•)
THE TORCH OF REASON, HIAER'ION. OREGON, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 1898.
voice, raised and I feared you could rot get up
as she dis- if I did uot make it easy.”
BY JACK CLERMONT.
covered where he wm, fell upon his
“You saved my life and Ray’s,
are you dead?”
But even as she spoke he moved, ear. He turner! his mud daubed, and I guess my own little wife is a
H E weather was warm even
turned his bead and raised his face, rosy face toward her, chirruped a real heroine, though neither she nor
for the first of May, and the
over which the blood was flowing gay cry of delight—and tumbled I knew it before.”
snow on the m ountain wide
freely.
over the canon’s wall!
-----------------
was m elting rapidly. I he canons
“ Faith!” he called, “Faith, love,
Faith never knew how she drag­
The Stone in the Road.
and gorges were wild, rushing to r­
is that you? I thought you would ged herself to the spot and looked
rents, roaring and tum bling down
BY SUSAN H. W IXON.
come! I missed my footing and down upon that, which she felt
to the sunny plain below, where
fell over the wall; fortunately, I must be death, to her child at
they became tranquil rivers — hut
HERE was once a duke who
lodged here. I ’m only bruised and least.
all were rivers, even the little
disguised himself and plac­
my head cut a little; but the water
At first she could see nothing,
brooks, rendered so by the recent
ed a great rock in the mid­
is rising gradually and before The ledge whereupon her husband
rains and thaws.
many hours will sweep me away— had been was almost covered with ^Je
roa(^ near his palace,
F ar up the m ountain side nestled
Next morning a peasant came that
if you don’t find a rope.”
water.
a dot of a house, and in its door
way with his ox cart.
“Oh,
Perry,
what—tell
me-----
”
“
Dead!”
she
moaned,
“both
dead!
wav this pleasant afternoon stood a
“Oh, these lazy people!” said he,
“Go home! There are ropes in Oh, how can I bear it! Too late!
young woman with a baby in her
“here is this stone lying right in
the stable—and—on the beds, bring too late!”
arms.
an y th in g you can find.”
Then she fancied she heard a the middle of the road and no one
She appeared to he anxiously
will take the trouble to put it out
“Yes,
I
will;
don’t
lose
heart,
voice,
a
faint
call,
and
looking
clos-
looking for some one who came
I ’ll 1 >e back in ten minutes.”
er in that mad whirl of waters, she of* tllf* WilV
*’ And so Hans went
not, for, presently, she disappeared
But even as she spoke she thought beheld Perry clinging to the lower on’ 8C0^ing aboat the laziness of
in the house only to return to the
of her baby, and how he would im- end of Hie ledge and — yes — with
people.
door with a bonnet on her head
pede her progress “I ’ll have to something in his arms.
Next came a gay soldier. His
and a shawl wrapped about the
leave you, darling, and I’m so
“Make the ropes fast quickly, head was held so far back that he
baby.
“ We must go and see if we can afraid; but your father’s life de- wifey!” he called; “I cannot cling j did not notice the stone, and so he
here very many minutes.”
stumbled over it.
He began to
not find papa,Ray,darling. He never inand’s it.”
She carried Ray away some dis-
There was a bush, a hardy one storm the country people around
stays away irom his dinner unless
he is detained t>y something un­ tance, where a bush grew. Under and strong, quite near. To this there for leaving a huge rock in the
this she place«! him, first tying liis Faith tied the ladder she had con- road. Then he went on.
usual.”
She was a strong young lass, ac. chubby ankle wit h one apron string, strucled on her way up the moun-
Next came a company of mer-
customed to the mountains all her while with the other she made it tain, flung it over the wall and chants. When they came to the
guided it with her own hands until stone in the road they went off in
life, to their dangers and pitfalls as fast to the bush.
The water was slowly but surely it swung near her fast weakening single file on the other side. One
well as their rugged sidt s, and her
of them cried out:
steps, even encumbered with the nearing the poor, prisoned father, and nearly fainting husband.
He looked up and saw — not a
any one ever gee
]jke of
plump youngster, were light and He watched it as it crept up inch
by inch.
mere dangling, frail rope as he ex- that big stone lying here the whole
free.
“It will reach me in less than an pecied, that he would have had of tj)e mornjng and no( a single
Faith Dixon was a brave girl
naturally, but she had never sup­ hour, and if Faith should not get great difficulty in climbing, and person stopping to take it away!”
T, lay
, there
.,
c three
.r
» and
posed herself to be a heroine, nor back or meet with an accident— 11 perhaps could not have climbed at i It
for
weeks,
as he now was with „„ one', ried
was conscious of all the strength " ’ell, life is sweeter as danger ap- all encumbered
,
.
, . a real , i ladder,
j j
--------------
to
No one
. j ,
.. move
she possessed when confronted with ProacBes, a,,(^ 8^le may Be in time, the , , the baby, but
, ,
. , ,
inquired how it came there. Then
constructed, but with knots
,
.
i .
great peril.
