Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1893-07-27
CHAPTER VI.

Hear that-look there!"
oue or TWO men bound yillagewards
uttered the words In a startled. excited
gasp, just as the unfortunate man who
Il beer Edna Deane's companion and
guide gave expression To this cry for
aid.
Ihey had just passed the somber-
raced man and his girlish companion
struggling through the snow, and. sup
posing they were bent down the river
shore instead Of across the unsafe
bridge, had passed on without uttering
a warning.
Now coming to the river path beyond
a clump Of trees, that wild cry had
reached the ears of the younger of the
twain.
Help. helpg"
Looking quickly back and down the
stream, he caught a glimpse of n form
struggling in the wild waters of the
torrent.
They were strangers" he calculated.
The bridge! They've tried to cross it,
and have fallen through"
1t took them ten minutes fully to re-
trace their steps, running around the
blutfy timber stretch. They reached
h bridge. Horror-eyed, appalled,, they
stared blankly at the trodden snow and
the gaping hole, through which the
darkling waters showed twenty feet
below.
He went down. saw him in the
water" muttered one of the men.
But the other?"
what other?"
''The girl"
"Ah. yes! / forgot. There was a
girl with him. Jem, they're gone. Man
and woman both, sure as fate."
They glanced far down the river
banks. They even lined the stream for
some distance, but found no trace of
the supposed victims of a terrible mis-
take.
Thus it was that rumor, speculation
and horror were rife at the little rail
road settlement that evening when the
two men returned thither and told
their tragic story.
This man remembered seeing the two
arrive On the late afternoon train-that
one described the gaunt, solemn-faced
stranger seeking q conveyance TO take
them across country. A party va
made up to make search for some tI:.cs
of the bodies Of the unfortunates, Ddt,
after lining the bleak shores Of the river
for hours. they returned bootless from
their task at midnight, the swirling
waters and increasing storm bidding
fair to sweep away or cover up for
eyermore the identity of the man and
the girl who had seemingly met death
at the bridge.
As the reader knows, Edna Deane's
guide alone had sunk through the bro
ken plank. Edna herself, frozen
with horror, had remained for a mo-
ment chilled to helplessness by the sud
den disaster. Then, frantic with ter
ror, vaguely hoping to reach some hab-
itation and summon it's deniZens to at
tempt the rescue Of her guide, she
dashed blindly from the Gene.
Through the heavy snow h ram, the
darkening landscape showing a distant
light. Towards ii she bent her steps,
lost it as a copse interviewed, struggled
on again, crossed a gully, reached a
rise in the ground, and then leaned
against q tree, painting for breath, and
staring wild-eyed and alarmed all
about her.
Her bedraggled dress, soaked slices,
chilled frame and anguished heart
drove every sense to vivid suffering.
With a moan of distress she realized
that her companion vas past earthly
help, that the river had swept him
away. The instinct of self oreserva-
ton, the fright Of the moment dulled
her memory Of that terrible scene at
the bridge; for utter loneliness and
desolation spread before her; not a hab-
itation. human being or light showed.
She might have been q thousand miles
from civilization for all IFS pyidpncpS
that existed in her immediate proxim-
ity.
"Oh! where shall / go-which way
shall turn? / am lost!'
Her tones were hollow, the utter
ance despairing. affrighted. Nurtured
mid delicate care, scarcely clothed TO
endure the rigors Of such exposure,
she felt that her strength and her will
were fast DESERVING her.
She tried to summon all her fortitude
and calmness. She decided that the
town they had left an hour previous
must lie beyond a level waste bounded
on its farther edge by a ridge Of trees
and bushes. In that direction she start
ed.
Knee-deep in a drift, sway;ug like
n reed I'm the wind, she wavered. fairly
in the center Of the vast meadow.
Snow was all about her-carth and
air seemed full Of 1t. 1t dazzled her
vision, it penetrated sleeve and hood,
1t choked and blinded her.
"A fearful night, truly! 'rhe noise Of
the rising tempest ms out like the
waves Of angry sea. the storm had
tapped out the baiefui light Of moon