A CHILD IN THE WELL

AS children always have, we finally grew up, married, and es home and families of our own.

Bob Cheyne and his wife, Fannie, lived on their farm with their four children.

One morning, Bob and his hired man had gone to repair the l)arn, on the place they had rented, some two miles from the home place. They took their lunch and did not expect to come back until evening. Little Viola had taken her lunch also and gone to school, leaving Fannie home with Buddy, about four, Nellie, two, and a tiny baby.

As Fannie worked around the house, she found she needed some water. She gave a half-gallon pail to Buddy, and asked him if he could pump some water for her and bring it in. Buddy was sure he could, and felt quite important to be given such a great task to do. He started to the well in the back yard, with tiny Nellie tagging at his heels.

It was only an instant until he rushed into the kitchen, screaming,

"Mamma, Nellie in the well! Nellie in the well."

With a cry of anguish, the mother ran to the well, peered down the trap door, and saw her precious little daughter floating on the water.

Someone had had the trap door off, and had replaced it care so that it was loose, and when Nellie stepped on it, the door tipped, and sent Nellie tumbling into the water below.

When Fannie saw her baby in the water, she didn't hesitate. She grasped the pump pipe with her hands, wrapped her legs around it and slid down. She grasped the wee child and lifted her up. But the water was deep, and both mother and child slipped into its depths.

Now this was a digged well, and Fannie put her back against the pump, her feet against the wall of the well, and laboriously climbed up until her shoulders were above water. She placed the baby over her shoulder and climbed up until her knees were out of the water. She placed the senseless child across her knees and tried to work with her to bring her to life, all the time sending out scream after scream. Fannie said that the only sign of life she could see in the child was that the little girl shuddered every time the mother screamed.

But every time that Fannie moved, trying to resuscitate the child, they both slid into the water again.

Small Buddy was at the top of the well, ready to do anything in his small power to help. Fannie told him to run to the barn and get a rope. He quickly obeyed, but all he could find was a hallter with a rather long rope attached.

Fanny asked him if he could tie the rope around the pump. He said, "Me fink me can." And the knot his small hands tied held. He let the halter down to his mother and she slipped it over her head, down under her arms. This gave her some support.

Fannie told Buddy to run to the neighbor a half mile away.

He ran as fast as his short legs could take him, but there was no one at home. He came back and reported to his mother.

Now that Fannie had the halter to support her, she could work more efficiently with the child. She gave artificial respiration as well as her cramped position would permit, and sent out her screams for help.

Bob's loss turned out to be his own gain that day. When he and the hired man got ready to start repairing the barn, they found they had forgotten some very important tool, without which they could not go on with their building. In disgust they started home, leading a saddle pony behind the wagon.

When they arrived at a reasonable distance from the Cheyne house, they heard Fannie's screams.

Knowing that there was some distress at home, Bob took the pony and rode pell mell to investigate.

When he reached the well, he took in the situation at a glance. It was the work of only minutes for Bob to bring a lad and lower it into the well.

Fannie cried,

"Take Nellie up! I can come up by myself."

So Bob climbed the ladder out of the well with his apparently lifeless little daughter in his arms. He immediately began arti respiration in earnest, and soon Nellie opened her eyes.

Fannie soon appeared at the top of the well and stood on the beloved earth in the gorgeous sunshine, exhausted but triumphant. She had saved her child.

And the result? Fannie was tired for a few days, but was not ill from the effects of her experience, and Nellie didn even catch cold. And the tiny baby alone in the house during these long hours? He slept through it all, was a little annoyed that his bath was delayed, but was eagerly ready for the next meal.