Mondovi High School - Mirror Yearbook (Mondovi, WI)

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to time to make trips to Downing after the necessary provisions for the family It was a long drive and he must always start early in the morning in order to reach home by dark. One morning in the mid-winter the boys were aroused by his call: “Wake up, hoys, it’s five o’clock! This is the day for my trip to Downing, you know.” The boys rubbed their sleepy eyes and were soon downstairs ready for breakfast. “You must do the chores this morning, and Bob, T want you to harness the gray horse to the sled while I get my things ready to start.” After breakfast Mr. Montgomery remarked “It will be a long cold ride today.” By six o’clock he was buried deep in robes on the sleigh and ready to start. “Good-bye, mother, and boys don’t forget to feed the stock this noon and tonight in case I shouldn’t be back before dark.” The boys and their mother watched him out of sight and then went about their tasks for the day. At four o’clock that afternoon it began to snow and at five o’clock when the boys came in from their chores their mother was becoming anxious. “I wonder why father does not come. It has been dark for half an hour,” said Mrs. Montgomery as she peered intently from the window. “I think he will soon be here, mother,” said Bob, “the wind is starting to blow and the snow is blinding, but father knows the roads around here so well.” “If he is not here in half an hour,” said Tom, “I shall think he surely stopped at Davis’ for the night.” Davis’ were a family of pioneers who lived five miles from Montgomery’s on the road to Downings. As evening came on, the storm grew fiercer and the great hungry packs of timber wolves began to howl. It had been a long hard winter and they were especially fierce from hunger. The Montgomerys went to bed early that night feeling sure that their father was safe at Davis’. The boys were up bright and early the next morning waiting for him. It was ten o’clock and he did not come. Bob, partly to quiet his own fears and partly to quiet the fears of his mother, started on his snow shoes to meet or find his father. He reached Davis’ without seeing any trace of him. Mr. Davis was out in the yard as Bob came up. “Good morning Mr. Davis, have you seen anything of father” called Bob. “Why, hello Bob, isn't your father home?” asked Mr. Davis, “lie stopped here yesterday about half past three but started right on home again.” “Oh,” cried Bob, “lie must have been lost in the storm.” “Come in the house. Bob, until dak and I are ready. We will go over to the lumber camp and get the assistance of the men to help us hunt,” said Mr. Davis. The lumber camp was two miles from Davis’ and the three of them, Bob, Jack Davis, a boy of about the age of Bob, and Mr. Davis were soon started. The lumbermen readily consented to help them and they had soon divided into groups and started on their hunt. They had agreed to meet at Davis’ at three o’clock that afternoon. Bob, Mr. Davis, and A1 Browning, one of the lumbermen took the north road, the one towards Bob’s home. About half way up this road, an old road turned off which led to a deserted lumber camp. As they were passing this road A1 Browning noticed some article lying in the middle of it about two rods from where they stood. On examining it they found it to be the remains of a sack of flour which had been torn to pieces. “This must be from father’s load,” said Bob, “he was going to get flour and surely no one else was out in that storm yesterday. Let’s follow this road. He might have been blinded by the storm and had

