The Aberdeen Democrat. (Aberdeen, South Dakota) 1???-1909, 1904-07-08

f&tHE49 4HE#e 4s-g-H. 49, aHHE- E,
and c~heer1ulness; combined, they seem
to give strength where it was lacking
before. AT any rate, if Pete had
stopped to think( which he did not),
ne would have found himself travelling
atta speed actually impossible previ-
oiusly.
Mean time to cross" commenced
the big man. walking bad"
Had to-" explained Pete. "The
wife needed
he half turned, with a sweep of one
hand, toward the bundles on the sled,
but Big Ben gave the sled rope a
Jerk that faced him to the front again.
They were now moving as fast as
was practicable under the circum-
stances, the condition of the ice and
the distance they had to cover, being
considered; but far off to the north
the Ice was beginning to break along
the east shore. Big Ben saw it, but
the only effect was to make him talk
yolubly. He kept Pete in a state of
dull wonderment. He joked and he
cheered him on with complimentary
references and recalled familiar Incl
dents; he adopted every possible de-
vice to hold Pete's attention. And all
the time he was dragging the sled and
half dragging Pete.
Nearer and nearer they approached
the shore, and nearer and nearer that
widening crack approached the line
OF their route home. 1t was irregular.
uncertain-a long split, a brief inter
val n then another split-but it was
slowly moving to intercept the two
on the bay. Big Ben could see it. an0
the watchers on the shore could see
IL. Ihey made mental calculations as
TO the chances, and it seemed to be a
pretty even thing. Only a short. dis
lance to the north the ice was already
moving from the East bay out into
the big bay, but the two were only a
short distance from safety. Then the
noise of the breaking ice smote Pete's
/ lars, and he looked up with startled,
wild, frightened eyes.
Mercy he calculated, and stopped
short.
Come on!" cried Big Ben, but
Pete's knees were shaking, and his
face showed that despair clutched at
his heart. He was pointing ahead,
where there was already a little lane
of clear water.
Come! Numbered Big Ben, and he
gripped the little man by the arm with
no gentle hand. The force of his will,
even more than the strength of his
arm, put Pete in motion again, and
they made a slight swerve to the
south, where the ice was not yet
broken.
They were running now. Pete had
dropped the sled rope, but Big Ben
still chung to it with one hand, while
the other gripped Pete's arm and fair
ly lifted him over the ice. Under the
inspiration of a strong man who acts,
the little man was putting all his re-
naming strength into the effort to
reach safety, but the life seemed to
go out of him when the ice again
broke in front of him. He held back,
but only for an instant. Big Ben
jerked him up and forward.
Jump, you fool!' he roared, and,
still gripping the arm of the little a
he cleared the widening but still mar
row space that interviewed between
death and life. Then, with a quick
and dexterous jerk of the rope he lift
ed the sled into the air and brought it
across also.
They were near enough to tJs shore
to be safe now, and the exciteta watch
ers We're rushing out to then. Pete
had fallen when he made tssa Jump
and was too exhausted to rise. Big
Ben sat down on the sled and looked
at him, his face showing his contempt.
Blamed little shrimp" he NUT
tered. Il wonder what | did it for.'-
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