Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1901-02-13

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day, Saturday, the men expected that
their new foreman would appoint one
of them to inspect the slide, and thus
avoid the disagreeable duty himself;
but he told them to quit work at the
usual time, and then started upon his
tour of inspection.
After Hjorth had disappeared,
Hicks and four of his companions,
leaving the other men still at work.
walked away southwark, plunged doWn
into a Thick growth Of saplings, and
disappeared.
They were absent for more than an
hour. When. flushed and boisterous,
they returned from the illicit still, the
sun was disappearing and all the
other lumbermen had left the scene.z
Sitting down on a large log that
was awaiting it's turn to be launched,
they fell into talk about Hjoryesen,
and vilified him without stint. he
membering that the object Of their
wrath was still below them, some one
proposed to frighten him by launch
ing the log down the slide.
They rose, seized the untrimmed
log upon which they had been sitting,
and brought it round to the slide.
Then they lowered it, large end
first, until no more than four feet PRO-
jected above. Still they held on,
half afraid to let it 90.
Was Hjorth in the slide? II SO, the
log would but give him a fright, pro-
vlded he were far enough away to get
out on hearing it coming at him.
wait, there he comes nowiY
Hicks exclaimed. 81
Picking up bough about seven feet
long, he laid it horizontally across the
end of the slide in such a manner that
it caught on a projecting knot OF the
log and held 1t In place.
Through the gloom of early evening
Hjoryesen could be discerned about
a hundred yards below.
When he stepped from the slide,
he found the men grouped in his way.
Hardly noticing them, Hjorth at
tempted to pass. But Hicks placed
his burly hand upon the youths
shoulder, and thrusting a bottle under
his nose, said:
"Have a drink?"
Hjoryesen gazed calmy into the eyes
of his enemy. Then he shook OF the
offending hand. 7s
Hicks, drunk enough to be wicked,
seized the lad by the cSlar and tried
to force the bottle into his mouth.
Hjorth sent it spinning into the air..
Big Peter tried to grapple the Nor
wegian, and received a stinging blow
in the face that sent him tumbling
dangerously near a steep embank-
ment.
e Them other four rushed sas
Hjoryesen. He knocked one down and
struggled furiously with the other
three, but was soon overpowered by
the united attack and borne to the
ground. A rope was passed round him
and his arms tied in front of his body.
Hjorth made no outcry.
'"I'll fix you, you young panther"
said Hicks. wiping the blood from his
face. They seized the pcostrate youth
and carried him to the edge of the
precipice.
"No, don't throw him over! Send
him down the slide!" shouted Hicks.
"Hooray!" cried another.
They threw Hjorth backward on the
log already in the slide. A second
rope was passed round his waist and
knotted to the log.
"Now will you drink?" said Hicks.
"Never!" said the boy, white with
rage.
You'd sooner have a ride over the
slide, would you?"
Murder me! You've got the power
to do that! But drink with you l will
mott" said Hjorth, in his own tongue.
Hicks had meant to frighten, not to
kill the young foreman.
III pry your teeth open!" he cried,
and strobe furiously back for a
stick.
The words were hardly out of
Hicks mouth when his leg struck the
retaining branch The log was off with
Hjorth in an instant.
Hicks shrieked with horror and flung
himself to the ground. The others
stared at where the log had In three
seconds disappeared. Far down the
chute they heard it roaring away into
silence. Hicks rose. All looked at him
in terror.
We'll hang for this!" he cried.
With one impulse they took to their
heels to find a hiding-place.
AS the log shot away 1t swayed,
jumped back to its first position, and
fell over little to that side. 1t ran on
the short ends of the branches. The men
had not trimmed them away, as they
would have done had the log been
put on the slide in the usual course
of work. Back and forth it hoped on
the points.
The air shrieked in Hjorth's ears
and the slide roared under the en-.
ormous and rough log. 1t shook the
boy to this side and that, torturing
him at every change. He had given
himself up for lost. but terror did
not paralyzc his senses.
Another moment" he thought,
"the log may turn right over, and tear
me and sSew me in shreds along this
trough" But he set his teeth hard TO
bear the pain, and uttered never a
cry.
At ten seconds on it's course, the
log had reached an equilibrium.
Hjorth lay as if half-turned on his
right side.
"I shall be smashed at the turn,
he thought.
Even then the log half-canted over
and tossed him as far on his side as
he had been on his right. 1t was no"
flying round the first curve out If its
equilibrium, as sleigh swiftly
turning q corner rises on the inner
runner.
hooinut tho 1onper side of the cury.