The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-06-17
THE ADVERTISERS A
 DAILY SHORT STORY

faster we went the better I liked 1t. The v'yge got ter be so easy that reauy did fali inter a doze an had no idea
 where the sled was till all Of a sudden she slurred hard on a wrinkle in the Ice.
 Tt woke me quick, an 1 started up ter git my bearin's. I didn't wanter run inter the island an knock it-or myseIt-o,n ,rl the map. But, by gosh! we was rignt m under the head O the island, an aimin direct for It.: an what l saw ahead driv all tn dreamin' aout O me, naow teii There. ahead of the fiyin sled, not a thousand yards away. was stretcn oI black open water, reachin:- clear across the lake, And that old sled, with all us weight of furs, an me on top or em' was rushin right inter it as fast as na gale ed drive us I tell ye, mister. the sight weakened me! .
 q knew that all things considered. ,n- cludin' the heavy runners an iron I,i. worn on that sled, she was bound ter go daoWn the minute she struck open water ike g ton O bricks, l might pull out aIive myself though to jump from the tnihs at the rate she was hyin Wouiu pe
 dead loss--I was sure O that. An wasn't slow in sesin' my only nope TOT salvation. too. l made dive forrad .or the mast and tried ter unship It. But 'the der.ned thing had been too well Weos eo for me to get 1t out in minute. Ia set if up as though l never expected to want
 "The old sled was a hummin. an that streak of open water was drawin near at erbout the rate the Yankee Flyer comes up from Bosting. The biack gsi1 was jest ahead an l could almost near the waves breakin' erlong the lce-Iront. Evry moment 1 expected the runners would cut through the snow Ice ana q 20 daown, mebbe never to come up again.
 ..Tel ye what. mister. 'taint pleasant ter see such finish ahead or man dunno as I ever felt less ready an VII iin', as the preachers put it. ter com plete my airthly journey as l did at that we're identical minute. That was cold wa fer. I knew, an 1 warnt anxious ter try it. ,hro,oh Il mans mind at such moments-mostiy idees that ain't no help to him in the emergency he's afacin; But one souu one come to me. Cut the ropes; sul'lin
 seemed ter say. an I made a grab for my belt. But I'd jest been usin' the knife 10 cut tobacker, and twas down there under the furs somewhere twouid ha taken. Philadelphy lawyer ter find II: An then, twas too late to hunt Tor the knife-too late ter do anything put shut my eyes an wait for the first ICY plunge! The white ice faded away on both sides O the sled an, i-weil. mister | shet my eyes tight, an kep em snut' with my head burrowed in the skins. An then come shock that rattieo airy tooth in my head an droVe me up inter the air like stone out O one p them catpulps they uster use in BiDle times. The old sled stopped dead, ths mast snapped square off, and I turned sevral summersalts b'fore landed square on top of my head. :, q reckon that landin kinder knocked q some sense inter me, for as soon coul1 open my eyes ithout seein' trees, an | stars, an the lake. an everything eIse
 hyin. round me in a so sort ,, Q nnaenG merIy-soII | warn't drowned; nor want swimmln
 in no lake. I'd landed kerpluak u1 and on tns ms
 rocky shore of Pillsbury Island ana my
 sled had run into it hard enough to loosen
 every lint in the thing and scatter the | skins for yards around.
 | "Ye see, mister, 'twarn't open water | after all-that black space. Twas biacs
 ice that had formed across the nt enanne11 fas1 | of snow. But a man nights jest as well
 be killed searet ter death e an thss wbatT yere
 '"Wiii J9 Cert'nly! That's good stuff -ah-h! If I'd had a nip of that the
 night I was tellin' you of. it might na ken me awake an I wouldn't experi- enced what look back upon now as my
 closest call!'