Show I + no aaesrauees l a CUP OF 111 n H IB COLD WATER j J A t1 soa 1 JI 1 By EDWARD S ELLIS I sa 1 i esl teos eslaeasooa see II esa derari PAUT ItO < I-tO > V T wins on a drowsy after TT R noon n long time ago that O I p little Dorothy Mayllcld satin sat-in the door of her home playing with her doll Beyond the child through the open door could be seen the mother at her spinning wheel humming a hymn that was as soothing ns n lullaby I must have a drink suddenly said t the little one ns If the sensation of thirst had Just made Itself manifest Now Dorothy you will have to stay right here till I come bad I wont be gone long nnd you must bo real good I With tills she set her doll on the step with her back against the Jamb In order that she might maintain genteel i position during her owns absence and away the young mistress ran down the winding path to the spring only n few rods off at the rear of the house Dorothy ran every step of the wny because she couldnt help U and pausing paus-ing In front of the crystalline spring t of Icy coldness she took n brown gourd f from Its resting plncc on n projecting ledge of stone and stooping down 4 dipped It Info the water Then she t held It to her lips while Its dripping coolness moistened the corners of her mouth and the tip of her pug nose Two or three swallows were suJIlcIent and with u sigh of enjoy menu she laid t down the vessel nnd was about to whirl round nnd dash back to the 1f house when she was abruptly checked t by till appearance of nn Indian warrior t war-rior who cnme from among the undergrowth under-growth walking ns silently ns a shadow Ho W I medium height rather good looking for one of his race his long black hair hanging loosely nbout his shoulders while two or three gaudily gaud-ily stained englc feathers projected from tIle crown Ills countenance was not disfigured by the hideous paint which hIs people use when they go upon the warpath lIe wore the simple hitting shirt leggings and bended moccasins common among the New England Indians In-dians two centuries ago Tine buck horn handle of n knife thrust Into his girdle at the wnlst showed nnd ho grasped the barrel of a long oldfash honed flintlock rifle whose stock rested on the ground at his feet What do you want fearlessly nskcdDorothy Mnylleld after the blue 2 cyeS nndlooUenforHTnomenfstvnlgM into the black orbs of thin redskin Drink wnter replied the Indian In fairly good English Once more snatching up the gourd the girl dipped It Into the spring and held the dripping vessel toward her dusky guest The Immobile face never changed ns he reached out the free linml took the gourd and held It to his lipsTJjnt That ho wns thirsty was quickly shown for he steadily drank gradually raising the vessel and throwing his bend back while tha astonished Dorothy Dor-othy watched the Adams apple In Ills throat ns It bobbed up and down until I not a teaspoonful of water was left In the gourd I f Oh my I she exclaimed I guess you Imvrnt had a drink since you < were n little hoy you dont want anymore f any-more do you 1 No replied the Indian with n fchnke of his head as he returned the gourd sat down on the ground and draw tho back of his hand across his moist lips Dear me Havent you got any handkerchief asked the little one turning up her nose In disgust The Indian wall somewhat mystllled over the name of the article but nil became clear when the little miss whipped out > a piece of spotless linen from the pocket of her dress nnd stepping forward for-ward carefully wiped away tho moisture mois-ture that remained Then she noticed i several bends of perspiration on the u Indians forehead for the day was sul try anti he had traveled far nnd she soothingly removed them There she remarked retreating a step nnd viewing her work with satis faction now you look like somebody It Is not often that n member of the I Indian race betrays the emotion of t mirth but as this one looked nt the little miss and understood her words Ills mouth moved until his even white teeth shone between coppery lips t Whats your name ho asked Dorothy thats tho name of my doll too x Live lore continued the warrior pointing a linger toward the log dwell lag which showed among the leafy 4 limbs of the trees Ii Of course I do Where do yon liver I He turned half round ns ho sat on the ground and pointed behind him I fi Off II ere good wny Little girl cant ii walk rIt4 1 walkYes I cnn If I wanted to but I dont V want to Have you got any little girl like me Again the dark face was lit by n smile and the head nodded without speaking Wont you bring her to see me some i timer i Mebbe was the noncommittal reply re-ply plyyon yon mustnt forget It Ill look for Tier every