The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1888-03-17

used To womankind, having nett or mother
nor sisters Well, well-0lsen will look after
you IL I'm not back tonight. Good-by."
He went out quickly anil jumped into the
wagon. ! watched him ont of sight then ]
went into the bedroom. / Int On stout
dress and shoes, packed % few little things ]
cared for and flung ON my sun bonnet. ]
| told Olsen was going O1er to Mrs. BOhms
and might stay all night, aud started for her
| house. When | thought 10 could no longer
see me lett the path aLc struck across the
country to trail that l.si to the public road
some miles beyond MIS-. Frances ranch
Glenn often went by this trail nearly To town
when. he was on horseback.
| 7 kept steadily on, over level land, through
cactus and sage brush, then further ahead
went over rolling groun !, hill like mounds,
aId then descended into valley-Dry Creek
canyon. | did not step b. eat or drink; in
sact, there was no water for miles. IL was
terribly hot, the air close and sitting, and
the few scorched willows along the sandy
creek bed afforded 10 shelter mt all. ]
noticed early in the afternoon wagon tracks
where n team had come down the low banks
into the creek bed saw that some one was
ahead of me There was, knew, farther
grants often stopped | 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 kept on, determined not to give up
So soon. Once when ! looked back timor'
ously, frightened by the awful stiffness OF
the canyon, saw the heavens were dark and
angry.
Soon dull thunder peals echoed from the
hills and a sharp flash of Lightning dazzled
me for moment. knew one Of those sudden
and terrible thunderstorms peculiar to q
mountainous country was upon me. believe
half my unhappiness at the ranch was caused
by the fact that l had to stay alone in
thunder showers. and the terror they inspired
then will never leave me. Az the roar grew
louder, the lightning more vivid, began to
long for human companionship. prayed l
might find the wagon and woman in it, and
planned story to tell the people that would
explain my strange appearance. ran faster
all the while with the energy of despair.
The air grew close and murky the sky over
cast, the clouds low hanging, aud a strange,
moaning wind swept down the canyon,
rtstling the scattered willows. A few rain
drops battered Oh my shoulders and wished
for my shawl that in my excitement | had
forgotten To take ! heard the rattle Of
wheels, aud just ahead as ] turned a bend in
the creek, SAW wagon going rapidly down
the canyon. The driN era man-was sitting
with bowed bead and did not heed my franti'
calls till | was close 10 him. He refined in
hi, horses and looked back. Molly he cried:
In my fright and haste had recognized
neither team nor driver. ] stood and looked
at him in miserable dismay, yet / was glad.
too, for the thunder storm was very present
and real, and my running away was all in
miserable future At least Glenn would he
with ne Tow, If we never saw each other
again. Where were YOU goingf' he said
oddly. \ Ea,tv answer rose to my lips, dr.
rested AT IL" instant bf the strange cXpie--
sion CA Gems face lie was looking M the
canyon: tu"Ao. ami saw fax. above IA dark
me, like Il number OF cattle crossing the
creek bed. III" rain wa, coming now IN great
swift sheets. white tine thunder reyerbcr.t"d
over the far away h.iis and tlle Lightning
flung los rel glare across cur whito faces,
Glenn ran tot.e horses cut their harness
and stru"k lhp.n Win inc whip. I'm give
the poor beasts a chance he said, as they
ga,ouad a.ross the sand. Then he caught
tue los tie ARM Ran for your life lie
cried holrsc!y, dragging me along.
Anpyc the roar Of the TEMPEST there was
another suuad, steady and coming nearer
\ iomId crashing OF waters, like niagara,
dropped suddenly down IN quiet landscape
iooa,d up Inc creek and saw a dark moving
mas, Nitl curious motion no one can de-
scribe 1t had not the smooth Fitness and
onward rush Of an ocean wave, hut rather q
mad dance 1t had 10 white crest or shining
surface; il wa, black and oily, like mud in
waves, and came with tremendous velocity
Ahead of Us, mid stream, was little mound
that had been part of tue eastern shore,
probably separated by such food, and
thither We ran. On the island we're mum
Der of cottonuoOds, and one giant that must
have penetrated TO some hidden spring, for
it, foliage was green and bright. The
ground abuu, its roots had been washed
away, leaving some of them exposed, while
the bank We climbed was so spongy and
Welding that II great mass of the sandy earth
fell after us IS we struggled up The island
was four or i've feet higher than the creek
bed aud We reached its shore just in time,
for already there was dirty scum, presage
of the torrent, Kissing over the dry, hot sand.
Glenn pulled me mp into the big tree, and
lust 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, n pail
from some ranchers door, woman's hat
and u chair. | thought as these things
whirled by, had any one else been surprised,
too, and would we so floating in CHASTITY gay
CIV down that black river. Close behind
this wave came a second one, and the two
cha,d each other in diabolical merrinent.
They churned up the sand dug great black
hoilows between each other, and went tum
bling along followed by foaming stretch
OF water, too swift for waves in its pell mel
haste As tho water rose Glen dragged mo
further up the tree, both Of us wet and shiv-
cring
Around us as far as we could see was a
wide world of dark waves boiling, rolling,
hurrying on. There was strange fascina-
ton IN 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 swift
motion OF water, such a rollicking, dancing
glee, such whrling Of air and shore, that
ono wanted TO join the procession and hurry
along, too. The waves were full Of rotten
tree trunks and debris of wooded hillside