The sun. [volume] (Morris, Stevens County, Minn.) 1882-1895, 1892-06-16
THE GREAT HESPER.
TALE OF A BIG DIAMOND
How an immense Gem Was Lost
Recovered, and Lost Again,
CHAPTER XIX.-CoxTrNUED.

| we followed close behind Brace, who
kept the torc!. low to show the nature
of the path; nevertheless, we slipped
and floundered considerably in step
ping from boulder to boulder,-the
half melted snow rendering it impos-
| sible to obtain q firm footing.
Under other circumstances, Lola
would have enjoyed the difficulties,
and laughed ut our mishaps, but now
she neither smiled nor spoke; some
times she would press my hand
q little tighter,-that was all the
sign she gave. We followed the
course of the river, guided by the
sound of the rushing waters. AS we
proceeded the descent grew more and
more rapid, the stream forming q long
succession of falls, and, the light in-
creasing, the rocks and boulders about
us became dimly visible through the
gray mist. At length our progress
was stopped by huge rock that rose
perpendicular before us.
"Hark!" said the Judge, as we stop
ped to regain the breath that had
been jumped out OF our lungs by the
last scramble.
| listened,-we seemed to have turn
ed our backs on the stream,-its rush
ing sounded more distant than l had
yet heard it. | said this.
"Hark again!" said Brace. Then as
leaned my ear attentively, |
heard beside the swirling and
dashing noise in our rear, g. muffled
roar, that seemed to come from the
very bowels Of the earth. l almost
fancied felt the rock vibrating under
my feet.
"You're right" said Brace, when l
gave him my impression; lend the
roar you hear is that stream shootin'
down thousands of feet to the bot
tom of the great hole. If it warn't for
the burned mist" he added, holding
up the torch, which revealed but a
few feet above our heads of the granite
wall by ourside, you'd see that we're
now standin' right between the two
sides of the divide we looked at last
night. We are standin' right over the
canon, with per'aps four or five
thousand feet OF nothing under
us, on O. lump Of rock that's
tumbled down from up above, and
wedged itself here, cause somethin'
| stopped its goin' furder; end it do
tremble, I allow. 1t amt solid! It's
moved q lump since knew it in the
old days, and one O. these days q
chunk from up above will come down
add start it off for good an all"
II II think we may as we'll get off it, il
oval, yes. It amt more risky
standin' on it than standin' under it,
but, as we've got to go under it, and
down the hole, we may as we'll git"
He led the way along the trembling
rock a dozen yards maybe,-the rush
ing water sounding upon the LETT o.
us, and then stretched out his left arm
to stop us. He advanced cautiously
and, holding out the torch at arms
length, the light fell upon the yellow
water as it poured down into the
black gulf upon which our standing
place abutted. The flame of the torch
was drawn down by the current of all
as if it had been at the blast-hole OF q
furnace. Raising his VOICE to over
come the noise OF the water, Brace
called out:
"We've got to 60 down there!"
"Yeu renot afraid, Lola?" Iasked
She shook her head, and gave my
hand another little squeeze.
Brace led us off the rock, keeping th'
water still on our left, and there wat
some more downward clamberin!
for few minutes. Then w
came to stand, and he showed me {
lateral. opening about four feet il
height.
"We goes through there" he said
en- he produced flask, poured out {
dram, and handed it to me. l offered
it to Lola Another shake of tn
head and another little squeeze.
| emptied the cup, and Brace helped
himself.
"There amt no need to get oursel
yes in muck over this job. We'll
put our rubbers on" he said; 9th
wet drips through"
took out the evercaats from tn
bundle of rugs, and we put them on
Then l strapped the roll of rugs OF
my shoulders again.
Brace touched my SHOULDER, AM
pointed upward to q couple of faintl,
pink nebulous, patches in the mist.
"What is it?" | asked.
''The sun ketchin' the tops of tn
peaks" he replied.
He took O. couple of torches iron
the bundle he carried, and began t.
light them at the end of the one h
had last used.
"Won't you wait a little,-it will b
light in half an hour2" | said.
"Not down there" he replied; 'it'
pitch dark in that almighty hole
Now" he added, when the torche
were we'll lit, stake one of these, kic
the snow we'll off your feet, keep on
eye on me, the other on the rocks
and leave the rest to Providence.
With this last injunction, he stooI
ed down and passed through tn
opening. We followed, but singly, fo
we needed both hands to make th
perieus decent. r..
The first thing / noticed in passin
. under the great block that bridged th
? awful chasm was the comparatiy
silence. We could no longer hear tn
u rushing of the stream on the othe
side,-only the dull roar of the wate
as it struck the bottom of the cano
some thousands of feet below.
BRACES voice was startlingly distint
when he spoke.
"You tell me the thing is on tt
other side of the ropes, my GEL" j
said.
y She answered yes, and we wer
j slowly forward and downward d alor
J the narrow and jagged ledg
our faces toward the glittering quart
seeking interstices and projections ft
hold to our hands.
We were getting away from the fal
but at a certain point the natur
path returned toward it in zig-z,
along the lower projection. AT Il
i, angle, which offered little wild
q standing space, we stopped.
"This here hole was 'fust showed II
I'd. by the Kids mother" said Brace; 9
I'LL bad served her father for a cac
m cite in quite the early days OF tn
ng country's glory.
IN "a cachette," he explained, lis