day and will feel bad It you dont bring her to see me What faders name asked the Indian In-dian who had hardly removed his piercing eyes from the face of the chattering miss Why his nuiiie Is my father How simple you arch There was a glow of real mirth In the countenance Of the red man ut this scornful reply of the little girl and Inn In-n voice of wonderful gentleness lie added He fader hnve oder name Oh why didnt you say whnt you meant He Is Mr Mayfield Do you know him A silent shake of the head was the response Sometimes Indians come to our house If they arc hungry we give them something to eat Arc you hungry hun-gry Cause It you arc It will soon be I supper time nnd If you will go with me you can have nil you want and stay at Hit house till morning No liuiiLrr no buck In woods It suddenly dawned on Dorothy tIt t-It wns her turn to laugh and she did so right heartily I know why you cant eat any supper sup-per Its cause you drank so much water that you cant hold another mouthful The conversation might have lasted a long time for the Indian acted as If ho wcro Interested In tho chatter ot tho little one whose questions and observations ob-servations came so fast that little opportunity op-portunity was given him to do more than answer questions homo of which were of n most puzzling character Suddenly the voice of the mother was heard The prolonged absence of the child had caused disquiet on thn part of the parent and she was calling to her Thats my mother exclaimed tho little one by way of explanation I shall have to go now Goodbyl i She was off like a flash of sunshine but hail taken only n few steps when she stopped short and looked around You wont forget to bring your little girl to see me Wont you tell me your name The warrior fwd risen to his feet and was moving away He too checked himself and turning his head answered an-swered both questions but unfortunately unfortu-nately Dorothy did not catch what he said She repeated her queries but the red man for some reason that cannot ho conjectured did not look around again nor speak lIe struck Into his long silent stride and quickly disappeared disap-peared among the trees I guess ho unld lie Will bring his little girl to see me murmured Dorothy Dor-othy ns she hurried up the path to her mother who wns waiting for her and to whom she related her singular story And little Dorothy waited and watched for the coming of her dusky visitor leading his child by the hand but he never came I PART II One soft September afternoon In 1075 Hugh Lardner u lusty young man carrying car-rying a llhitlock and powder horn camu to limp home of Jacob Mayfield with alarming news It will not do for you to remain another II an-other hour were his words to the palefnced husband nnd wife King Philip amid his warriors are near you and no one Is safe Whllher Blmll wo go ro Deerlield Captain Mosely Is to be left there with a small force while the rest are busy In the harvest Held The village Is only n few miles off and If you make the most of your time nnd are very careful you can reach It In safety Will you do It Yes with heavens help I am greatly thankful to you Hugh for your kindness It Is but n neighborly act Imust hasten Time was precious and bidding tho husband and wife goodhy the young man hurried out of the house and breaking Into a loping trot headed toward to-ward the cqmp of the bravo pioneers from Ipswich Jacob Mayfield was too wise to disregard dis-regard the warning of Hugh Lardner Without encumbering themselves with i anything in the nature of luggage the father stepped out of the house fol lowed by his vlfo imbuing the hand of Dorothy who was now two years older than when she had given a drink of cold water from the spring to nn un known Indian line door was shut behind them but the latchstring was left hanging out In accordance with the hospitable ems tom of the border If the Indians chose to visit this outlying cabin they would meet with no trouble in securing entrance It was nearly ten miles to Dcertleld the distance being greater because of the circuitous rout ken by the pioneer pio-neer He was fnmiinr with the route and was hop ail that by following the advice of Hugh Iardner ho would avoid tho hobtila redmen who were liable to he encountered at any time All went well until tho winding course through the woods marked at times by an indistinct trail but often r without any mark nt all had been passed Finally the father stopped in front of a deep calmly flowing stream a dozen feet or more In width We must reach the other side some how ho remarked as his wife and child paused at his side Cant you Jump it asked his wife with a faint smile Perhaps by taking a short run but how