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Show qood FRon an ill wind H BT X H. NKHOLJON. I iiAlAyMVAVASV.W.WAVAaM.iJAti.iAAiMJ.i.r.i pp. p . . . - H jioi. K wl" U8t 'mvo to Kt!l-V H J Z here, and make the bust 2 A o ot lt; but l ,,ou't t,cllovc H jf " K the water will get up to fQW "lc hous?." H "it luuy not; but If It does, what shall H we do? In the night, too; If It wax In H the day, wc might be able to save our- H "If It docs rise so high, wc will not H bo the only ones In trouble, for It will H cover the wbolc town north of the H , "Kelly, why can't wc sell our chick- ' ens, and get money enough to keep us HP till tlio danger Is over'-" H "If It were not so near night, and H Sunday, too, we might; but what would H we do without them? They arc ul- H most our only dependence." H In a short tlmn the dark, chilly, M dlsmnl night settled down. Tlio dark- H est night in all the twenty-two years H of Nellie Anderson's life. She and her M sister Grace, aged fourteen, sat watt- B Jng and watching for home sign that H the river would go down. H The house was so near the river, the M lot so low, that of all those who would M suffer from the flood, they would be H the flrst to face the danger; and they M were the least able to do so; and It LH being the last house along tlio river H bank, In the city, they would be the H last to receive help. H "Ob, Nelly, what shall wc do If the H water gets to the house? I wih wo had H gone awuy before It was dark." H "It may not reach the house; but if H It should, It must get much higher be- H foro It puts us in much danger. Wc H can more such things ns we will seed H for a day or so up-stnlrs, and wc will H bo safe there." m "It's coming. Listen!" H With a rush that threatened to car- H ry the little house nway, the water H was around thera, nnd they had no H time to save anything. They crouchrd H down bcsldo the window In tlio little -HL chamber, trying to see the water; but Kff the only thing of which they could B be sure was that It was still rising. M Nelly took the lamp and went to the M stairway, to sec If there was much M water In the lower story; she found M It was more than half way up to the B celling. It was Imposlble to get any B. thing from below, now, and they hnd brought no food with them. Again H they sought the window. They could H plainly hear the cries for help of those HI in iltatrpHH In the town lust around the J bend above them; and sometimes they H Added their cries to those they heard; H but the entire attention ot tho.se en- H gaged lu the work of rescue was do- H voted to saving those nearest nt hand. Again Nelly looked below. The H water had nearly reached tho celling H now; In u few minutes more It would J reach the tipper story, then what J should they do? Nelly tried to cheer Grace by telling her that It surely H could not get much higher; that n little water In the upper story, would not hurt them; that In the morning BJ so mo one would bu sure to boo them H and 'iniio to Uielr help. J W j another Midden rush the water PJ vat iu tho chnmber, and the house trembled and shook, ny the light of PJ the lamp they could see It was nearly H up to the window sill. Tho faces ot J botli girls were pale now. A "Grace, If It rises much higher, we Br must try to reach the roof. Wo must BJ not ho caught In here!" PJ "How can wo get out on the roof?" PJ "I think I can help you up from the PJ Window, then you can help me," PJ "Let's not try It yet; wo may not need to. Ob!" J Tho houso gave n mighty quiver, ns if shaking Itself loose from Its foun-PJ foun-PJ dntlon. swung part way round, caught on something, nnd hung, rocking wild- ly In tho flood. The water was not J so deep In the chamber now as it had H been before the house floated. "I think wo will be nil right now, PJ Grace. The heaviest articles are be- low, and they will not ns ballast, and PJ keep the house right side up." PJ "If tho house stays right side up. we will get no deeper In tlio water than PJ .wo are now." With a sickening lurch tho house shook Itself free, whirled around, PJ caught again, swung part way round. rrtmo loose, and floated down with the current. As their light shone from PJ tho window they could see tho trees glide by. "Nelly, don't you think wo would better put out the lamp? Wo don't PJ ,want Ore ns well ns water." PJ They were soon K'ni1 hey hnd don PJ this, for occasionally tho house would strike nonie obstruction with such forco It seemed as If It must go to PI pieces. They knew that they were AJk Rolng down stream rapidly, for some-M some-M times they could get u glimpse of a I tree as they swept past near It, and when tho chamber window would turn toward the town they had left thoy I could see the reflection of the light I on the clouds. It kept growing fainter I and farther