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Show W,.W.V.V.W.V.V.VV.V.W.V.V.W.WW QOOb FROnjlN ILLWiND DT J. H. NICHOLJON. rVWASV.VAVAVAV.V.V.V.V.VAV.V.V ,MOV o! WHI J""t liuvo tn sluy J asTa? here, ami Ul.lke 1)li best O A O of II; but 1 ili'ii't believe X " K the water will get ini tu StOW Hit honsi.." "It urn Dot; but If ll linen, wluit ahull we tin? In the tilulit, ton; If It was In th day, wo might no aide to save our- el VPS." "If II docs rise mi high, we will not be the wnly ones In trouble, fur It will cover tbe whole loan nor III of tbe river." "Nelly, why run't i' n il our chick-WH chick-WH unil get minify enough to keep tin : Ull the danger Is over'" "If it wero nut en near night, anil Siintliiy, tiK, wo might: Imt wluit wnuM w do without Hi. in) They me ul-most ul-most onr only ili-petiilcnoe." In short time (lie ilnrk, rlillly. dismal night aeiilcil down. Tho darkest dark-est nl-:ht In nil tin- twenty-two years of Nellie Anderson's lite. She- nnii her sister tirni-e. nged fourteen, :it wait-lug wait-lug anil watching for some algn that tin river would go down. The house wna o nenr tho rWir, the lot mi low, t It n t of nil ttniBo who would suffer from tho Hood, they wotilil lie the flmt to face the danger; anil thry were tho lentil nhle to do ao; nnd It being tho Inst homo along the river bank. In the city, they would be the last to reeeivo help. "Oh, Nelly, wluit shall we do If the water gets tn the hotiseV I wish wc had gone away before It wna dark." "It amy not roach the home: but If It ahnnld. It must get much higher btv fure It puts us In much danger. We ran move such things na we will iced for a duy or no up Htalrn, nnd we will bo an fo there." "It'a ruining. Listen!" With a ruab that threatened to car-rjr car-rjr the little huuso owny, tho water wna around them, and they bad no time tn save anything. They crouched down beside the window 111 the little J ' oimmbor, trying to see the water; but the only tiling of whlcb they could be aitro wna Hint it waa "till rising. Nelly took the lamp nnd went to the fairway, to neo if there waa much water In the lower story; alio found It waa more than half way up to the ceiling. It waa luqiosllile to get anything any-thing from below, now, and they bnd braiiqht no food with them. Again tliey Bought the window. They could plainly bear tiie erlea fur help t f those la ditrra In the town junt nround the bend above them; and aoniellinea they added tlielr erlea to thoso they beard; bat the entire attention nf those eu-Kgod eu-Kgod In tiie work of rescuo wna derated de-rated tn Having thnae nearest nt hand. Again Nelly looked below. The water bad nearly reached the celling now; la a fen mliiulea more it would reach tho upper alory, then what aimuld they Uo7 Nelly tried to cheer Urace by telling ber that It aurcly could not get much higher: thnt a little water in the, upper atory, would at hart them; that In the morning mm ono would bo aure to buo them aad -nine to their help. V i another sudden rush the water wai in Uie clinmher, nnd tho house trembled and ahook. lly tho light nf tlio lump they could aee It waa nearly up to the window Hill. Tho fuees of both (Ilia wero pale now. "tlrace, If It rises much higher, we must try to reach the roof. Wo intuit not bo caught In here:" "How can we get out on the roof?" "I think I Oil n help you up from the window, then you can help me." "l-ct'B not try It yet: we may not Beeil to. Oh!" The bouse gave a mighty quiver, an If sinking ltavlf loose from It foundation, foun-dation, awnng part way round, caught on Bometblng, and hung, rocking wildly wild-ly In the flood. The water waa lint a deep In the rhaiuber now na It hud been before tho limine floated. "1 think we will be nil right now. Grace. The heaviest articles are below, be-low, aul thry will net aa Imllaat, and keep the limine ri u lit aide up." "If tho bouae etuya right aide up. we will get no deciier in tho water than w are now." Wllh a alckenlng lurch the home book Itaclf free, whirled around, oougltt agnln. awung part woy round, raiiio loone. aud fl' ated down with the eurrent A tlielr light al.ouo from tiie window they could aoo the treea glide by. "Nelly, don't you think wo would bettiT put out the lamp? Wo don't want Are an well aa water." They were wton glad they had done rlila, fur occntilonitlly tho house would atrlke aome obstruction with aitch force It neemed na If It inunt go to plecea. Tbey knew that they were going down atreniii rapidly, for aome-tlnieo aome-tlnieo they could get u gllinpae of a tree aa tliey awept piiHt near It, and when the eluiuiliii- window would turn toward the town they hail left tliey could aee the riileellnn of the lluhtn on the clnnda. It kept growing fulntcr and fnrtlier away, and then they aaw tbe reflection of the lights of auolber town in tiie