Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1896-09-14
CHAPTER Xxx.
THE FLIGHT IN THE HEATHER: THE
ROCKS


ROCKS
Sometimes we walked, sometimes ran:
and as it drew on to morning, walked
ever the less and ran the more Though,
upon its face, that country appeared to
be desert, yet there were huts and
houses of the people, of which we must
have passed more than twenty. hidden
in quiet places of the hills When we
came to one of these, Alan would leave
me III the way, and go himself and rap
upon the side of the house and speak
awhile at the window with some sleeper
awakened. This was to pass the news;
which, in that country, was so much of a
duty that Alan must pause to attend to
it even while fleeing for his life; and SO
well attended to by others, that in more
than half of the houses where we called,
they had heard already of the murder.
In the others, as well as / could make
out standing back at a distance and
hearing strange tongue) the news was
received with more of CONSERVATION than
surprise.
For all our hurry, day began to come
in while. we were still far from any
shelter. 1t found us in a prodigious
valley, strewn with rocks and where ran
a foaming river. Wild mountains stood
around it; there grew there neither grass
nor trees; and | have sometimes thought
since then, that it may have been the
valley called Glencoe, where the mas
sacre was in the time Of King William.
But for the details of our itinerary, I
am all to seek; our way lying now by
short cuts, now by great detOurs; our
pace being SO hurried; our time of jour
neying usually by night; and the names
of such places as l asked and heard be-
ing in the Gaelic tongue and the more
easily forgotten.
Of
showed us this horrible place, and |
could see Alan knit his brow
This is no fit place for you and me"
he said. ''This is a place they're bound
TO watch"
And with that he ran harder than ever
down to the water-side, in part where
the river was split in two among three
rocks. 1t went through with a horrid
laundering that made my belly quake;
and there hung over the lynn little
mist of spray. Alan looked neither to
the right nor to the left, but jumped
clean upon the middle rock and fell there
on his hands and knees to check himself,
for that rock was small and he might
have pitched over on the far side. l
had scarce time to measure the distance
or to understand the peril before l had
followed him, and he had caught and
stopped me.
SO there we stood, side by side upon a
small rock slippery with spray. a far
broader leap in front of us, and the river
DINING upon all sides. When / saw
where | was there came On me a deadly
sickness of fear, and | put my hand
over my eyes. Alan took me and shook
me; | saw he was speaking, but the
roaring of the falls and the trouble of
my mind prevented me from hearing;
only | saw his face was red with anger.
and that he stamped upon the rock. The
same look showed me the water raging
by and the mist hanging in the air; and
with that, l covered my eyes again and
shuddered.
The next minute Alan had set the
brandy bottle to my lips, and forced me
to drink about a gill. which sent the
blood into my head again Then. put
ting his hands to his mouth and his
mouth to my ear. he shouted. Hang
or drownw and turning his back upon
me. leaned over the farther branch of
the stream. and landed safe.
(To be Continued.)