J wonder if she took baby with her. rudely
. J
,
the duke sent around to all the
and straps here and there.
, . , , .
A . .
Eagerly she pressed forward j Boor, Faith, my dear little wife.”
, . ,
„ . ,
,, ,
people on his lands to meet him
how F aith could have ,
.,
, ,
, . ,
around the mountain side, where
mean time seven month’s , Wondering
. ,
. , .
, ,
where the rock lay, as be had some-
done it. he seized it and began
rril ,
she knew her husband had been at °*^ Ray had missed
, ,
, his mamma,
. ,
., , , . ,
ir
e
I thing to tell them. The day came
work endeavoring to turn the bad discovered that he was fast and slowly to drag himself up, feeling a | and R gr(?at crowd gathcred 0 ,d
.....-----i„_.„
__n
strange dizziness creeping over him, t t „ . . .
,
up a lusty _ squall.
conrse of a reckless mountain set
, , A , L.
,
Hans, the farmer, was there and so
But as the squall did not appear but not only his life, but perhaps, were
stream a little away from his few
the merchants and the sol-
to mend matters, he began to tug his child’s, depended upon his
acres of tillable land.
dier. A horr was heard and a
When she reached the place at the apron string with all his reaching solid earth once more.
splendid cavalcade came galloping
sturdy
strength,
until
the
many
On,
on,
slowly,
slowly,
for
poor
where her husband had been at
up. The duke alighted and began
work, she found his tools, and even kicks and pulls broke the frail strip little limp Ray hung like a lump of to speak to the assembled people.
lead on his arm; hut at last he felt
his old jean coat lay near them, but
calico, an(l Ray was free
“My friends,” said he, “it was I
He proceeded to crawl slowly up Faith’s strong, young arms seize
no Porry himself was in sight.
who put this stone here three weeks
Faith looked about her with the moutain side, highly delighted him and pull him over the danger- ago. Every passer-by has left it
wildly beating heart, and lifted her ! to Bnd he was really master of him- ous edge of the canyon, and he was
just where it was and scolded his
strong, clear voice in a loud call:
seP* Bh' Be went, of a truth very saved.
“Perry! Oh, Perry!”
slowly, and with no end of slips
“ My baby! oh, my baby! is he neighbor for not taking it out of
the way.”
No answer! What could it Backward and sidewise, hut up- dead?” moaned the poor mother,
He stooped and lifted up the
mean? What had become of her war^ and onward nevertheless, un-
“1 don’t know. I caught him as
hasband?
M lBe infant monutaineer found he fell by his skirts, and it threw stone. Directly underneath it was
She now turned her steps further Bimself upon the very extreme me off my balance and I tumbled a round hollow, and in the hollow
up the mountain, where, near her, e^ge °f that awful precipice over into the torrent, but managed to was a small leathern bag and upon
the gorge was deeper and the water which his father had fallen,
grasp the rocks. Ah, he’s all right it was written:
“For him who lifts up the stone.”
dashed along more fiercely.
“ Pah! dah!” chirruped Ray, and except the shock and jar. There!
On, on, she pressed, clinging to Bis poor father, fancying he heard he’s coming round, wifey!”
He untied the bag and turned it
boulders and vines for support; lit- something, glanced upward only to The baby opened his sweet eyes upside down, and out upon the
tie Ray in her arms enjoying it all give a low gasp of horror at sight and seeing his mother weeping, stone fell a beautiful gold ring and
in baby delight, giving forth now of that sweet, infantile face, well joined in with a lusty squall for twenty large, bright gold coins. So
and then a joyous little coo.
daubed with yellow clay, it is true, company.
they all lost the priie because they
She had gone to where the But very sweet to the distracted
“ But the rope,” said Perry, when had not learned the lesson of in-
mountain stream swept in through father.
he could speak calmly; “I don’t see quiry, or formed the habit of reas-
the narrow canon walls, and its
“Bro back, baby!” he shouted, how you managed.”
oning, united with dilligence.
roar was almost deafening.
“Go hack!” Where is Faith? The «Qh, I did it on my way back. It Thus may be lost many a golden
Here she paused and peered water is almost at my feet and detained me a little, but grandfa- truth, many a valuable prize, by
down its sides, only to give forth a baby! Gh, must bis life be sacri-
ther was a sea captain, you know, neglecting to freely inquire into the
startled, horrified cry, for there, on heed also?’
and he used to teach us children nature of things, and to use the
a narrow ledge many feet below* “Dah! dah!” repeated Ray, and j all about ropes and ladders, and — ¡reasoning faculty.—[Right Living.
Faith Dixon’s Ladder.
just then his mother’s
her, lay her husband!
“ Perry, P erry!’ she sobbed. “Oh, into a terrified shriek
T
T