away, and then they saw I the reflection of the IlghtB of another town lu the oppeslte direction, lloiore morning they had lost sight of the lights they had left, but those below were becoming brighter; then t.ny-light t.ny-light caini! to cheer llicm, and Low thankful they were for It. They could now sou that thy wen moving rapidly, but they knuw the chance of help was not so good hare as It would have been In the city. When they did see nny one they wou.d call for help, but rescue was Impossible Impossi-ble lu that swift current. Once, toward to-ward mid-day, the house caught on something, and held for iiomo tlini. I They began to hope It would not resume re-sume Its wild Journey again; but toward to-ward night, as the water continued to rise, It floated down stream again. Tho cold, the hunger, the fatigue, and above ail, the nervous strain was fast telling on their strength. It wan growing darker; Monday night was closing down on them, and no hops of help, when they came around a bend and saw before them n scene which seemed to promise them cither life or certain destruction nt once. The river was running through what seemed to bo a great city. Wreck and destruction destruc-tion was on every baud; bridges torn out, houses crushed, cars and buildings burning, nnd farther out they could see tho twinkling lights of n great city. But help was more Impossible here than It had been before, for the current was so swift, the way blocked with so much wreckage that no boat could reach them, although the watchers on the bank could sec them plainly. Surely It was God's baud hnd held them back, during the day, until that mighty torrent had swept nway the many obstructions through which they could not have passed earlier In the day. They passed It all safely nnd In a few minutes they swept out on n much larger stream, where there was more room, nnd consequently less danger. But It was dark now nnd the rain still falling, and they could see nothing save an occasional light In some window. win-dow. The hous sailed along smoothly now, tho water being deeper nnd the channel wider, and so their nervous tension was somewhat relieved; but how Blow dragged the night! How they longed for the light o'. dayl When at last the night was over daylight found them exhausted, scarcely nble to stand, hope nil gone, longing for death, ns a relict from that awful strain. About 10 o'clock they were near the left side ot the current, and as they swung around n bend toward the north, they were drawn still farther from the channel. A little farther down a strong current set off toward tho left, onto tho bottom, and It took them along with It. As they left the main stream, tho house caught on some obstruction, but did not stop long. It floated out of the chnnnel nnd toward tho north, caught again, and as It came loose It revolved In tho opposite direction, direc-tion, nnd ns the window came toward the north they saw a house closo by, and above water. Their craft continued to revolve nnd move with the stream a Uttlo longer, then It grounded In shallower water, and not over a quarter of a inlle from the house, where they could now see a man nnd woman watching them. Tho man called to them, then ran toward the water near the house, nnd soon they saw him coming to them in a boat. Ned Tnylor owned one of the bst famiR ou the Missouri Itlvcr bottom. Tho house wns on high ground, above any high water, though still quite close to tho river, Along the south side of tho farm was a Bmall creek, coming down from the northwest. Ned's sister, Kmma, was his housekeeper, house-keeper, and like Ned had madu her part of the domain to blossom as' tho roso; but now the river was higher than It had been for years. All Ned's crops were ruined, and though the house was still above water, and the stork still safe, tho loss would be great. Ned was troubled more about his sister's sis-ter's health than about his crops She had only recently recovered from a severe fever, and now she Rcemed likely like-ly to have a relapse, and It was nearly Impossible, to get n doctor ns tho bottoms, bot-toms, for miles around, wero under water. Kmma wns lying on a lounge, placed In such n position she could see tho river through the open door. She had a glaRS In her hands, through which sho watched tho wrockngo coming urouud the bend. "Ned, there conies n bouse down the river. Where could It havo come from?" "It might havo come from K . This flood might easily have washed away a small house. Lot me nee." no took the glass and looked. "It Is very close to this side; It may Ibo drawn Into tho creek; thero Is a strong current running back west , now." r.:ntr.r. watched the l -.. It iel vhed s'ov'y, a:ul ni.u avNlille It1 swung around B' ' v u!d tw tit? W'ldov.' Ill th" .utile. i "Oh, Ned; Ned! come here quick!" ! Ned ran 10 his Mstcr. thi'iMng sonic-; tlil.ig had liitppencil to her. I "Oh. Ned! There Is s-orr one lu tlif.t j home! Two women! 