Harper's Young People, May 4, 1880 Part 4

But Feodor was not the man to be frightened by any such fancies, and on he went in gallant style, springing lightly from block to block, while the ice creaked and groaned beneath his weight, and the water splashed up all around him. Twice a cry of dismay burst from his comrades, as the ice upon which he leaped gave way under his feet. Once his way was barred by a gap too broad to be cleared; but with his pole he drew a pa.s.sing fragment within reach, stepped upon it, and went forward again.

But now came a new peril. The stranded ma.s.s of ice for which he was aiming, thus stuck fast in the midst of the stream, formed a kind of breakwater, behind which the smaller lumps began to acc.u.mulate; and several of these, driven by the current beneath the great sheet, forced one end of it up, while the other was held fast by the sand-bank. Such a strain was too great to be long endured. Just as Feodor was almost within reach of the helpless man, the ice-floe upon which the latter lay split in two with a deafening crash, and the pent-up ma.s.ses behind, all breaking loose at once, came down upon Feodor like an avalanche.

"G.o.d help him, he's lost!" muttered an old peasant, clasping his hands.

But Feodor was not to be caught so easily. Quick as lightning he planted the end of his pole on the nearest block, and with one bound was safe upon the islet, just as the ice torrent went rus.h.i.+ng and roaring past.

The next moment his hand was on the shoulder of the prostrate man.

"Up with you, man!" roared he, shaking him violently; "up with you, quick!"

But the man never moved. Either cold or fright, or both together, had plainly rendered him quite helpless.

For an instant Feodor stood perplexed; and then he seemed to have made up his mind what to do. Planting his feet firmly upon the rough ice, he gave a powerful thrust with his pole, which pushed the block clear off the sand-bank; and another shove sent it fairly out into the stream.

"Now, lads," shouted he, to his friends on the bank, who still kept their hold of the connecting rope, "pull with a will."

The men, seeing at once what he meant to do, pulled at the rope with all their might, while Feodor guided the floating ma.s.s with his pole. More than once a huge block bore down upon him so swiftly that a fatal collision appeared certain; but the young hero's skillful hand and eye carried him through, and five minutes later the rescued man and his deliverer were both safe on sh.o.r.e.

"Bravo!"[1] cried his companions, crowding eagerly around him.

"Bravo!" echoed a strange voice from behind; and it was then seen that a handsome sleigh had halted beside the group, in which sat a tall, soldier-like man in uniform, at sight of whom the peasants doffed their caps and bowed low.

"What's all this?" asked the new-comer.

The story was soon told, and the stranger's face lighted up with a glow of hearty admiration as he heard it.

"Well done, my brave fellow!" said he, handing Feodor a bank-bill for twenty-five rubles ($19). "It's poor enough pay for such a day's work, after all; but if ever you're in want of money, come to me, and you shall have it, and welcome."

And away went the sleigh before Feodor could recover from his amazement, which was not lessened when half a dozen of his comrades, all speaking at once, informed him that this liberal stranger was no other than the Governor of Saratov himself.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] The Russian word is "molodetz" (literally "fine fellow"), answering to our familiar "bully boy."

[Ill.u.s.tration: MIGHTY QUAR.

"I DUNNO, BUT DAR'S A T'RIFFIC DRAFF ROUN' YAR."]

[Ill.u.s.tration: SCENES IN A SUGAR BUSH.--[SEE PAGE 366.]]

MAY'S BIRTHDAY.

Dancing round the May-pole-- Oh, the merry sight!

Little lads' and la.s.sies 'Neath the suns.h.i.+ne bright.

On her throne of daisies, Blossoms in her hair, Laughing 'mid her blushes, Sits the May-Queen fair.

O'er the sunny meadow Clover blossoms grow; Through the dainty gra.s.ses Spring's sweet zephyrs blow.

b.u.t.tercups and daisies Lift their pretty heads, And watch the violets peeping From their fragrant beds.

Oh, the merry May-time With its charming hours, With its skies so tender, And its dainty flowers!

Dance away, my children, Round your little Queen; May's bright birthday honor With a "dance upon the green."

THE HAPPY CLUB.

A RECIPE FOR HAPPINESS.

Take six little girls about ten years old; add three or four nice little boys, and mix them with the girls, taking care not to stir them up too much. Then take--

But perhaps you will understand it better if I tell you just how we did it.

This is how it began: I have a little friend named Annie, who comes to see me every Sat.u.r.day. She tells me "all about everything," and we have very good times together. One day she told me a story she had read in HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE about a poor little girl who finds a doll in an ash barrel.

"I think it is a very nice story," said Annie, "and that lady says that we could all make pretty things for sick children if we wanted to. Oh dear! I wish I had lots and lots of money!"

"It does not always take much money to make pretty things," I said. "You can make six elephants for thirty cents."

"True elephants?" asked Annie, opening her blue eyes so wide that I was afraid of an accident.

"No," I said, "but very tame elephants, made of gray flannel, and with red saddle-cloths."

"Oh, I don't think they are pretty," she said.

Then I told her how I had once bought two elephants, a big one and a small one, and sent them to a sick little girl. And how, when I had gone to see her, she had said to me: "Them ollifans is too nice for anything, and they don't never bite me at all. The big ollifan is the mother, and she keeps me company; and the little one comes and puts his big nose under my chin to get warm. Oh, I just love them!"

After that I bought one more elephant, and killed him, and used his skin for a pattern, and made several other elephants, to be loved by little children.

"I know what I will do," said Annie; "I will make some kittens. Won't that be nice?"

I thought it might be very nice, if we could get a good pattern. And as she wanted to begin immediately, we looked in a box where I keep all sorts of remnants, and found a piece of red plush, which Annie declared "would be just the loveliest thing for a kitten."

As I had never seen a red kitten, I was a little doubtful; but since that time I have seen kittens red and pink and blue, and the children to whom they are given always fall in love with them at first sight.

But our kittens were not made in one day. We found it so difficult to cut a pattern that would "look like anything" that we had to send to a special artist in the city; and during the winter we spent a whole dollar for patterns of animals.