Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1903-03-02

As he struggled valnly, sullen roal
of the tide. 1t was now or never
With a sudden inspiration Hardmar
dropped back, pulled off his thick
outer coat, and then, with almost su
perhuman strength forced himself
slowly upward out of the vise-like
grip of the narrow opening.
He rose to his feet, free os an icy
tomb at last; but he found there was
no time to cross to the shore before
the ice-laden wave of the bore would
strike. 1t was already within five
hundred yards Of him.
Knowing that it would take many
times more force to move the jam
resting on the bar than it would to
move the field in the channel, Hard
man quickly realized that the best
thing to do was to stay on the mound.
The safest place was at the summit;
so to the one big cake forming the
pinnacle he made his way, and crouch.
ing on its slanting surface, waited.
Over to the southwest was the camp
in the shadow of the foothills. No
one was in sight. There was no use
in shooting to let his men know of his
danger, for above the roar Of the
water his voice would not carry half
the distance. Nor could the men aid
him if they should hear. So in silence
he turned his glance to the foaminS
crest of the advancing wave, noting
the endless stretch of dull white ice
following it.
The mound, extending down farther
than the shoreward ice, was the first
to receive the shock. Although the
whole mass shuddered, it held firm as
the first of the monster cakes carried
by the bore struck, reared up, and
began to accumulate at the beginning
Of the slope. The packed field near
shore gave way little, became con.
vulsed throughout its entire length,
yet still hung in the passage. Out on
the other side the open channels be-
came obstructed, so that the progress
of the foe was now checked clear
across the arm. This made the pres
sure ON the mound terrific.
Driven on by the immeasurable
force behind, cakes weighing a hun
dred tons We're heaved and pushed up
the incline toward Hardman, as If
they We're nothing but chips. With
fascinated gaze he watched the huge
blocks climb higher and higher, and
saw them pile up with grinding,
crunching sound three deep over the
trap out of which he had just escaped.
The sight made beads of cold perspira-
tion stand out on his forehead.
AS the foe drove in harder, the
tumb1ing, heaving cakes crept upward;
the mound trembled and was showed
backward. The block on which Hard
man stood rocked with the pressure;
it seemed about to topple over and
pitch down the steep decliyity at the
back.
Then there came mighty roar,
crash and chaos Of grating, crack
ling notes.-the iammed foe in the
inward channel had broken loose at
last and was moving. At once the
press on the centre was relieved, the
ice began to defect shoreward, and
the movement of the mound ceased.
Weak and limp, Hardman reclined
on the summit, while the greater part
of the floating ice turned in and crowd
ed through the opened channel in n
rolling, pitching procession of much
broken cakes.
At last a shout on the shore drew
Hardmans attention. There Caulkins
and the Indians were making frantic
gesticulations. Hardman waved his
hat in return, and settled himself to
wait for the passage to clear In half
an hour the ice thinned out, and
Caulkins had the boat manned, came
out In it and took Hardman to camp
Youths Companion.