St. Paul daily globe., 1889-01-12
straight line. But that is the difficulty

straight line. But that is the difficulty
If we lose the discretion it is all up with
the poor fellow.''
1--WE ought to be able to make so short
distance" suggested Shaw; "at any
rate, we must try.'
1--WE must try" replied the leader,
and. STOPPING. he again lifted the young
hunter in his arms, and, closely fol-
lowed by the others, moved away i'll the
direction of the water hole.
1t was a perilous venture, and every
nerve was braced to accomplish it.
Under the protection of the sand dune
the others might have outljved the
storm. They were strong and hardened
to the rough experiences that now en-
vironed them, But 1t was not SO with
the boy. 1t was his first introduction to
the perils of the desert. and they had
the shoulders of the gigantic frontiers
man as limp as rag. and almost as life
less. The storm ragged with undimln-
ished violence. The sand rose in waves
and eddied around them like shifting
clouds. 1t hid the sun, and the atmos-
phere. if indeed anything like air could
be separated from thatrain of bllsterlng
dust, was as dense as twilight. Still the
men pushed their way through it. Ihey
stumbled and fell, but rose again
and staggered on. The wind whistled
and screeched, and the great sheets of
sand broke in their faces and on their
breasts. The noise was like the roar of
cyclone or the breath of a tempest
when tall trees fall before the blast.
Never before in Foot'S long life Oh the
plains had he seen such day. The
huge muscles on his arms and legs
stood out like whipcords. The veins in
his nervous limbs rose black. stagnant
along the smooth, white skin. The
blood looked as if it would burst from
its confinement. All the latent forces
of his powerful body were in action. All
the cOmbative instincts OF his nature
were aroused to repel the rage OF the
elements. The thought of yielding, OF
giving up the struggle, never once
crossed his mind. He belonged to a
race whom despair was impossible.
To him. so long as there was q fight
ing chance left. there was hope OF
safety. His long, angular body, lnciln-
ing forward, in sharp angle, cut the
drift of sand, as the PROV of the ship
divides the waves when the wind and
the water rise around it. And his COM
panions followed close in his track.
They half escaped the fury of the storm
in the wake of that steadily moving
body. As they trudged on Foot stumbled
over ridge of sand. 1t was made OF
the carcass of one of the dead camels.
over which the dust had drifted in a
heap. This assured the hunters that
the pool was only few yards away.
The fact sent thrill of pleasure to
their hearts. 1t stimulated their des-
perate exertlons to greater energy.
Again they bent forward in that fearful
race of life and death. They were al
most on the brink of the water hole.
Their distended nostrils already felt the
scent of the life-giviDg element. Their
faces lost the look of desperate hard
ness they had worn and flushed with
joy through their masks of dirt and
sand. In another moment they plunged
into the little tapping basin of ripping
water up to their armpits. 1t was like
coming out of the realm of darkness
into the sunshine of heaven-from the
blackness of the grave into the radiance
and beauty of life. They plunged,
leaped, shouted and sang. They threw
up their arms in the ecstasy of rejoic-
ing. They lived; they were safe.