The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1898-08-17
climbing, she did not think of that at


end Of the mountain. There was, how
ever, an old chute through which the
bark gatherers had some times sent
their tan bark down to the river. The
chute itself, the trough, had rotted
away; but the narrow opening
through the trees was still to be seen,
and Adela took to that. Other than
the rough journey, she knew she had
nothing to fear, for wild beasts have
long since gone from Massanutten, and
snakes are seldom seen.
But the climbing was enough, as she
quickly found. even for her excited
strength; and she soon began to be
thankful whenever the way led over
one of the rock brakes. in which Mas
sanutten's sides abound. On these
steep slopes the beds of loose rock lay
like a stairway, and she could step up
from stone to stone.
She toiled on until she had nearly
reached the top. Her breath was al
most gone, her heart was pounding in
her ears. But the camp was now with
| in call, and, after a moments rest, she
went on again.
She came to a rock-brake, and start
ed over 1t. Half way across, as she
lifted her feet YEARLY to the top of a
large stone, it moved under her. She
turned to leap aside, but too late. Her
feet slipped, and as she fell the stone
rolled on her and pinned her down.
For a moment, stunned and breathless
| from the fall, she made no cutlery. AS
far as she could tell no bones were
broken. and the upper part of her body
was free. She twisted herself about
and pushed against the stone with
every ounce of strength left in her. It
did not bulge. She was helplessly, i'm
movably fast. Then she began to cry
aloud, hoarsely, weakly at first; but
as her terror gathered, with gather
ing strength, until her cries rang
piercingly about the mountain sides.
No answer came, the camping party
had broken camp and gone two days
| before.
| She lay on the nose of the mountain,
with unobstructed view in front and on
each side. The Shenandoah valley was
| unrolled before her in it's entire width,
from the Blue Ridge to the Allegha-
MES. She saw but two things in it;
one was the roofs of Strasburg, so near,
apparently, in that clear air, that she
| tried to shout down to them; the other
was her own home, there just under
her eyes, it seemed almost under her
hand. She did not know how long she
had lain there-she was not always
conscious-when she saw far down be-
| low horseman come creeping out of
town. Halfway to the river the road
| forked. Would he turn off or would
he cross the river? If he crossed, he
must pass by her home-pass within
few rods of Ben.
| He took the river road. Slowly, how
slowly! he seemed to creep along! AS
| he came nearer, something, she did
| not know what-the gait, the color of
| the horse, the carriage of the man
| flashed the truth upon her. 1t was DR..
Jackson himself. He rode into the
river and stopped to let his horse drink.
He crossed. She watched him silently.
He seemed so near that she caught the
| flash of the water dashed up from his
horses feet. She had cried cut to the
distant town. To him she said not a
word. Not a word to him; but all her
soul was poured out in her in an agony
ofsilent prayer, not for herself, but for
Ben. If God would but send this help
to Ben, he might do what he would
with her.
DR.. Jackson got the message, as a
man is likely to do when the call is
sent by way of Heaven. The good doc
tor, indeed, did not know it. He
stopped at the Sisco place, as he
thought, merely to tell somebody that
the cattle were in the corn down there
in the bottom. But after vainly hal
looing at the gate, he got down and
went into the house, where he stayed
pretty much the rest of the day.
And Adela watched him with eyes
that filled with tears for the first time
since she had kissed Ben good-by.
They were tears of thankfulness; and
soon, spent utterly as she was with the
long strain. she put her head down on
her arms andfor awhile forgot her own
pains and terrors in the blessedness of
sleep.
Day declined, and the people began
to come home from the picnic. In the
west long clouds of dust, like floating
sandbars, marked out the valley pike
and its endless procession of vehicles.
Excursion trains crawled up and down,
and finally crawled away in the dis
lance, and every country lane had here
and there its groups of moving specks.
They passed; and soon the smoke went
up from scattered chimneys. Lights
twinkled through the dusk; and at last
the night, which had already filled the
valley, came creeping up the mountain
sides.
The company at Locust Hill, the hos
pitable old country seat just outside
| Of Ctro Shurr had all Uopa fo the re-