oppeiiltp dlrei'tion. lielore lli .l iilu i they liiid lint : u tit nf the llulita tliey had l-rt. br.t tiioe below were becoming brighter; then ilay-IlKtlt ilay-IlKtlt came to cheer tliclu. aud 1.01V thmikiiil tliey wen for II. Tliey could now aee th.it lhny were moving ijipiitly, but lln-y ku,w the cliaui'c of help waa not ao giaid here aa It would have 1 n In the c.ly. When tliey did nee any o:ie they wnuid call for lielp. but ren. ue waa iuriiol-ble iuriiol-ble In that awift eurniit. Once, to ward inlil-iliiy, tiie liottae caught on aoiiieihlng, and held for Koine tliu.'1. Tliey Ik'kuii to hoiie It would not re-aunio re-aunio its wild Journey n.ilii: but toward to-ward n'it, aa the water continued to rife. It llu.ned r.oivn alr.'iuu ngnlii. The cold, th- hunger, the fatigue, nnd nhnve all, the nervoua atrain wan fast telling on their Kircngih. It wit growing ilatkei; .Mon.lay itUht war cloning i!own on them, and no bop of help, when they came around a bend nnd aaw before them n aceno which aeenied to pronilao Ihein either life or cei-tnln ilefiiruction nt once. The rircr waa running throtuti what aee'ticd to be a great city. Wreck and dcntruo-Hon dcntruo-Hon waa on every bnud; briilgea torn out, hnuaea criiKlied, cara nnd bulhllima burning, nnd farther out they could aee the twinkling lllita nf a great city. Hut help waa more ImpoHaiblo here than It hud been before, for the current wna ao Bw lft. tho nay blocked with ao much wreckage that no boat could reach them, ulthnugli the wntchcra on the bank could aeo them plainly. Surely It waa Cnd'a baud had held them back, during the day, until thnt mighty torrent had awept nway the many olmtruetlnna through which they could not bnvo punned earlier In the daj. They paaaed It nil anfely nnd In a few mliiiitea they awept out on a much larger atreuni, where there waa more room, and cotmequently leaa danger. Hut it waa dark now and the rain atlll falling, and they could aee nothing anve an occnalonal light In aome window. win-dow. Tho bouee nulled along munnthly now, tho wnter being deeper nnd the channel wider, and ao tlielr nervoua toiiAton waa aomewhnt relieved; but how alow dragged the night! Ilow they longed for Hie llgnt o' day! When at laat the night waa over daylight found them cxhnun'cd, aeareeiy aide to aland, hope all gone, longing for death, aa a relief from that awful strain. About 10 o'clnck tliey were nenr the left aide of the current, nnd na th'.y awung nround a bend toward the nnrtii, they were ilrnwn atlll further from the channel. A little farther down a atrong current act uff toward the left, onto the bottom, and It took them along with It. Aa they left the ninln atrenin, the houae caught on a.ime obstruction, but did not atop long. It floated nut of the channel and toward the north, caught again, nnd na It came lonae It revolvei' In the oppn:t: direction, direc-tion, nnd aa the window fame toward the norlli they t:vr a bouse cloao by, nud above water. Their craft continued to revolve nnd move with the atrenm a little longer, then It grounded In aliallower water, nud not over n quarter of n nil!e from the bonne, where they could now aee n ntnn nnd woman watching them. Tho man called tn them, then rnn toward the water near the house, and noon thry aaw him coming to tiieiu In a boat. Ned Taylor owned one qf the beat fat-ma on the Mlvaourl ltlver bottom. The houae wna on high ground, nbove any high wnter, though atlll quite close to the river. Along the aouiti aide of the farm wna a Htiiall rrucX coining down from the northwest. Ned'a Bister. Kinmo. waa ills housekeeper, house-keeper, nnd llko Ned bad iniiilo her part of tho domain to bioasom na the roan; but now tho river waa higher than It bad been for years. All Ned'a eropa were ruined, and though the hotiao waa tit ill abovo water, nud the stock atlll safe, the loss would be great. Ned was troubled more ahuiit hla sister's sis-ter's health than about tits crops. Hhe had only recently recovered from a severe fover. and now alio seemed likely like-ly to have a relapse, and It waa nearly impossible to got a doctor na the Dot-tonm, Dot-tonm, for miles around, were under water. Kmina was lying on a lounge, placed in such a position she could see the river through the open door. She had a glass In her lunula, through which slio watched tho wreckage coming; around the bend. "Ned, there comes a house down the river. Where could U have come from?" "It might have come from K . Tills flood might easily have washed nway n small house. Let me see." He took tile glnan and looked. "It la very close to this aide: It ma be drawn Into the creek; there la a strong current running back west now." 1 i: -' ',:.'