Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-11-09

nearly half way down to the rapids! He
did not dare as yet to turn his eyes to the
great fall on his right. he only looked
down to the rapids that were rushing far
ahl and not so very farl-below him. He
coolly surveyed the situation and the chances,
1t was late-the landslip had been slight
and noiseless-everyone in the houses above
had been long since abed and asleep-there
was not the slightest chance of any assist
ance coming to him before the early MORN
ing. Would it come even then? Even in
that moment of terror he remembered hear
ing the old man in the museum say that he
always made a study of the bank and the
falls first thing in the morning-that from
long dwelling on that spot he had come to
think of himself as sort of watchman or
owner of the place, and loved to look after
it. The old man would come then early in
the morning, and would see at glance that
there had been landslip, and would bring
people to come and look at it-perhaps
would even remember the young stranger
who had left his house the night before
and if help could then be of any avail, why
surely help would come. The problem
easily resolved itself into shape and explicit
statement If Hugh could cling, to his
rocky seat all night-all through the night
and could keep his senses about him, and
no further landslip should take place, then,
oh then, he might be saved and
might be welcomed by Marie in
Quebec. But suppose his head should
reel-suppose his nerve should give way
suppose his brain should turn
suppose he should be overcome by that
terrible drowsiness which he had often read
of as the accompaniment of exposure and
exhaustion and nervous strain-suppose he
should fall into an unnatural sleep-what
was to become Of him then? With the iron
resolve of brave and almost desperate man
he surveyed the chances. 1t was of no avail
to trouble his mind about the possibilities
OF another landslip. II that was to come, it
must come; he could do nothing-except for
his own present sake to put it resolutely out
of his head. If he could keep his senses
about him and cling on to his rock then
help must come in the morning. Even if
he could not be seen from the road above
him he must be seen by someone on the op-
posite bank. If he were seen, rescue would
be easy. What he had to do was to keep
his senses and hold on.
Perhaps some reader may think that that
would be but an easy task. What? To sit
on a narrow projection of rock during the
whole of a long autumnal night; to sit there
with hardly any possibility of altering ones
position-with the knowledge that any sud-
den and unconsidered movement might
plunge him down into the whirlpool of the
rapids-to sit there with the roar of the falls
all the time in his ears, sounding like the
roar of the wild beast i'm mpatient to be let
loose on his victim in the arena-is that an
easy task? Hugh Revelston did not find it
so, and he was brave and a strong man,
clinging to life with all the passionate force
of one tor whom life is only beginning. and
beginning in hope and happiness. He found
it terribly hard work to keep in the same po-
sition. Every wind that swept across him
seemed as ii it must sweep him away. He
could feel each breeze coming, and his
heart stood still with terror until it had
passed away. Sometimes the roar of the
fall was louder than before, and in his wild
fancy he imagined that the fall itself was
about to break over him. He looked up to
the appalling deeps of the sky and he
shuddered as at something spectral. The
night became peopled with illusions for
him. Phantoms seemed to float past him
and to gibber and mock at him. A wild
bird once or twice throbbed past him, and
Hugh almost started from his seat in nerv-
Gus terror. The shock, however, brought
reaction with it. It warned MIN that his
nerves were going, and that he must do
something to remain master of his senses.
There was nervous terror in the very loneli-
ness, in the sky, in the white ghostly foam
of the falls, in the IMPLYING eyes of the
stars. If he allowed the terrors of these
influences to grow upon him he
was lost An odd idea occurred to him.
He began to roar out comic songs. He tried
to think of half-torgotten old choruses that
he had known in his college days, and he
chanted them over and over again. They
banished the ghosts, anyhow. No specter
would care to compromise his mournful
dignity by coming near man who was
roaring out comic chorus from London
burlesque. The Horseshoe Fall had proba-
bly, never before been treated to selections
from the Forty Thieves" " or Faust Up To
date"
Then he made speeches. He addressed
"my lord and gentlemen of the jury" many
times, in defense of various prisoners. Then
he struck into politics and harangued var-
Gus public meetings. He was candidate
for some division of county, and he de-
nounced the opposite party. Then he was
in the House of Commons, and was address,
ing Mr.. Speaker. These performances, ab-
surd as they may seem, kept the poor young
mans mind off the horror of his position.
They gave him something to do, they sup
pressed or banished the tragic feeling of the
situation. A new danger now began to
threaten. The night was growing cold,
very cold. His limbs began to feel
chilled. He ventured so far as to
stretch down one hand and chafe his legs.
He kept on at this work-and it was peril
Gus work, too, for an awkward motion might
shake him off. But he knew we'll enough
that if he were to stiffen with cold his last
hope was gone. He began to train himself,
ho In hn ~
hands and feet quickly but safely
about. All this occupied and distracted
him. How slowly the time dragged along!
1t seemed to him as if he had been ages on
that rock-and there was no gleam of dawn
yet in the skies.
Now he began to grow exhausted and
sleepy. It seemed to him as if he could not
drive away or conquer the insane longing to
close his eyes and sleep. Some hideous
temptation appeared to come over him, tell
ing him that it would only be few mo-
ments of sleep-nothing more-and he
would be much the better for it. He had
to keep calling on the name of Marie, as if
it were a charm to give him strength to re-
sist the temptation. He dared not close his
eyes lest the struggle against sleep should
be over tor a moment; for he well knew that
one instant of sleep meant death. He kept
his mind fixed on Marie, and on his hope
vet to escape and see her again; and it
touched and soothed him to think that by
thus enabling him to keep awake and watch |
full she herself was helping in his rescue. Oh,
the pain of the monotonous positionl Oh,
the sense of relief, the sense of almost
Joy, when by some slight and cautious
he was able to shift the posture
Of his limbs ever so little! Then it came on |
to rain, and he was drenched-and strange |
to say be liked it; he found it refreshing-it |
was a change-it sent a new sensation |
through his jaded frame. But the time was
him out; he feared at one moment |
that he was going to faint, and he prayed |
oh so feryentlY and passionately-that be |