Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1872-03-08

Jovita rose straight in the air with
terrific bound, throwing the figure
from her bit with single shake of
her vicious head and charged with
deadly malevolence down on the
impediment before her. An oath,
pistol shot, horse and highway
man rolled over in the road, and
the next moment Jovita was hun
dred yards away. But the good
right arm of her rider, shattered by
a bullet, dropped helplessly by his
side.
Without slackening his speed he
shifted the reins to his left hand.
But few moments later he was
obliged to halt and tighten the sad.
dle-girths which had slipped in the
onset. This in his crippled condi.
tion took some time. He had no
fear of pursuit, but looking up he
saw that the eastern stars were al.
ready Ealing, and that the distant
peaks had lost their ghostly white
ness and now stood out blackly
against a lighter sky. Day was up
on him. Then completely absorbed
i'll single idea, he forgot the pain
of his wound, and mounting again
dashed on toward Rattlesnake
creek. But now Jovita's breath
came broken by gasps, Dick reeled
in the saddle and brighter grew the
sky.
Ride, Richard; run, Jovita; lin
ger, O day!
For the last few rods there was a
roaring in his cars. Was it ex-
haustion from loss of blood, or
what? He was dazed and giddy as
he swept down the hill, and did not
recognize his surroundings. Had
he taken the wrong road, or was
this Rattlesnake creek?
1t was. But the brawling creek
he had swan few hours before had
risen, more than doubled it's vol
umc, and now rolled swift and re-
sistless river between him and Rat
tlesnake hill. For the first time
that night Richards heart sank
within him. The river, the noun.
tain, the quickening east swan be-
fore his eyes. He shut them to
recover his self-control. In that
brief interval, by some fantastic
mental process the little room at
Simpsons Bar and the figures of the
sleeping father and son rose up be-
fore him. He opened his eyes
wildly, cast off his coat, pistol,
boots and saddle, bound his prec-
ious pack tightly to his shoulders,
grasped the bare tlanks of Jovita
with his barred knees, and with a
shout dashed into the yellow water.
A cry rose from the opposite bank
as the head Of man and horse
struggled for few moments against
the battling current and then were
swept away amidst uprooted trees
and whirling drift-wood.
The Old Man started and woke.
The fire on the hearth was dead,
the candle in the outer room flick
ering in its socket, and somebody
was rapplng at the door. He open
ed it, but fell back with a cry be-
ore the dripping, halt-naked figure
that reeled against the door post.
"Dick?"
} "Hush! Is he awake yct:"
"No-but Dick?-"
''Dry up, you old fool Get me
some whisky, quick" The Old
Man flew and returned with-an
empty bottle. Dick would have
sworn, but his strength was not
, equal to the occasion. He stagger-
ed, caught at the handle Of the
door, and motioned to the Old
Man.
"rhar suthin' in my pack yer for
f Johnny. Take it off, quick. I
can't.
The Old Man unstrapped the
pack and laid it before the exhaust
cd man.
"Open it, quick!'
He did so with trembling fingers.
1t contained only few poor toys
cheap and barbaric enough, good
ness knows, but bright with paint
and tinsel. One of them was bro
ken; another, fear, was irretriev.
ably ruined by water; and ON the
third-ah me! there was a cruel
spot.
"It don't look like much, that's a
fact" said Dick, ruefully.
But it's the best we could
do. -. Take 'em, Old
Man, and put 'em in his stocking,
and tell him-tell him, you know
hold me, Old Man" The Old
Man caught at his sinking figure
"Tell him." said Dick, with a weak
| little laugh, "lell him Sandy Claus
has come"
And even so. bedraggled, ragged,
unshaven and unshorn, with one
arm hanging helplessly by his side,
!, Santa Claus came to Simpsons Bar
and fell fainting at the first thresh.
old. The Christmas dawn came
slowly after, touching the remoter
peaks with the rosy warmth of in
etfable love. And it looked so ten
derly on Simpsons Bar that the
whole mountain, as if caught in a
generous action, blushed to the
skies.