Whig and tribune. [volume] (Jackson, Tenn.) 1870-1877, 1874-01-31

NOL eAiN nau Iu5 dec llS ptIseD
but already had dozen different sets
of bells rang fast and far on the fro
zen river, and already the first symp-
toms of the coming ''rise" were be-
ginning to show themselves IN the
OminOus groaRing of the ice as the
tide beneath it strained and lifted at
its frosty fetters. Beyond a doubt
they would be broken ere long.
''Hark - exclaimed Curt, as he
drove out from the shore. did you
hear that ? We shall hardly have
! time to get across, I'm afraid"
''Then they won't need no warnin' -
coOlly remarked jake.
"Hark = again cried Curt Rowland,
but hoarsely, this time, and with
something like pain IN the intensity Of
his utterance. Il did hear 1t There S
team coming down the river at a
run!'
! Jake Robinson himself heard it
I now, and exclaimed:
! 1T does sound mighty like a runa-
way, / declare. just hark to them
/ bells :"
! Curtis breath would have come even
/ faster, and his heart would have jump
ed more tiercely, if he had known the
whole truth. The horses of the
sleighing party had recognized the
signs of approaching danger much
more promptly than had their masters,
nor had 1t been at all difficult, IN most
| cases, for their skillful drivers to head
1 tire frightened burt willing Drutes to-
ward safety and the shore. The sim
gle exception had been in the young
and stylish but ill-brOken span over
4. IL, II
for the gay young lawyer was not only
not ''skillful driver but he had
failed TO understand the situation at
first, and had lashed his poor colts
mercilessly for their trembling refu-
sal TO go forward. Even when he
consented to wheel them, he had not
been able to guide them landward,
for great heave and groan of the ice
around him had just then nearly
scared the senses out of both him and
his quadrupeds. In q moment more
the fright of the latter was wild ''run-
away" right down the river, and GER
tainly had one good result, for it bore
the sleigh and its occupants swiftly
away from what was becoming an an
cry tumult of cracking, tossing, grind
ing fragments. All this Curt How
land did not know, but, nevertheless,
he drove straight forward instantly,
with a dim idea Of giving help to
somebody. Well for him that he did
so, for, in less than half a minute, he
found himself spinning along at al
most racing speed, behind a light
sleigh, in which there shortly arose a
female form which he knew only too
well, while a clear, firm voice ex-
claimed:
so, Curt, the ice is breaking =
Drive ashore right away %
And he had shouted, in reply:
''Head 'em for the island, SiIe; you
can bring 'em in there. I'll follow
right on. Don't be scared, f Faith, 1
won't leave you"
And then another form had risen in
the sleigh, and Faith Murray herself
caught the falling relns as Sile Her
ring dropped them and sprang out
upon the ice. 1t was a rash and fool
ish thing to do, and Curt rein ed in
just long enough to say
That's it, Jake; jump out and drag
him ashore, while L so on after the
runaways."
Jake obeyed nero ically, and he
found that Sile Herring did indeed
require dragging" to get him ashore,
afttI hat vii spring and thump upon
the ice.
Faith was alone in her sleigh now,
and but little sorry for that to tell the
truth. or even that she had the reins
in her own hands, for she knew how to
manage them far better than the pan
ic stricken youth who had deserted
her, while the colts, themselves, were
getting the first frenzy of their fright
somewhat raced out of them. The
brave girl knew very well whit Curt
meant by "the island;" a low-lying
bit of duck-marsh and drift-wood
har dly above the waters edge, not a
great way farther down stream, but
in the very middle of the river. She
thought it a strange stopping place,
at first, until she recalled how bluff
and steep were the banks on either
side of the river for miles below the
accustomed crossing"
Straight for the island, then, and
Curt HO Wland's sleigh was close be-
hind her; but, even as her wild young
team sprang up the low acclivity, there
came to Faiths ears a sharp, quick,
swapping sound; the reins were jerk
ed from her hands, and she found
herself suddenly sitting still in her
light cutter, while the colts went
madly on, with the pole and its at
tachments banging at their heels. No
uncommon thing for 'irons" to snap,
under such circumstances; and, if
Faith was dismayed for a moment,
Curt Rowland felt n good deal more
inclined to q hearty Thanksgiving.
"Jump in, Faith, jump in % he
shouted, cheerly, as he drove along
side the cutter. Don't you see you'll
be my only passenger?'
Even in that moment of awful peril,
however, Faiths obstinacy yielded
slowly, and she was replying, half ar
gumentatively:
"But, Curt, how will you ever get
ashore? Don't you see that the ice
is breaking? Won't we be safer on
the island ?"-when she found herself
caught up il strong arms and lifted,
with or without her will, to a snug
place among the blankets and buffalo
robes at the bottom of the big sleigh.
1.-The river is rising. There Is a
great food coming down - exclaimed
Curt, I'm half an hour the island
will be under water, and everything on
it swept away. I'd never have known
if Jake Robinson hadn't warned me.
hitched up and came out as soon as
l got the news. Thank God %
Faith Murray felt a glow and a
melting at her heart as she listened,
but she made no reply. The situation
seemed hardly to favor much CONVEX
sation, for Curt was driving fiercely
up the river again, and everywhere
the signs of the approaching break
up" were growing more and moro
! fearful and threatening.
'.Why don't Won drive down ?" she
asked.
''The rapids are only half frozen,
replied Curt, ''and we should surely
be lost if we got into them. Besides,
| the water is shallower up here, and
the horses will find their footing soon
| er after we break in"
''After we break in" repeated Faith
/ to herself. ''Why the sleigh will 90
right to the bottom. He is terribly
cool about it -
1t was a cool subject, perhaps, and
/ Faith felt the lev shudde~s creep over
her, in spite of her courage, as she
noted how far they yet were from any
possible lauding-place.
And now the booming, moaning
sound that Faith had heard once be
fore that evening, began to ill their
ears, and the sleigh slid hither and
thither on the undulating surface, and
Curt lashed his faithful, powerful
span to their utmost exertiOn. Every
minute seemed an hour; but now, at
last, Curt exclaimed. exultingly:
"Hurrah, FAITH We arc beyond
the deep channel, 1 think Back there
the current is swift, and the ice Will
brsak and milo It's breaking now