Part 16 (1/2)
”'Daughter,' he asked, 'do you think you can dress these wounds in my head? Your mother is not able and they must be attended to' I said, promptly: 'Yes, if you will tell on, where ould not be disturbed, and I washed and dressed his wounds as best I could When I had done what he told , and father clasped : 'I should not have asked so much of you!' I told him it was pity for him that made me cry Then he talked to s and was able to go back to the tent where s of the day And there orse things to come In our party there was ahis wife until father told him he must either stop it or measures would be taken to ain, but he hated father froe After Snyder had been buried, and father had sadly watched the last clod of earth piled on the grave, the men of the party held a conference from which our family were excluded We waited a short distance away, in terrified suspense to know the outcome of it, as ere sure it concerned father And it did His plea of self-defense was not acceptable to them, they said, and we shi+vered assuch bitterness on the
Father saw it, but he was no coward Baring his neck, he stepped forward, and proudly said, 'Coentlemen!' No one moved, and presently he was told that he o out in the wilderness alone without food or weapons It was a cruel sentence, for it ht result either in starvation or in murder by the Indians, and it is no wonder that ht, that we children knew not what to do or where to turn for help Father heard the sentence in silence, then facing the group of old-tio My act was one of self-defense, and as such is justified before God and , as she told ed father to accept the sentence and leave the party, thinking it would be less dangerous than to re men who had become his enemies He firmly refused until she pleaded that the whole party were now practically destitute of food, and if he reed to see his children starve, while by going he ht be able to meet them with food which he had procured sole with his own desires, father consented, but not until the men of the party had promised to care for his innocent wife and children Then, after he had held onized moment, he turned to me, and I forced my eyes to meet his with such fearless trust that he looked less despairing as he picked up Patty for a last hug and gripped the boys with an emotion too deep for any words; then he went off, an exile in the desert
”I had no idea what I was going to do about it, but I knew Ihours of the day, while I was busy soothing and co mother, who felt it keenly that ere left asbusily Our wagon was drawn up apart fro meal in silence Milt Elliott and some others tried to talk with us, and show their friendliness, but mother would only answer in monosyllables and commanded the children to do the saroup as darkness fell over us I was busy helping the children get to bed, and then I found mother in such a state of collapse that I could think of nothing but co her
”At last she fell asleep, and I crept to my bed, but I could not sleep Iand fearless, and father had no food or light or supplies, out there alone in the trackless wilderness I stole to ht touch
”'Mother, dear,' I whispered, 'I aun, and ammunition' She roused and exclaimed:
”'What do you oing alone,' I replied 'I've asked Milt and he says he'll go with o, I hurried to the supply-chest and found soar I took a tin cup, too, and a dipper for father to un, pistols, and ammunition with them
His lantern was on the shelf, and I put a fresh piece of candle in it and matches inhad to be done very quickly and quietly, for there would be a great risk if the children knehat I was going to do, or if any others of the party discovereddiscovered
”Mother called, 'Virginia!' and I went to her side 'Hoill you find him in the darkness?'
”'I shall look for his horse's tracks and follow them,' I whispered
At that on, and with a last hug erous expedition
”Out into the darkness we crept Stealthily we hid in the shadows cast by the wagons in the flickering light of the dying camp-fire--cautiously we stole up behind the unsuspicious sentinel earily traht as he suddenly looked over the sleeping camp, then peered out into the mysterious darkness of the desert, but he did not see us For safety we lay down on the ground, and silently dragged our bodies along until ell out of his sight and hearing; then we pushed our feet along without lifting them, to be sure they did not fall into soain ere startled by some noise that to our excited senses seemed to mean that a wild ani the darkness around and before us, and at last I whispered:
”'Stop, Milt Let us light the lantern!'
”Then stooping down, I spread out leaht could be seen by the sentinel or by any one in the encahted the lantern I took it in one hand, and with the other held my skirts up in such a way as to shi+eld its bearound still frantically for soh I was nervous and excited enough to fly on the wings of lightning, I did not let the feeling get the better of round,a complete circle around the outskirts of the camp, for I was determined to find those tracks At last! There they were, unave a smothered cry and showed them to Milt Then, still with the lantern carefully covered, so that no unguarded flashshot from the sentinel's rifle, I follohere they led, Milt close behind, carrying the gun and provisions Mile aftertheony was compressed in those awful hours!
[Illustration: VIRGINIA GOES FORTH TO FIND HER EXILED FATHER]
”Suddenly on the ht air came the wild howl of coyotes From the distance echoed an evenfor prey At that sound Milton's hair literally stood on end, and if I had shown one sign of weakening he would gladly have given up the search But I went on, closing my ears to the dreaded sounds All of a sudden ed to pressWhat I heard or saw or felt I can never explain, but I know that all the terror of my thirteen years of life seeo on Ito God to protect us and letrip as I pictured a horrible death if we should be captured by Indians Then suddenly ide-strained eyes and fluttering heart, I forgot all weariness and fear In the far distance a di Milt's arm, I whispered:
”'Father!'
”No sooner had I said it than I thought, 'Perhaps it is an Indian camp-fire' But common sense put that aside, for I was sure I had seen father's horse's hoofprints, and certainly they would lead to him But suppose he had been captured by Indians, and this fire ere co to should lead to horrible disclosures All this went throughof it to Milton I just alking steadily on
Oh, how far away the light was! Would we never reach it? It seemed as if the more alked the farther frolad cry of, 'Oh, father! father!' I rushed forward and flung inia!' he exclaimed, when surprise had let him find his voice 'You should not have coht you soun, and a blanket, and a little coffee, and some crackers! And here's a tin cup, too, and your pistols, and some powder and caps Oh, and here are so out one after another of the precious articles to his astonished gaze, and laughing and crying as I talked
”It was alht that soht, and as he took the things I had brought he kissed and fondledhim, he would hurry on to California and secure a home for his beloved family--and it seehter' over and over again, until I was glad of the darkness to hidedarkness, with Milton to stand guard, we sat together and talked of mother and Patty and the boys, and of e should do while ere parted from him Father was the first to re, he kissedback!' I cried 'I' on with you' Seeing his stern, set face, I pleaded, piteously: 'Oh, don't send ain Let o with you?' He turned a white, drawn face to o back and take care of her
God will care for o with hiht him, jumped on his horse, and ridden away into the solitude of the Western desert
Milton and I were left alone to find our way back to the enca foreyes had seen the last of that solitary figure riding off into the black desert, I turned abruptly away, and Milt and I crept back over the vast desert Before there was a glimmer of daas safely clasped in ain that we had found father, that he ell and on his way to that land tohich our own faces were turned”
In this siinia Reed told of a heroic deed in the history of brave pioneer girls--but as the story comes from her pen, it is scarcely possible to realize the anxiety, the torturing fear, the hideous danger of such an expedition as that one of hers when at reat plains, she set out to find her father