The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1901-10-18

or the air around them aroused him
from his thoughts. The driver drew up
the collar of his overcoat and laid the
whip smartly over the backs of his cat
tie. The air grew gradually darker,
until suddenly it seemed to disintegrate
into invisible gritty particles that
swept through the wagon. Presently
these particles became heavier, more
perceptible and polished like small
shot, and a keen wind drove them
stingingly into the faces of the passen-
gers or insidiously into their pockets,
collars or the folds of their clothes.
The leather curtains were battened
down, but the snow forced itself
through the smallest crevices.
well get over this when once we've
passed the bend. The road seems to
dip beyond" said Masterton cheerfully
from his seat beside the driver.
The driver gave him a single scornful
look and turned to the passenger who
occupied the seat on the other side of
him. Il don't like the look of things
down there. but eff we are stuck Well
have to strike out for the next station"
But" said Masterton as the wind
volleyed the sharp snow pellets in their
faces and the leaders were scarcely dis
tinguishable through the smokelike dis
charges, cit can't be worse than here"
The driver did not speak, but the 9TH
er passenger craned over his back and
said explanatorily:
81 reckon you don't know these storms
This kind of dry snow don't stick and
don't clog. Look"
Indeed, between the volleys Master
ton could see that the road was per-
fectly bare and wind swept. and except
slight drifts and banks beside outlying
bushes and shrubs-wiich even then
were again blown away before his eyes
the level landscape was unclothed
and unchanged. Where these mysteri-
GUS snow pellets went to puzzled and
confused him. They seemed to vanish
as they had appeared-into the air
about them.
''Id make straight rush to the next
station said the other passenger con-
fidently to the driver "If we are stuck,
we are that much on the way; if we
turn back, We'll have to take the grade
anyway when the storms over, and
neither you nor know when thatll be.
1t may be only squall just now, but
it's getting rather late in the season.
Just pitch in and drive all you know"
The driver laid his lash on the horses,
and for a few moments the heavy ve-
hicle dashed forward in violent conflict
with the storm. At times the elastic
hickory framework of it's domed leath-
er roof swayed and bent like the ribs
Of an umbrella. At times it seemed as
if it would be lifted bodily off. At
times the whole interior of the vehicle
was filled with thin smoke by drifts
through every Granny. But presently,
to Masterton's great relief, the inter-
minable level seemed to end, and be-
tween the whitened blasts he could see
that the road was descending. Again
the horses were urged forward, and at
last he could feel that the vehicle be-
gan to add the momentum Of its de-
scent to it's conflict with the storm.
The blasts grew less violent OF became
only the natural resistance of the air
to their dominant rush. With the ces-
sation of the snow volleys and the
clearing of the atmosphere the road be-
came more strongly defined as it plung-
ed downward to terrace on the noun
tain flank several hundred feet below.
Presently they came again upon
thicker growth of bushes and here and
there a solitary fir. The wind died
away; the cold seemed to be less bitter.
MaSterton, in his relief, glanced smil-
ingly at his companions on the box, but
the drivers mouth was compressed as
he urged his team forward, and the
other passengers looked hardly less
anxious. They were now upon the
level terrace and the storm apparently
spending it's fury high up and behind
them. But in spite of the clearing of
the air, he could not but notice that it
was singularly dark. What was more
singular, the darkness seemed to have
risen from below and to flow in upon
them as they descended. A curtain of
profound obscurity, darker even than
the mountain wall at their side shut
out the horizon and the valley below.
But for the temperature Masterton
would have thought a thunderstorm
was closing in upon them. An odd feel
ing of uneasiness crept over him.
A few ftful gusts now came from the
obscurity. One of them was accompa-
MED by what seemed a fight of small
startled birds crossing the road ahead
of them. A second larger and more
sustained fight struck his astonished
eyes that they were white and each
bird an enormous flake of snow! For
an instant the air was filled with these
disks, shreds, patches, two or three
clinging together, like the downfall
shaken from tree, striking the leath-
er roof and sides with a dull thud,
spattering the road into which they de-
scended with large rosettes that melted
away, only to be followed by hundreds
more that stuck and staid. In five
minutes the ground was white with it,
the long road cleaning out ahead in
the darkness, the roof and sides of the
wagon overlald with it as with a coat
ing of plaster of paris; the harness of
the horses and even the reins stood out
over their steaming backs like white
trappings. In i've minutes more the
steaming backs themselves were blan-
keted with 1t, the arms and legs of the
outside passengers pinioned to the seats
with it, and the arms of the driver kept
free only by incessant motion. 1t was