the prayer of little nellie ribsam—so far as it related to herself—was answered.
she secured her seat, as best she could, in the branches of the chestnut sapling, and, by arranging her dress and the yielding limbs with considerable skill, she made herself quite comfortable.
the trying situation in which she was placed, it would be thought, was enough to drive away all disposition to sleep, but at the end of less than half an hour the little head was nodding again, and, forgetful of her peril, her senses soon left her.
it will be understood that the danger of the young wanderer was rendered all the greater by this loss of consciousness, for her muscles would relax in slumber, and, unless her position was unusually secure, she was certain to fall.
but that gracious father in whom she so implicitly trusted watched over the little one, and she remained as though seated in the broad rocking-chair at home.
when at last she moved slightly and was on the point of losing her balance, she awoke so quickly that she saved herself just in the nick of time.
she was shocked and startled, but regaining her breath she held fast with one hand while she parted the branches with the other and carefully peered down among the limbs.
"he is gone!" was her joyous exclamation; "i knew the lord would make him go away, because i asked him to."
she was right: the bear had vanished, and all danger from that source for the time had passed.
the brute probably found enough to eat without waiting for little girls to fall into his clutches. as he had never been known to trouble any one in the neighborhood, it was reasonable to believe that he got all he wanted without venturing away from the depths of the woods, and rousing an ill-will against himself that would speedily result in his destruction.
nellie did not feel surprised at all, for, as i have shown, she had the faith to believe that her prayer would be answered.
"now i will go down to the ground and start for home. i guess the bear isn't far off, but the lord will not let him hurt me."
she carefully descended the tree and stood on the ground a minute later. she found that her dress was torn and she had lost part of the ribbon from her hat. this troubled her more than anything else, for her frugal mother had told her many a time that she must take the best care of her clothing.
"i was so scared that i forgot to look out," she said to herself, after taking an inventory of the damages; "but i guess mother will excuse me for losing the ribbon, though i know she won't for coming so far into the woods without permission."
she now set out resolutely for the bridge, determined to lose no more time in reaching home. as is the rule, the brief space she had passed in sleep seemed three times as long as was actually the case, and she thought it must be near morning.
she had gone but a short distance when she stopped with another shock of affright.
"my gracious! what can that be?"
a point of light appeared between her and the bridge, flickering about like an ignis-fatuus or jack-o'-lantern. nellie felt like taking to the tree again, but she bravely stood her ground until she could satisfy her curiosity as to its nature.
watching it closely she observed shadowy figures flitting around the light in a curious and grotesque way. she was in greater doubt than ever, when she heard voices.
"i think i saw her tracks, but i couldn't be sure; nellie knows too much to walk or fall into the deep water."
"i hope so, but my heart misgives me sorely. god be merciful, for if she is lost i can never recover!"
the first speaker was nick ribsam, and the second was the father, the mother immediately adding:
"why the poor child came here is more than i can understand, but he doeth all things well."
"oh, mother! oh, father! oh, nick! it is i, nellie! i am so glad to see you!"
and the little wanderer flew like the wind along the bank of the creek. the mother was the first to recognize the voice, and rushing forward she caught her child in her arms, murmuring in her own language:
"mein kind! mein kind! gott sei dank!" (my child! my child! god be thanked!)
"mein lieber nellie! komm an mein herz! kannst du es sein?" (my dear nellie! come to my heart! can it be you?) exclaimed the overjoyed father.
"o meine abtrünnige schwester! wie du uns erschreckt hast! wie es mich freut dich zu finden!" (oh, my truant sister! what a scare you have given us! how glad i am to find you!) shouted nick.
and the child that was lost and was found was hugged first by mother, then by father, and then by nick, and then all strove to get hold of her at the same time, till the brother ceased, through fear that she would be torn apart.
nellie was laughing and crying, and wondering why it was such commotion was caused by her return to her folks.
mr. layton and kilgore heard the tumult, and knew what it meant. a few minutes brought them to the spot, and, though their greeting was less demonstrative, their eyes filled with tears over the exceeding joy of the reunited family.
when the excitement had subsided somewhat, the group listened to the story of nellie. she told it in her childish, straightforward manner, and it was all the more impressive on that account.
the listeners were greatly touched; but the probability that a large bear was in the neighborhood hastened their footsteps and they lost no time in hurrying away.
when they reached the highway above, crossed the bridge, and had gone some distance on their way home, they began to feel there was nothing to be feared from the animal. mr. layton referred to the tracks of the beast which they had noticed when hunting for nellie, but said he would never have mentioned it until the fate of the girl became known; for the suggestions which must have followed were too dreadful.
nothing was seen of the animal, however, and, as the distance from the bridge was increased the party finally gave up all thought and conversation respecting it.
there was a grateful household that night, when, at a late hour, they gathered about the family altar and the head returned thanks to him who had been so merciful to them and theirs.
the happy mother held the daughter in her arms all night, while they both slept; and when the parent awoke, now and then, through the darkness, she shuddered, pressed the little one closer to her and kissed the chubby cheek, on which her former tears had not yet dried.
but katrina ribsam was none the less an affectionate mother when, several days later, she called nellie to her knee and told her how wrongly she had acted in venturing on such a dangerous tramp without asking permission from her parents.
nellie said she knew it, and wondered why it was her mother delayed the punishment so long. she was ready, and loved and respected her mother the more for administering it.
but truth compels me to say that the chastisement was given with such a gentle hand that it was hardly worth the name, and the mother herself suffered far more than did the child, who to this day is not conscious that she received anything like physical pain.
