The Colfax chronicle., 1902-03-15

air, he thought, ruefully. The wiIo
would drown his voice, too; but, in
deed, he dared not attempt to shout
lest the movement of his chest
should start him moving again.
AS the blood flowed into his
head a strange giddiness at
tackled him. The stone tower
rising high into the windy at.
mosphere was all of earth he could
see, and it appeared to reel and
swing before his eyes. 1t seemed to
him that he was hanging over the
vast depths of the sky in peril of fall
ing into its unfathomable depths.
His brain seemd to grow clogged, his
eyes full of blood, and as he stared up
ward the gray clouds turned crimson.
He greatly feared that he would
become unconscious, and would make
some involuntary movement while in
that state that would carry him over
the brink. Probably this would, in.
deed, have happened, but for his sal
vation a violent bleeding at the
nose suddenly attacked him, covering
his face and hair with blood, but af-
fording instant relief TO his brain.
Lucid vision returned at once. 1t
looked long way now to the top of
the roof. He could hear the loud
singing of the telephone wires on
the street, and it sounded as if it
were just below his ears. But he
thought that if he could only turn
about to lie on his face with head up
ward, he might contrive to work his
way to the ridge, after all. 1t was
the violently unnatural position of
his body that disabled him. But
there was no sort of fulcram to sup
port him in turning, and he did not
dare to risk any more violent efforts.
He was too near the edge.
He stretched both arms eau
tiously to the right and tried to
roll over, but before he could
change his position in the least
the effort had starte him slid-
ing as before. This slide lasted
longer than either of the others; so
long that he made sure of the fatal
end at every moment, and complete
ly lost hope. But the roof seemed to
prolong itself interminably; it was
almost with shock of surprise that
he found himself stopped at last be-
fore reaching the caves.
But another slide would certainly be
the last, and warned by the result of
his former attempts, he made no more
experiments. The wind was bitter cold;
it was freezing. and the idea occurred
to him of lying quite still until his
clothing should freeze to the wet roof
OF course he might be frozen to death
himself before that time, or more like
ly the abnormal posture would deprive
him of his senses. But he could think
of no other plan.
All this time he had not once thought
of his belt of tools-in after recollec-
tion he could never comprehend why.
Like every lineman, he wore a stout
leather belt in which were stuck sew
eral pairs of pliers of different sizes,
screw-driver. wrench and wire cut
ter. He recollected these when the
shifted its position so
that its handle made an unpleasant
lump under his back.
One of the states within easy reach
had faxed, leaving narrow crevice un-
derneath. He had noticed it before with
the microscopical observation that
comes to man in desperate peril, and
had wished vainly for the claws of a
cat, in default of the wings of bird.
And now he had them, after all-or
their equivalents. He glued himself a
.losely as possible to the surface OF
the roof, and with infinite precaution
drew the smallest pair of pliers from
his belt. 1t was thin in the jaws, and |
be inserted it as far as possible in the
rack under the slate and gripped hard. |
1t was fulcrum enough, and he con-
rived to wriggle round, first to hori-
zontal, then to normal, headupward |
position, supporting himself by the
,,iers, and in deadly terror lest the |
slate should break away under the
steel. But it he'd, and the flood of |
oy that rushed over him when the at
tempt proved successful told him how
ar he had fallen into despair. The
change of attitude let him down a
title lower at first, and as his feet
anne round they ratified on some
metallic substance. He craned his
leck, and single glance was enough.
lis feet touched the tin gutter-pipes
It the edge of the roof.
But now trouble seemed nearly over.
lie got out another paid of piers and
ecured another hold on a similarly
hipped slate yard higher. The roof
vas old, and slightly defective spots
vere numerous. Where he could not
ind one he boldly hammered at the
urface till it broke, holding on by the
'ther hand, and so, little by little, and
cry slowly, he worked his way up.
1t was not all success, however, for
here was one terrible moment when
he slate crumbled under his hold and
e slipped back half the distance he
ad so laboriously achieved. 1t took
i'm more than half an hour to make
be ascent, but'at last, shaken and ex-
austed, he drew himself up on the
idge of the roof.
The rest was easy, and in few mo.
l. ~