Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1894-05-18


must start early, in order to get our
job done in time to get back to a
comfortable dinner, but in reality, /
believe, to preclude the possibility of
being followed. When we had fin
ished our breakfast, Brace, taking
the hotel-man by the button, said
"Old pal, you hev got a stranger
staying in this house. / reckon"
The man scratched his ear, looked
up and down, and then, at jerk OF
his button, blinked up at Brace. and
said
"Waal. l allow I hev."
"A wooden-legged stranger, /
think?"
The same shuhling, and then
"Waal, I'll allow he hev got a
wooden leg"
"a niger, believe.
"Waal, niger accordin' to ap.
pearances.
IL kinder fancy he's in the little
chamber over there. 'Twarn't O
swine / heard gruntin', were it?"
"YOu kin inspect him, il you like. I"
al will; after which hef / take a
fancy to nailin' of him up for four
and-twenty hours, for the same
number of dollars you will allow me
the use of a hammer and some three
inch pints?"
II will do that" said the man land
the two having shaken hands on the
bargain, he went off to get the arti-
Il III
into the room.
'It's the same" said Brace, and
turning up his sleeves, he proceeded
to nail up the door in business-like
manner.
II don't think he will trouble us,
unless he kin afford to make it worth
the old pals while TO let him out"
said Brace. as we started from the
house, lend even then he won't get
much OF a chance, SEEM as no NOR
tai man can get down that hole
without light, and we've got eyes
to see hef light is follerin' on us. {"
1t was dark, despite the snow that
lay upon the ground. Brace led the
way with pine torch, which burned
sluggishly in the mist that envel-
oped us. Lola. holding my hand
tightly, we followed close be-
hind Brace, who kept the torch low
TO show the nature of the path. new
ertheless we slipped and foundered
considerably in stepping from bowl
der TO bowlder-the half-melted
snow rendering il impossible to OBJ
tain firm footing
Under other circumstances, Lola
would have enjoyed the difficulties,
and laughed at our mishaps, but now
she neither smiled nor spoke; some
times she would press my hand a lit
tie 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 a long sue
cessiou of falls, and, the light in
creasing, the rocks and powders
about us became visible through the
gray mist. At length our progress
was stopped by huge rock that rose
perpendicular before us.
/ heard beside the swirling and
dashing noise in our rear muffled
roar, that seemed TO come from the
very bowels of the earth. amost
fancied / felt the rock vibrating un-
der my feet,
You're right" said Brace, when
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. II IL warn't
for the burned mist" he added, hold
ing up the torch, which revealed but
few feet above our heads of the
granite wall by our side, YOU'D see
that we're standin' right between
the two sides of the divide we looked
at last night We air standin' right
over the canyon. with per'aps four
or five thousand feet OF nothing un-
der us, on "A lump of rock that's tum-
bled down from up above, and
wedged itself here. cause somethin
a topped its goin' furder, end it dc
iremble, / allow. 1t amt solid! It's
moved lump since knew it in the
old days, and one o these days a
chunk from up above will come down
and start it off for good an all.
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