The morning call., 1893-05-28

avalanche, take care!
Again with his face to the ground and again
up, and on, and on.
All last they neared the last steep sum nit of
thr foothills. Ii they could once get through
this ugly chaparral the rest would be easy
enough. Their clothes were torn 10 shreds;
their flesh was torn terribly. This chaparral is
fearful! II is almost as unyieding as barbed
iron. The wood rats eat the bark from II, and
there it lifts its naked white thorns and twist ed
stubborn arms right out before you as If an
array of while skeletons stood before you to
claw out your eyes with their feShleSs fingers.
To attempt to pass through this is perilOus at
all times. For serpents hide here from the
sharp hoofs Of their foes, the deer. Ah, you
should hear the thumpl thump! thump! of a
herd Of deer, one afIer the other In swift sue
eession when a rattlesnake is discovered on his
way from one ehaparral fort to another. In less
than minute nothing Is left but ragged, torn
hole in the earth.
Meantime the whole heavens and earth are
darHened; black! The horses had broken from
the field and fled from the OLD man IN terror TO
the woods. He turned hastily TO go seek the
boys. Soon he found the trail was wet and
slippery, fun of mud and tracks of wild beasts.
On the sharp, high crag. that jutted out over
the river half way down. ragged and breath
less he paused to look and to listen. The
world before him on the mountainslde beyond
The river was world on flre
The wind had burst suddenly from the
Pacific Ocean a hundred miles away TO take
part in the mighty panorama. The deep cany on
Immediately under his feet was black mass
Of smoke; sort of congestion; the river was
strangling, choking to death. But over aud
above and beyond This gulf Of blackness on the
mountalnside the tempest WAS toying with the
forest of flame, as child might play with
ribbon.
1t laid its hand on the leaping flames and
bore them fat 10 the ground, as though some
mighty wrestler had borne the frame of his an
tagonlst TO the EARTH And then the flames lay
a little time right down to the earth. held closely
there by the pohderous weight of the winds
from the sea. Then they ran along the ground,
licked up the leaves and moSses and cones,
and millions of little creeping things, as
you would suck IN your breath. Then sud-
denly The great weight OF winds lifted, and upi
upi up! The trunks Of mighty pine and cedar
trees of a thousand years were ladders for the
leaping flames The leaves, the boughs OF tow
eriug tIees were shriveled up III an instant in
that solid mass OF fame and fell TO the earth in
Goals and ashes.
II was int0lerable facing 1t there wi til the
thoughts that were throbbing TO his hearts
core, and he descended with the darkness the
death that lay before him. He knew his
woods. every stone and sapling and bush aud
did not fall.
As his foot was set In the waters edge he
thought he heard call, cry. But IL was so
BLACK, so sufocaIingl How could even Wild
beast open lis mouth TO cry out in that dense
smoke that The sea winds were pressing and
bearing down into the canyon on the waters?
a burning tree came drifting down, and this
gave mumentary light 10 the scene. Ser
pents twined and coiled about every limb of
The haH-submeIged log; rats and all sorts OF
small living things hung In despair or slid down
and drlf ed about or drowned. Then another
burning lOgl Then another. The place was
almosl lighted now.
He hurried on With his face 10 the water and
peered low and long and eagerly. There was
surely something there. lie tiled 10 cry out,
10 sound note of hope, of help. He only
clicked ana could not utter sound. Then The
light was all gone, save that now and then
lesser tfunk or bOugh came drifting down with
Its dead and dying freight on this river of
The man would not. could not, turn back.
He waded far out and stood to his waist. his
east, bis neck. He felt he knew he saw al
last shape. Ii was little TOD cIingIng TO The
sid OF the canoe, swimming by the side, tug
ging the canoe across with one hand ana aim ost
entirely una + the water, only his ba e, black
head, bis naked brown shoulders now aud then
lIii ed up to look down INTO lie canoe at the
poor boy that lay gaspiug and dying therei
What energy, poor little Tod! Bu, his energy
was more than the energy of despair. 1t WAS
the energy of death
Was lie dying? Was he drowning? Oh did
he really heaf voice, mighty voice ike the
roar OF "a California lIou, calling through the
darkness: Tod! Todl Tod!" He raised his
head little only once more till level with the
boat as he still swam and with last effort
urged the boat forward. And then he saw
through the blackness a great shaggy beard.
He saw. oil did he only le |, a great, heavy
hand reach Out from a form That stood 10 its
neck III the waGei?
surely the canoe was moving forward now;
nearing he Other shore surely. Ii felt hal 1t
would surely come sale 10 land now. His hand
lei go its mold. He felt SO very, very weary.
He want d 10 let 20 of ali Things ana fold his
aand- aud rest and rest aud rest
IL got back iO-night-sOt back TO. night"
III was such faint voice, such a very faint
voice, that he old mau hardly nea L. Ii
reminded him OF tue time that little Tod used
10 oddle 10 The door ana look ou and look ana
look, as II waiting Tor some one, and
then tOddie back 10 nun aud lay his
htle head on his knee. and so was called
'Toddles." He hastily drew the boat to land
ell along In the boat, aud his large hands
touched the lad lying there he lifted him out
and laid him on The warm sand.
Then he felt along for Too; fast, faster,
Wildly, up the canoe and down the Canoe ill.,
side and ont, stem ana stern! Aud then he
waded far out iatO the water aud called aud
called him till chilled to he bone.
A last burning ember fioated by now, aud as
he. turned desDairing TO The shore lie saw Tod
ciinging with his little brown hands TO tuft
of grass that grew from tue sandy shore.
He caught up the bire little form, but IL
never bieathed any more. He laid the d ad
were about, and pushing he canoe out in The
stream 4 little way he took up bis dead son and
climbed aud climbed as he would not have
climbed for his own life.
The woman was asleep but still with some.
thing like the dawn OF real motherhood she
had drawn tn little irundlebed out and laid
his pretty white nightgown under the pillow,
and gone 10 sleep. The strong man did mol
call her at once. Men who liv on the border
with wild beasts learn TO prac ice some hing of
their silence and soft tread, as II the old CON-
panionshiD established in the ark had not yet
been quite forgotten.
He had been rubbing the boy and petting his
hands and bleeding little ct all the way up
the long, steep trail. He had done all that
could be done. He laid him on the little bed,
drew IL noiselessy toihe fire, tore off the tat.
ter, u. wet garments and put on tile pret little
gown. There was one long, deep breath or
sigh, as II he would thank the patient old man
for all his Kindness and care; and that was all
When the woman aWoke In the morning and
rose UP hastily she saw to her surprise the TWO
lads lying side by side, as II asieep in the little
truDde bed by The fire. She stoOped to lift I'm