Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1878-01-16

way mp tho solid rock with . contin
ious roll Of thunder.
"Lord above! we caa't 70 here
ITho other Way-dnwA the coast o
| Hovey6w ~ exclaimed Herries, rein
ling brown Meg ON thoedge.
6Death lies there What stranger
Idony you sssl Thsx iHiak NE pen
lasd In on this sidH Ahd The bluff
Abovs are guarded by III time. Ii
with you, Tor your lfvSsl Further
out msn-bsyond the bfsakersl W,
must swim for II !"
Il was chilly night, and the fyinl
spray struck me In the face like tht
cut Of . whip. Tho poor creature
behind me gssped and hid her face or
Imy shoulder. / halted, whipped out
| 1 piece ofrope and bound her secure
l u 70 mtsslf; then 1 moment after
The black, chilling wsteft drove the
breath nearly out Of DC. Eheveignae
SWAN 1obly. The tide vas setting
Il and b fought against i with ev.
ery nerve and muscle. 6l1Rav, slow.
y, the black-crested clt4 retreated
shorsward and the lonE sutf line on
the beach beyond came toStiew.
"Look behind you I" cried Herries,
. the horses SWAN abreast. l turned.
Torches ran hither and thither, all
over the beach; shouts ara impreca-
lions came fAintly to our ears.
"Ths good Lord keep the moon in
thAt cloud half an hour more. Not .
minute too soon," said Nixon. And
We turlsd the cliff in . Wide sweep
and swept shoreward with the tide.
"Hero We are. Now, men, we're
like to come on 'em for. . lon2 stretch.
How aFs ~, Hetty? Feel as II ye
could pull through ?"
'aOh yss-yes. Do pray hurry.
Lot ~ get away from here" answer
ed the poor woman-all Of q shiver !;
dfenched - we were from head to
heels.
Neck and neck along the sand
stretched the horses with flying feet.
All Of q sudden camc shouts, shots
and torches flashing along the cliff
summit and the bluffs on this side.
Discovered-alasl
!. ~Curse on this sand II my horse
had decent foothold-
''There - thsrel To your left,
stranger the path ! do you see It ~
broke IN Nixon, sharply, holding
Hsrriss' waist with one hand, and
gssticaleting with the other. It was
an easy slope, not Hke the treacher-
onS path BY which We had descend.
Cd and I thanked God when my
brave horse pat foot on hard sod.
"stfangsr, what 10 your horse good
for :" asked Nixon, hurriedly.
Hoof.beAts came through the trees,
torches danced, bullets whistled about
eur heads.
.For . case Of life or DEATH" I an
swsrsd shortly.
"Away with you then-and save
hsv, any way. You know the roxd
you came from Calsabs9 Begone !"
"Go, for Gods sake, Ralf," said
Herries, urging Meg to her utmost.
I lot the rein loose and spoke to my
brave black. Like IN arrow from the
bow We LEFT brown Meg behind.
Level neck, wide nostril, back-laid
ears and muacles Of steel. felt the
ceassless, mighty heart-beats, and
heard the rapid, monotonous thud,
Of hoofs, % the wind swept my face,
and trees, rocks, hills, shot past and
vanished in the dim light like the
phAntasmagoria Of . vision. The wo-
man behind me faltered and swayed.
I put ono hand round and clutched
her.
aArs you faint2"
aThey hit-me-swhile ago, New
or mind"
sGood heavens?" said l. She was
bound to me and 90 could not fall.
Oh, the pitiless, releatless miles that
seemed never to be got over!
When Cheveignsc galloped at last,
jaded and reeking, down the long
street Of Calsaba, I felt, with . sick
ening fear, that I carried . breath
lees, Inert mass behind me.
Dead?
No-thauk heaven; but very near
II. Three hours later Herries and
Nixon joined me.
Ithink In his gratitude the latter
would have pressed upon us cvery
atom Of the $1,000 worth Of gold dust
and nuggets which he had secured on
his person and brought safely away.
We strenuously refused; and he a.
nally took up his line of march east
ward, and dwells to-day in old Mas
sachusetts, with his now recovered
wife and . whole family Of little olive
branches. And he thinks the Lord
didn't forget him after all.