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nave you believe through the columns of the Herald and Times that it is a fake and that Buckley will not arrive, hut if Crawford dares to come here and say or even sav Irom where he is that Dick Buck-l v does not speak the truth we shall he willing to quit. Or if he dares to deny one statement that we make tonight we are willing to quit. Now, Ladies and (fentlemen, I pause long enough to let you hear the distant hum of a motor,—it is the same motor which drove Dick Buck-lev from among us last night, which by the way was hired to he done hy Mayor Crawford for the sum of two thousand dollars. The crowd listened intently, not a sound in that great throng of people a uId be heard. “That, Ladies and Gentlemen” continued Carelton, “is the mo-tcr which brings Dick Buckley to us tonight.” The sound grew plainer, and now a shadow of light from the headlights of the car is seen ahead of the curve just a half mile down the road. The scene was (lie of interest,—a crowd of five thousand people to greet him on his arrival ( rawford and Dalbey in their limousine watching the scene with interest; the big platform in reuliness to receive him; and a ten foot space right through the crowd leading up to the platform. And now a big motor car rounds the curve, a crowd if impatient people hurst forth in one great veil for Buckley and it is continued until the car is near enough to make out the occupants, hut now the scene was too gh stly to cheer. Jack Brown sat at the wheel, at his side sat a corpse with a fresh bullet wound on its head; in hack sat Harry Morton and Ned Jackson the two young fellows present at the banquet the previous evening, between them was Dick Bin kley. Surely a good deal of explanation is forthcoming. The car shoots through the crowd of people runs alongside the platform and stops. What next? (To be continued.) THE ADVENTURE’S OF THE MONTGOMERY'S. (By Margaret CHAPTER I. In the early pioneer days before the hand of mail defaced and destroyed them, there were vast forests of pine along the streams of Southern Canada. In time to tune, when the mills and railroads should come nearer and the frontier advanced, these would In very valuable. Mr. Montgomery realized this, and as he had a small amount of money, he bought a tract of land ten miles north of the supply station of Downing and emigrated here from an eastern settlement with his wife and family. Then, too, hr had another reason for wishing to come here in the midst of this pine wilderness. His wife was suffering in the first stages of tuberculosis and he felt sure that the fresh, pure air of the forest would help her to recover. O'Mera ’17.) With the help of his two sons he hoped to make his fortune from the vast forest: of white pine. When the Montgomerys came here Boh and Tom were husky lad: of fifteen and twelve. They were a great help to their father in getting the land cleared and the necessary buildings erected. They built a cosy little cabin out of logs, with two rooms downstairs and a loft which served as the hoys sleeping room. For four months during the summer the boys attended a little log school house four miles below their cabin, but during the long cold winters they studied bv themselves at home. They wished some day when their father could afford it to go to college. But now they must be contented to study at home. Mr. Montgomery was obliged from time 11

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flAe taken the wrong road.” We had better keep on this road,” said Mr. Davis, “It is just a mile to that old camp ami we may as well he sure that he is not up here before we go any farther.” Before they got to the camp they found several packages among which was what had been a ham but all of the meat was gnawed off. The men said little when they found this but they all thought of the hungry packs of wolves. They soon re 'died the old shacks anil saw Montgomery’s sled drawn up in front of one of the shai ks. They hurried to the door, opened it and looked in. On one side of the shed stood the horse and on the other side on a blanket from the sleigh lay Mr. Montgomery. lie turned his head as they caine in and spoke. “Take me home, Bob.” 11 is body was numb with cold and as they started to help him to the sled he groaned. “My arm, you’re hurting my arm.” They examined it and found it to he broken. They hitched the horse into the sleigh and were soon at Davis’. By this time the other hunters had come in and one of the men went to Montgomery’s cabin to tell Mrs. Montgomery of the safety of her husband. A1 Browning was quite skillful at setting bones and Mr. Montgomery’s arm was soon taken care of. He was very hungry as he had had nothing to eat since noon the day before. After he had eaten and gotten warm, he told them his story. “After I left Davis,” said Mr. Montgomery, “I started directly home. When I had gone about a half a mile the blizzard began. The snow was blinding and it grew very dark. I could not see my way so 1 trusted to my horse. The snow must have blinded him, too, for he turned into the wrong read. 1 must have been about half way to the camp from the main road, when I heard the Howl of wolves in the distance. I thought I must hi nearly home so I kept steadily onward. I was numb with cold and blinded with snow. The howl of the wolves grew closer and closer. Before I reached the cam’ the animals were near the back of the sled. 1 urged my horse on faster, and I threw things off from my load to make them stop and let me gain time. Then I came suddenly upon the lumber camp and they were more desperate than ever. I had thrown most of the meat from the sled and while I was taking the horse from the sled I threw them other articles. I had barely time to get myself and horse into the shed before they would have been upon me. When I jumped from my sled I was so numb with cold that I lost my footing and fell on my arm so that it was broken. It pained me all night and I was obliged to walk around most of the time to keep from freezing. “I tell you I was glad to hear vour voices and get back to food and fire again.” (To be Continued.) 13