Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1903-01-15
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3 At THE
5 ROPES END
': BY Lillian c. PaSchal
BY Lillian c. PaSchal
Copyright, 1901, By L. c. PdSchdl



ton point as if she were Dresden
china shepherdess and might break
any moment.
Il do wish you wouldn't be so careful
Of US" pouted o-e little lady. Il am
quite able to take care of myself"
And she tossed her pretty head with
its tumbled name like a colt restive
under the curb.
Miss Spofford desires the dignity of
her position to be maintained" de-
claimed Il normal class miss from the
platform of q bowlder jusq ahead.
she has been out from parental, high
school and city authority for a whole
year. during which time she has sue
cessfully filed the position of in
structor in the Black Tail school, dis
trict of Basin, state of Montana. Signed,
scaled and delivered by me this 18th
day of August, 1898. Martha E.
Nickel" And she pompously rolled up
an imaginary certificate, took from her
small, freckled nose a pair of invisible
eyeglasses and glanced benignly around
upon her giggling audience.
Il don't care" Ella Spofford's
piquant face was flushed, though she
smiled with the rest over Martha's
chatting. after you've done the order
ing yourself, you don't want to be
always under somebody else's order.
And. BESIDES" she added, II want to
get snapshot of the lower falls from
below Red dock, and Jack never lets
me 90 where | want to. l want to
have a good time and see everything.
What are we in the Yellowstone park
for, anyway"
"To secure valuable information on
geological Strata" came in sonorous,
didactc tones from the bowlder. ITO
obtain the latest views in snapshoet-
ing. that we may thereby be qualified
to train the young idea how to shoot
the shoots of learning
A hailstorm of pebbles interrupted
the speaker, who descended and
walked on with great dignity. The
others followed, their cowboy guide
bringing up the rear.
81 beg your pardon, Miss Ella" he
was apologizing redly to the rebellious
lamb in his flock. When he was embar-
rassed or excited, his cowboy vernacu-
lar fell from him like the thin veneer 1t
was, and he dropped. as back to ma
tive tongue, into the Harvard IAN
guage," as lis ranch friends termed it.
1T is exceedingly dangerous around
these rocks. They are shaly and Slip
perry, and | have seen more than one
go down to death just because they did
not realize the danger. See that long
line of danger rope stretched along
down there to keep tourists on the up
per trail?"
She nodded.
"That very place." he continued,
"where you wanted to take your kodak
picture, on the other side of Red rock,
is the spot from which minister fell
to the bottom of the gorge, over 1900
feet last year. We could not even get
down to bring back the remains. 1t
was awful He was dashed to pieces.
His wife stood here. She almost went
insane over it."
II know, but he was probably ten
derfoot fresh from the east'-this with
all the western scorn of eastern igno-
rance of mountain climbing "Pm a
mountain girl"
"Yes, l know" he assented eagerly,
"and plucky and sure footed as well,
but I promised your mothers that 1
would bring you all back safely from
this camping trip through the park,
and intend to do so even though it be
against your own sweet will"
There; now will you be good?"
laughed Martha Nickel. "After that
touch of masculine masterfulness -
'Bogy man II catch you if you don't
watch outr" she hummed wickedly as
she passed them. "And remember how
one bogy man changed his title from
Gentleman Jack to Rattlesnake ditto
down on his cattle ranch in Gallatin
valley. That was when he was still
fresh from the east too-but that's
another story, as Rudyard says"
Jack looked sheepish, as he always
did when this piece of his prowess was
mentioned
"Oh, tell me about it," asked Ella,
her grievance forgotten. "You lassoed
the rattler, didn't you?"
He nodded. "That's all there was to
it." he said shortly.
Except the trifling detail of the child
whose life you saved by it and who
would have been bitten otherwise" she
answered.
"The chief benefit 1 derived" - he
smiled reminiscently-"was my promo
ton in the estimation of the cowboys
from mere college tenderfoot to a
genuine cowboy, long stride in evolu-
ton"
By this time they mad come up with
the rest of the party, who were at the
Castle ruins, gazing out, awestruck,
over the Grand Canyon of the Yellow
stone. Only the roar Of the river 1000
feet below, hushed by distance into a
whisper, mingled with the cries of the
young eagles in their eyries ON the
crags. Three miles away to the right
the white flake of the Upper falls could
be seen, but the greater Lower falls
were invisible from their foothold on
the topmost turret of the castlelike
rocks which give the ruins their name.
Across the great chasm and on every
side shone the wonderful, rugged,
rocky sleeps, whose many marvellous
hues have defed the skill of genera
tions of artists.
Just as If Nature had made in her
underground laboratory a solution of
cry staliized sunsets and splintered rain
bows and poured it down over the
cliffs" breathed Ella in an ecstasy of
delight.
Yes, it's sight to dream about"
assented Jack, but he was not looking
at her.
"Oh, but do want to get n full front
view of the Lower falls for my collec-
ton" And she turned the finder Of her
camera up the gorge. There's always
a rock or some pines in the way here.
/ wish | could get down there"
"Time to go back to camp" was
Jacks prosaic interruption to their
schoolgirl flights of rapture, and they
turned regretfully away.
where's Miss Spofford?" he inquired
suddenly in the midst of story about
the glacial rock upon which their ko-
daks were focused.
"You all stay right here. Don't any
of you dare to stir from this rockw His
voice was firm, but his tanned face
went ash color. The command was not
to be disobeyed, and they knew it.