Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1888-06-09
TIE GREAT HESPER.


wv ~ tiitl', AZ ItIllltil. IL -
pitch dark nj moon in that almighty hole.
Now he added, when the torches were
well Int, take II of these, kick the
snow well of your feet, keep one eye on
me, tother on the rocks, and trust the
rest TO Providence"
Win this last injunction he stopped
down, and passed through the opening.
We followed, but slngly, for we needed
BOTH hands To make the perilous descent.
The first thing ! noticed III passing I'M
der the great block that briiged the aw-
IA! Chasm was tho comparative silence.
We could no longer hear the rushing of
the stream on the othor side. only the
dull roar of the water rs 1t struck the
bottom Of the canyon some thousands of
feet below.
Braces voice was startlingly distinct
when he spoke.
"Iou tell me the thing is on the other
side Of the ropes, my gel" he SAID.
She answered yes, and we went slowly
forward and downward along the narrow
and Jagged ledge, our faces toward the
glittering quartz, seeking interotices and
projections for hold to our hands.
We were getting away from the fall.
but at a certain point the natural path
returned toward it in "a zig-zag along
a lower projection. At the angle which
offered a little wider standing space, we
stopped.
This here hole was fust showed me
by the Kid mother said Brace: ''it had
served her father for a cachette in quite
the early days of this country's glory.
"A cachettc,' he explained. lis a place
where You keep things snug. Almost
every miner, hefrre the Vigilance Com
mittee nomena.rd me jedGe, had a ca
Ghetto. This w&S mine, and many n
ounce I've broughs. down here: fur YOU
see, barrin' accidents. it's won'erful safe.
You will allow that No n couldtind his
way down here in the darE"I shuddercd
at the thought of anyone attempting such
IA fearful venture), ''and from here right
mp 10 the hole Is IA fair straight line, so that
no light could come down without its Hein'
seen; but that amt the only Safeguard as
YOU shall see. Come on, sir"
We made our way foot by foot along the
narrow ledge for some distance. still 60
sccnding. When Brace again halted. TIN
light of his torch revealed the yellow
stream falling silently through space. u
few feet before him. That silent tall i'm
pressed me with a sense of the awful depth
of the gulf beside us.
The ledge ended abruptly where Brace
stood; Il recess in the wall allowed ample
standing room for u three,
1.-THE grcaScr never got no further down
than this: bHt IL Warn't fur enough for
me- said Brace. ~ hGdmy idea Of gettin'
right down To the bottom Of thi, hole,
where these waters must have carried tons
of gold
"But the ledge ends here"
at do; hUi.' ne added, lifting his torch,
lit zoe, on again over there
The light tell on Il Uniting projection of
quartz upol the opposite side Of The chasm,
distant at least twenty fees.
but you cannot leap that
Correct, end | Amt guiu' TO try
He laid himself upon his face. and
stretched his arm down "a" cha,n3; when
he arose, he had II cord in his hand. Pail
ing this in, he drew up two coils of stout
rope As he drew them in, | saw that their
other ends were attached To rocks upon the
opposite ledge, one above The other, with
about four feet between.
I'VE must hitch 'em tight-Give US "A
hand, sir he said.
| helped him to make the ropes taut, and
fasten their loose ends upon the projecting
crags that he had long employed for that
purpose.
There, sir" he said, taking his torch
from Lola, and holding it over the black
gulf, there's as pretty n bridge and hand
rail as the heart Of man could reasonably
DESIRE
For all that, | held my breath as | saw
llill Y Oal VII titp w ~ tIlt HMM
his way, holding by the upper one, across
that black abyss. Ny turn came, and with
the blood humming in my ears, ] stepped
out upon the rope. 1t swung to and fro in
the middle. and | was seized with that ir-
resistible suggestion of self-destruction
which affects the Imagination OF most peo-
pie in looking down from an extraordinary
height.
Lola began to cross before I was well of.
and when we stood all three In safety on
the ledge, n fervent Thank God!' rose
from m~ " art.
oval, we've got to git back again." OBJ
served Brace, rs il my t~hankfulness were
q little premature; "Howsever, faint bad
to think of Providence when you're in
danger; now, my gel, it's for you to lead ON
You can stay here; you're too heavy for
where I'm going" said she, taking the
torch from his hand.
With a swiitness that terrified me, she
went down the sido Of the preclpice, find
ing foothold where we, looking down from
the projection, could see none.
They don't know danger-kids don't"
said Brace, in a low tone. END" he add
ed, looking into the depths about him I'M
easily. II wouldn't mind feeling the same
myself. First time | ever felt skeery down
this hole, and I'm burned if it shan't be
the last. I'm gettin' too old to enjoy risky
work
! could not take my eyes from the light
DeloW, as IL paSscu III JERKS from polnI I'd
point. All last ii stopped, and after a min
ute's pause, 10 my great relief, it began TO
return.
Quicker and quicker the light danced
along until | felt sick and giddy with fear
for the girls safety; and then. with one
last bound, she stood upon QUIZ shelf OF
rock, holding the Great Hesper in her hand
Am | goodt" she asked, earnestly, nest
ling up TO my side.
CHAPTER Xxx.