Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1888-03-09


you if I'm not back tonight. Good-by.n
! He went out quickly and jumped into the
wagon. / watched him out of sight, then |
went into the bedroom. | put on q stout
dress and shoes, packed "A few little things
cared for, and flung on my sun bonnet
told Olsen was going over To- Mrs. Bohm s
and might stay all night, and started for her
house, When thought he could no longer
see me left the path and struck across the
country to a trail that led to the public road
some miles beyond Mrs. Frances ranch
Glen often went 10y this trail nearly to town
when he was on horseback.
kept steadily on, over level land, through
cactus and sage brush then further ahead |
went over rolling ground, hill like mounds
and then descended into a valey-Dry Creek
canyon. ! did not stop TO cat or drink in
fact, there was no water for miles It was
terribly hot, the air close and sitting, and
the few scorchcd willows along the sandy
creek bed afforded 10 shelter at all. I
noticed carly in the afternoon wagon tracks
where a team had come down the low banks
into the creek bed | saw that some one was
ahead Of me There was, l knew. farther
on, an old abandoned ranch, where emi-
grants often stopped. l began to feel fear
now, | remembered | was a woman and
alone, but hoped they would have crossed
the canyon and gone over the hills to this
| place. l kept on, determined not to give up
| so soon. Once when | looked back tiInor-
| ously. frightened by the awful stiffness of
the canyon. | saw the heavens were darl, and
angry.
Soon dull thunder peals echoed from the
hills and sharp flash of lightning dazzlcd
me for moment. knew ono Of those sudden
and terrible thmdcrotoi1ns peculiar to q
| mountainous country was upon me. believe
half my unhappincsS at the ranch was caused
! by the fact that / had to stay alone in
thunder showers. and the terror th"y inspired
! then will never leave mo. As the roar grew
louder the lightning more vivid. began 70
long for human conpanionship. prayed /
| might find the wagon and q woman in it. and
| planned q story otell the people that would
explain my strange appearance. [ ran faster
! all the Whilo with the energy Of despair.
| Tho Ci1' grew close and inuIl,v. the sky over
cast, the cloud, low hanging and a strange.
moaning wind swept down tn, CANYON.
rustlng the scattered willows. \ few rain
drops battered OF M shoulders and wished
for my shawl that in my excitement | had
forgotten to take. [ heard the rattle Of
wheels, and just ahead as turned bend i'll
the creek saw wagon going rapidly down
the canyon. The GriyCr-a nau-IYas sitting
with bowed head and did not heed ny frantic
calls till | was close to him. He refined in
hi horses and looked back. ",ioily." he cried:
In my fright anu haste bad recognized
neither team nor driver. ! stood and looked
ut him in miserable di-'uar, vet | was glad.
TOO for the thunder storm was very present
and real, and my running away was all in "A
miserable future. At least Glenn would be
with INC now. if we never saw each other
again. Where were you goinG.' be said
'oldlv. n haSty answer rose to my lips ar
rested at the instant by the strange express
sion on Clcm's facc. He was looking up the
canyon; turned and saw far above a dark
line, like a number of cattle crossing the
creek bed. The rain was coming now in great
swift sheets, while the thunder reverbcrated
over the far away hills and the lightning
flung its red glare across our white faces
Chem ran to the horses, cut their harness
and struck them with the whip IN give
the poor beasts a chance" he said, as they
Gallopel acroSs the sand. Then he caught
me by the arm. run for your life" he
cried hoarscly, dragging me along.
Above the roar of the tempest there was
another sound steady and coming nearer.
A fearful crashing of waters. like Niagara
dropped suddenly down in a quiet landscape.
| looked up the creek and saw a dark moving,
mass with curious motion no one can de-
scribe. 1t had not the smooth fulnesS and
onward rrsh of an ocean wave but rather a
mad dance. 1t had no white crest or shining
surface: it was black and ely. like mud in
waves. and came with tremendous velocity.
Ahead Of US, mid stream was n little mound
that had been part of the eastern shore.
probably separated by such food. and
thther we ran. On the island were n num-
her of cottonwoods, and one giant that must
have penetrated to some hidden spring, for
its foliage was greer and bright The
ground about ITS roots had been washed
away, leaving some of them exposed while
the bank we climbed was so spongy and
yielding that great mass Of the sandy earth
fell after us as we struggled up. The island
was four or five feet highnr than the creek
bed, and we reached its shore Just in time.
for already there was dirty scum. preSagp
of the torrent, Kissing over the dry. hot sand
Glenn pulled me up into the big tree, and
Just as he did so a wave, all of ten feet high,
leaped upon us. 1t reared straight up in the
air, hurting timber, trees. dead cows, a pail
from some rancher's door, womans hat
and chair | thought, as these things
whiried by, had any ono else been surprised,
too, and would we 80 floating in ghastly gay
city down that black river: Close behind
this wave came second one. and the two
chased each other in diabolical merriment
They churEcd up the sand dug great black
hollowN between each other. and went tum-
bling along, followed Ivy a foamng stretch
of water, too swift for waves in its pell neil
haste. ~ the water rose Glenn dragged me
further up the tree, both Of us wet and shiv-
cring
Around liz as far as we could sec was a
wide world Of dark waves, boiling, rolling,
hUTying on. There was a strange fascina-
ton III It, too. knew no swimmer could
breast that awful current; that the PREACHER
Gus sand would drag him down like giant
armed octopus; yet there was such a swift
motion CT water, such a rolicking, dancing
Gleo, such whirling of air and shore, that
one wanted To join the procession and hurry
along, too The waves were full of rotten
tree trunks and debris of a wooded hillside, |
showing The cloud had come down some
mountain side miles away; and with the trees
were homPly household utensils and furni- |
ture a calf, and n Nashtub TINT sailed ioyi- l