Evening journal., 1889-09-14

4 DptNeSh atAa hlitfs ana lD&. we could not see
where we placed our feet, and all about was
rs black as a closed cellar.
These rocks won't make very soft bed, :"
! remarked after accepting Arthurs propo-
sition
mo, they won't; and don't think it's safe
to sleep on the ground There are California
lions around these mountains, and I've heard
that rattlesnakes are not very scarce, either.
We must find good tree and get into that. p
Finding even 50 large an object as a tree is
not the easiest task in the world. when one
can't see anything whatever, and we CROPPED
about unsucceesfully until We began 10 think
| that we should have to take our chances Of
California lions, rattlesnakes and any other
dangers the mountains might afford But
| just then came in collision with something
round and hard that gave me a severe bump
on the nose.
I've found one, Arthur | exclaimed
Come along slowly till yon touch me- I'm
standing against it"
He did so, and then Insisted me TO climb
the invisible tree
( 1t was twisted and distorted, Hike all moan.
tain trees exposed TO high winds, extending
out at an angle from the great rock under
which its roots found nonrishment, 80 that
its inclined trunk and hea4y branches made
by no means the worst Of resting places
| We slowed ourselves away IN the first and
second forks, glad enough to rest after our
hard days tramping.
Surprising the time to be somewhere about
O'Clock, We would have TO stay there for
some eight or nine hours till sunrise, and the
night air, combined with the fog, was cold
and damp
But on the other hand, we found a few bic
afa5fa IN ans af-,&..
heavy. We were not % badly situated after
all
Then, too, the morning wouh probably be
clear, and with the sun for guide we could
certainly find our way.
"Oh, we can stand thisr' we agreed, cheer
| ny. "It1l be a long night, bat that's the
worst Of 1t. It'll do us no harm. and win
teach US 10 carry compasses the next time we
| go mountaineering
In this frame of mind we prepared to tough
IL OUT It was a long night and a most I'M
comfortable one
At first we could not get 30 sleep, try rs
we would, and we talked and told stories for
hours Then we began to feel drowsy, and
settled ourselves as well as we could 70 take a
nap
But the hardness Of the rough wood and
the frequent aches and cramps which ran
| through us made sleeping difficult, and even
| dangerous, for both OF as came within an ace
of falling out of the tree several times during
| the night
Ouoe Arthur. who was above, slipped and
| fell directly upon mo, carrying me with him,
and We both slipped some feet down the trunk
baforo we could stop
"Whewi that was a close shave painted
be, pulling himself back again.
tits lucky that this tree doesn't stand up
straight said L HWed have been pumped
down on those hard rocks if 1t did.H
well 1t isn't very far 30 the ground, for
tunabely," answered he "We're not up more
than ten or twelve feet, should say"
After this we kept broad awake and passed
the tedious hours somehow or other, bat they
were the longest | ever remember to have
spent.
II seemed to US that the night would never
be over, and we were wondering waothe9 tbs
world hadn't stopped turning on fta axH,
when Arthur suddenly exclaimed.
why, can see you, 6anf"
And looking up could inst descry bis fig-
ure and che shapes Of the branches near him
Hurrahl IL was really morning a. last.
The light grew rapidly stronger, and over
head the fog was breaking up Strips Of dark
now able to see quite a stretch Of the ground
over which we had coma
"Curious that It clears away faster on one
side than CA the other,S remarked Arthur.
II can't see thing under "a whils an ont
the other way the rocks show as plainly as
can hen
looked down asad ssw nsthing but fog be-
peath snd further csst
ut Is queer" said Il never saw fog
cling TO the ground 80 before m my life, stfll
less only in one place.
JtS8 then the sun broke through the vapors
@nd flooded US with its brillfancy. was hook
ing up to get my bearings from it, when a
sort Of gasp from Arthur caused me 30 glance
at him, first in surprise and then in alarm
He was clutching the trunk with both hands,
and gazing downward with staring eyes.
open mouthed and pale faced, a perfect
statue Of terror.
| Hastily following the direction Of his look,
l caught one glimse of what he saw. and i'm
stantly Rugged the nearest branch like a mad
man.
Beneath me was an empty gulf, going down,
down, till the tree tops at the bottom looked like
shrubs, and through the thinning fog saw
that our tree grew out Of the very edge Of a
sheer precipice hundreds of feet high, over
which it hung like the arm Of a crane
Do you wonder that we were frightened, or
that for some minutes we chung there, trying
to steady or swimming heads and brace our
trelnhafng nerves after the sudden shock Of
that aghtl
What an ordeal thst was getting OF our
perilous perch, moving 81 inch at a time,
sliding, holding ON and finally making last
plunge to the safety OF the firm ledgel We
lay there half an hour before we felt able to
EOwc again.
Think how necr came to walking right
S6 the sdgeF' | kept repeating over and
ever again
"And thea thAt time when we almost fell
out the tree together Arthur said, shud-
dsring "Suppose we'd taken a fancy tc
jump down in the nightF'
We safely descended the mountain, much
TO the relief of the landlord, who Was about
sending men to search for us aud drove back
to town; but it was long before we cared b
dwell upon the remembrance Of that unoon
scious, careless and frightfully dangerous
night we mad passed up a trea-ManIey IL
Pike in Golden Days