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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (June 1, 1889)
I 321 tiling", dim. at lb. ever! Unk., the bright jrflow wj-fi-U. in valley, the golden pirM pnrpl. hither on t billi, tho .ft gny of the eragi and the far away dwp blue of tb aea. ... i i - We uul vA M at any other new, ihe laid, - HI. met the tut, the very lul; the night will U overtaking ua." . . We walked on. The road Uy around precipi tin! pi of rock, di,0,,,(1 1" 0n. T Irfl land wu lb frow which the voicei of the children who bad goo on their blackberry excursion camo loud and merrily. On our right i narrow belt of bramble and gorae buahei hid the edge of a rocky teep. - What U that bright thing moving among the bnihea on tho right?" said the lady. " It mtut U one of thfl children away from the others liking fur Im!." " I.k!" aha said, pointing toward it; and then aba criv again. " Look ! " but now it wu with a iharp 6iU of terror in her voic at she iprang forward. I n in a avibd what had occurred. Tho little child bad strayed jrilouily new the iteep lide, and in reaching over f.ir mmo blackberries had fallen. A littlo way Mow tho nlge wu a toft of earth and grm, with a buih growing on it Ihe child'i hand clutched the buah to save it from falling, and it hung uendl over tho abyss Mow. The lady never heaiUtod fur a moment. The child muat be reached - the sprang on to tho llgv I could see the dan ger. Tho Mgo of 1mo earth and bramble bushes, which wu juit i true g r-noogh to War littlo floorgie'i weight, lcgan to Imven visibly and to ilowly detach iUelf w ben the weigbt wu addxL Hut ihe had seizin tho child and iwutg him op to me, the Tory effort of tiling so inrreuing ber own danger. Ai ihe taw tho child aafo In my arma aho looked up in my face with a anile of supremo joy I ihall cerer forget I cried tml ia bitter anguish aa 1 uw the fissure growing wider and beard the rattle of the loot earth and sUmr. " Try to riarh my hand," I said, leaning over ai far u I could. Merciful (Lxl! If it lad beld for one moment ttoro - only for on. 8ho made a ipriog to touch my band. It wu U Ut; with a cruh it fell, and I knew, rather than saw, tUt aho wu with it I.ittlo G.wpe'i' lernfi-vl U ba! brought the otlrr children from tho va 1 tWt rememUr hew I at them for help or bow I clamUrod down the .Wp.but I wM(,uickly by ber eldv Hhe had fallen fr. of tx of the di THE WEST SHORE. bris, and wm alive and c t rwbej ber, but the wu d)itg acio&i a moment aiu-r I ii q aicit ! Q aick I" she whispered. " Listen, kind friend, I want your help. Death is coming. The box?" . . " It is safe above," I said, as one in a dream. "Can you be strong?" " Yes, if yon want me." " Leave me here; go on with the boi to Tredegar; it will make two people happy him, and another, my lister." " You must be helped first," I answered. " No, no, it will soon be all over with mo. Go to Tredegar Hall, ask for Hector, give the box to hia. The papers are in it; the key is here around my neck, cut it from there. Tell bim, tell him no, my father is there-tell him that I say Hector must marry Mar. garet. These are the papers he requires to see, and Hector starts for India to-morrow. Can you go? Can you remember? He starts to-morrow to-morrow." A deadly faintnees was coming over her. I raised her a little, " I've sent for help," I whispered. " Oh, live till it comes, when you've escaped with life after Bach a fall." " No, death is coming," she said. " I only lived to tell you-I thank God for sending you to me." " You saved little Georgie, he was safe in his sis ter's arms," I said. " Poor little fellow, that is best his life is more than mine now," she answered faintly. " Are you afraid?" I asked, as I felt her shudder. " No; I thought once I should be, but I feel no fear now." I hid my face, and when I looked again her eye were fixed in that gaze which sees whatever it is that death reveals. 14 You will go?" M I will go," I answered solemnly. ' Do you know the way? Don't miss it; yon muit cross the river." " Yes, good-bye," " Good-bye," she whispered; then, with one con vulaive effort, ihe threw up her hands and cried, "Oh, save mo, iave mel " There was a moment or two of agony, then fol lowed calm. The sounds of the river near by, and tho distant voices of those coming to our aid, were tho last the heard on earth. Her eyes wandered to tho distance for a moment " Is it not a lovely way over the hills?" I heard her ay, and then I knelt beside the dead. Help came at last The pitmen returning froffl their work had beard the story. The lady who had aved the golden-haired boy, the pet of the village eotned lait to thcnL jhey j.ftod C(ipl ii they touched her. They looked, at me kindly and Ptyingly, little guessing I ad;onty known horoi