.. . It ,e , :.o.i '" i . a iii:.' it sw um: i ..'l '. c 1 th ' i.h. X-l. .V A'. I' !;!' ! tl ,:: I....! ' :... i: I "Oil. N. !' i I. ! I ' . ! in tl"! boil. : 'I wo v. ' I ;; til. .11 ' at f.ic v.in!.. ! I." ' '" I Th.. I.i.i - 1 .i.l tvv el i fur tint Nei e-.l I ct a- t:,.. v '..w. K..n.i , (nf. ... e-ll -.1 ! ' r: "it wh cll I run l r.. 1; up Hi" e-c '. it -fie-l to bang on sriiii..l.... ih-n i-bnnged the ilii.c'tlon of Its r. ... lull. .ii. and c..ntiini.-.l on Its way: now both l-icnin a-. d Ned w s- i.i.';.g In the J iloor. ami n the n il i-me ill sl-:bl '. neaili tliey coilbt t!r. Inly n-o two woiu.'ii leaning from It. and beard a ve-v tain: 11 fur h'-lp Nel ret.Het Willi oie wold. ('..-nil.-:." and .tif' 'i f- his !i":it: b- fore lie readied It. i:i'Kim called to him: ".t's grontided out thee III the pns.iir... No. It's loose a.Milii! till. Neil. It's g.ifg 1 Tito the l.,..li:'.l of 'lull little boll iw! It !: lis fust now: It can't get out now!" Ned g.no o io itliiiee and snw that! Kiiima w.:s rl;:lit, 1 1 1 -: a niade every ef.'ort lo rca-li It na soon na pois.tilo. WLc-i he pit::c,l up l -ii-ath t:ie win-doiv win-doiv he saw two most pl'lful fac:s. "Are j-uu willing to give lip your sh;pv I "Yi s, Indeed! Weil Kurrendrr on at .v t. in s." 'Mr y were ao weak they were scarce ly nlile to help tlieiiinelves at all. and It wus only af;er ciiusi.'u-ratde ditllcniiy Xr.l aiiccecilcd In gettlii,: llieai Into tile bo-t. When this wna nccomplMied. a n:l he was nsuiii at tin u .m. lie asked tin in how I. .Ml they hil l been a 11 out. Hlnoe r-'r.i'.i'.ny nl'ilit." "Kinee Hiiuday iilglil! Ilow fur did you coaieV" i-i-oiu T . "la It o llde! Aid have yon been emo.eil up lucre all tout 'juio, without foo.IV" "Yea." "And wet. nnd cold! I don't lee bow you stood it so ion'r" "We could not liuvo stood It tntieh loiurer." "Why didn't yon leave before the wnter gut so high?' "We had no place to go; and If we had, we did not like to leave unions we were compelled 1 1." "And tho bouse who does It belong to?" "It cid belorit to na, before It came down here. I don't know wbo It be-lorjs be-lorjs to now." "It la atlll yonra. It la on my land, end I will buy It of you. It you wish. Hut bnd yon no relatives or friends where you could have gone?" "No we are alone In the world, alnoe father died; and tho houae waa all be left." "Well, yon will And friends hero. My sister and I are alone, also. Wo will make you welcome." Food, warmth nud a nlght'a rest did tliein in it i-li good, nud the next day they felt belter. Aa Kuinin was not nhlo to do her work, Nelly nnd (J race wero ghid of the chance to earn aome-thltig aome-thltig by slaying aud keeping bouse for their friends. When the wnter went down, ao Ned could Inspect the house, be paid them n good price for It, nud they begnu to feel quite prosperous n-.-ain. Ned was very busy those days, replanting bis fields, ur.d be waa very glad tho girls wero there to look after Kmmii. He soon found that this was not the only reason bo was glad tn have them there, lie beqan to wonder how he could ever let Nelly go nud lie determined to try to liersuiido ber to be bis wire. Nelly, too, iin.l lenrned a new lesson. Klie begun to dread the time of separation. She for n. I Ned a delightful companion. Now, don't say that three weeks' acquaintance wiib not enough: but Just remember thnt two people living In the aaine house three weeks will be better acijunliiled than In six mouths under ordinary circumstances. When I'nuun's hrallli wna fully recovered. re-covered. Nelly decided It would be better bet-ter for them tn lenve. "Yon will not nerd na now. I think wo will try to rent n house In W , and move our household goods there." l'mnia was aliuil.it at this sudden nnnotincetneiit. Klie had not thought of their leaving. "Why do you wnnt to go? Why nut make this your homo? We would be glad to have you do ao." "I do not think It would be best for ns to stay; though It baa been very pleasant for us b e." "Then why do you wish to go? We do not want you to. I shall ask Ned to persuade you to stay. I believe he can." Nelly blushed nt this, but made no reply, nnd I'.iiiinu put ber arms nround her nud whispered, "I would like to have you for n sister." When alio bad an opportunity to speak to Ned it lone, alio said: "Neil. I think It's too bad. The girls nre going to leave us now. when we wero nil settled so comfortably. Cau't you perstinde tln in to slny'r" "I don't know, but I shnll try. 1 hope 1 can" Ned fouud Nehy alone In the dining room. "Nelly, why must you go away? Don't you know how much I want you? Oh. Nelly, can't you love me? I can't tell you imw dear tn me you have become, how much I love you. Won't you lie my wife? Won't you rrr to love me':" His arms were around b . .. 1 drew her very close fo -..n, auu i ' j ber, and she lr" ienl real j mm! shoulder. "Nelly. . i.v rave ,, S o will t- .1 o .-i. ..-on very iiinrb. 1 1 fa- . ..!: .' Waverley Maga cine. |