will that help you and Dorothy I will tell you replied the child Take mamma In one arm and me t the other and then mnku the biggest Jump you can I mina nfrald it would land all three la the mldde of the stream But you can swim out with us If It Is necessary to swim I can carry you nil across but It isnt pleasant pleas-ant to have our clothing wetted it will not harm us for the weather Is I mild suggested the wife We may do better They moved up the stream searching fo a straltcr place and met better for tune than they expected Ono was found where the width was barely six feet to leap which was a slight feat even to the wife accustomed to the rough outdoor life on the frontier Dorothy was equally certain she could accomplish it ns readily as her parents who were inclined think she wns warranted In the belief There wns enough doubt however to cnuse the father to try a somewhat original plan which was carried out with ns toundlng results He laid his gun on the ground behind them nnd lifted his laughing child his bands beneath her arms close to her shoulders Then standing on the edge of the stream he swung her back and forth with Increasing oscillations having explained that lie Intended to throw her across One two three and hero you go As ho uttered the last exclamation she left his grasp and describing a short parabola landed lightly upon her feet on the further bank and under un-der the impulse of her own momentum ran several paces before she could check herself There called the pleased parent That Is better than trying to Jump nnd falling Into the stream But I shouldnt have fallen Into the stream = I Jacob Mnyficld heard a slight rustling behind him and turning his head was confronted by fivo Indians one of whom stooping as silently as a shadow shad-ow had caught up tho white mans gun from where It lay The mother uttered a cry hut it was because of the terrifying sight on the further shore An Indian warrior stepped from behind a tree only a few feet away and approached the child whose buck being turned suspected nothing of her peril while held speechless speech-less by what she saw Just across the brook At the moment when the parent was unarmed the hnlf dozen warriors made him and his family prisoners Since nil the Indians were armed and In war paint Mnyflcld and his wife did not believe their lives rnrnld bt sprrtd for more than a fart minutes Their astonishment therefore was great when one of them by gestures Indicated that tho couple were to leap to the other side nnd Join their child Since she too was In great peril the curious command was obeyed on the Instant Tho wife easily leaped ncross and wns followed by her husband the former being quick to take the trembling hand of Dorothy The warriors talked for a few minutes min-utes In their native tongue while Mny field anxiously scanned each face in tnrn in the hope of recognizing an acquaintance ac-quaintance to whom he could appeal but all were strangers though If everyone every-one had sat at his board It probably would not have affected the case The chief was saying something and in the net of gesticulating with his freehand free-hand when to the astonishment of everyone Dorothy Mayfield tugged at the other arm The surprised leader turned angrily and glared down in her face Dont you remember me Im the little girl that gave you n drink of water oh a good many years ago For several seconds tho painted face was a study The Indian stared at the upturned countenance silent peering and intent Then the shadow of a smile played about his mouth he laid his hand on the flaxen hair and in n voice of wonderful tenderness uttered the single word Dorthy I knew you would remember me You told me your name that day but I did not hear you tell me agnlnl Pometacom white people call me King Philip Why didnt you bring your little girl to play with me I watched oh so many days but you forgot all about it didnt you N Too far good way little girl cant walk so far That was so long ago that she must now be a big girl like me Sho can walk It now will you bring her to see me I I Some time was the grim response i King Philip the grim hero of the greatest war in the history of New England had not forgotten tho innocent inno-cent child who gave him a drink of water two years before Without hesitation therefore ho nu nounced that no member of this little family should be harmed Not only that but In face of the fact that ho was urgently noticed elsewhere by his warriors he accompanied Dorothy nnd her parents through the forest until they came In sight of the little village of Decrflehl when knowing that all danger was nt an cud he bade them gootlby and hurried off Cassclls Little Lit-tle Folks |