1 can see them at the window! .Look'." The hoijip had roxolvod o far, that Ned could not se? the window. Boon tlio hotuo c.iU'rcd. the current which ran buck up the ore.:. It seemed to hang on something, then changed the direction of Its toolullon..,iind enutliiui'd on Its way; but now both Kn't'in and Ned wen hfridlug In the door, and ns the wlm'mv imiw lu slsht 1 nsftiln they could plainly see two women leaning from It, and heard a very a hit ill for help. Ned ro'H'M with lint one word. "f'onilng." nnd darted for h'x boat; b"fore he reached It, Kmma called to hlin: 'M's grounded out thero In the pasture. No, It's loose ngalnl OH, Ned, It's going Into the inuuth f '-iial little ho'.bw! It Is! It's fast now! It can't gefoitt now!" Ned gave one glance and saw that Emma was rhshr, then made every effort to reach It as soon as possible. When he pulled up lumath the window win-dow he saw two most pp.lful faces. "Are you willing to give up your shin';" "Yes, indeed! We'll (surrender on any tcuus." They were so weak they were scarcely scarce-ly able to help themselves nt nil. nnd It was only nfter considerable difficulty Ned succeeded in gttliio them Into the hoot. When this' wns accomplished. anS he was again at the oars, he asked thorn how long they had been afloat. Since Sunday night." "Since Sunday ulght! Uow far did you come':" "From T ." "Is It possible! And have you been rooped up there all that time, without food?" "Yes." "And wet, nnd coldl I don't sec how you stood It so long?" "We could not havo stood it much longer." "Why didn't you leave before the water got so high?" "Wc had no place to go; and If we had, we did not like to leave unless wo wero compelled ti." "And the house who does it belong to?" "It did belong to us, before It came down here. I don't know who It be-lorgs be-lorgs to now." "It is still jours. It Is on ray land, nnd I will buy It of you, If you wish. But had you no relatives or friends where you could have gone?" "No wo nre nlone In the world, since father died; and the house was all ho left." "Well, you will And friends here. My sister and I nre alone, also. We will make yon welcome." Food, warmth nnd a night's rest did them much good, and tho next day they felt better. As Emma was not able to do her work, Nelly and Grace were glad of tho chanco to earn something some-thing by staying and keeping house for their friends. When the wnter went down, so Ned could Inspect the house, he paid them n good price for It, and they began to feel quite prosperous ngnln. Ned was very busy those days, replanting his fields, and he was very glad tho girls wero thero to look nfter Kmma. He soon found that this was not the only reaFon he wns glad to hnvo them there, lie began to wonder how he could ever let Nelly go and he determined to try to persuade her to he his wife. Nelly, too, had learned a new lesson. Sho began to dread the time of separation. She found Ned a delightful companion. Now, don't say that three weeks' acquaintance was not enough; but Just remember thnt two people living lu the samo bouse three weeks will bo better acquainted than In six months under ordinary circumstances. When Kmmn's health wns fully recovered, re-covered, Nelly decided It would bo bet-tor bet-tor for them to leave. "You will not need ns now. I think wc will try to rent a house In W , and move our household goods there." Kmma was startled at this sudden announcement. Sho had not thought of their leaving. "Why do you want to go? Why not make this your home? We would bo glad to havo you do so." "I do not think It would be best for us to stay; though It has been very pleasant for us h-re," "Then why do you wish to go? We do not want you to. I shall iibI: Ned to persuade you to stay. I believe he can." Nelly blushed nt this, but made no reply, and lhnmn put her arms around her and whispered, "I would Uko to have you for a sister." When she had an opportunity to speak to Ned nlone, sho said; "Ned. I think It's too had. The girls are going to leave us now, when we were nil settled so comfortably. Can't you persuade them to stay?" "I don't know, but I. shall try. 1 hopo I can." Ned found Nelly alone In the dining room. "Nolly, why must you go nway? Don't you know how much I want you? Oh, Nelly, can't you love me? I can't tell you how dear to me you have become, Jiow much I love you. Won't you bo my wife? Won't you try to love me?" Ills arms were around her, and he drow her very close to him, and kissed her, nud she let her head rest o;i his shoulder. "Nelly, say you do love me. Say you will bo my wife." "Yes, Ned, I do lovo yon very much. I will l.o your wife." Waverley Magazine. |