stayed the
] so long that she thought she would lift I
2 the baby to see it, and try to attract b
f attention. But when she did so, the chi
r was so chilled with the cold, and had SUE
e a blue look upon the little lashes which
L didn't rise at all, that she screamed alou


and the bird flew away, and she tainted.
t Well, that was the worst of it, and pc
:. haps not so much, after all, to any b
= herself For when she recovered h
:. senses it was bright sunlight, and de
j. low water. There was a confused moi
n of gutteral voices about her, and an G
e squaw, singing an Indian "hushaby," a
4 rocking herself from side to side before