Gilpin observer., 1904-05-26

which looked questioningly back at
him, their heads dropping, their
breath freezing upon their coats In
spiculae of white.
"Wait!" cried Franklin. IT know
this hole! I've been here before. The
teams come here for shelter
"Oh, it's the White Woman 6eaks
why, sure!" cried Sam in return.
Eyes, that's where 1t is. We're less
than half mile from the house. Wait.
now. and let me think. I've got to
figure this out WHILE"
TITS OF there" said Sam, pointing
across the coulee; "but we can't get
there"
"Yes, we can, old man; yes, we
cant" insisted Franklin. "I1l tell you.
Let me think. Good God! why can't
think? Yes-see here, you go down
the bottom of this gully to the mouth
Of the coulee, and then we turn to the
left-no, it's to the right-and you
bear up along the side of the draw
til you get to the ridge, and then the
house is right in front of you. Listen
now! The winds northwest, and the
house fs west Of the head Of the cou-
lee; SO tie mouth is east Of us, and
that brings the wind on the left cheek
at the mouth of the coulee, and it
comes more and more on the right
cheek as we turn up the ridge; and
it's on the front half of the right
cheek when we face the house. I'm
sure that's right-wait. I'll mark it
out here in the snow. God! how cold
1t is! 1t must be right Come on;
come! We must try it, anyway"
I'VE may hit the house, Cap" said
Sam calmly, "but IL we miss it we'll
go God knows where! Anyhow, I'm
with you, an il we don't turn up, we
can't help it, an we done our best"
Come" cried Franklin once more.
Lets get to the mouth of the coulee.
I know this place perfectly"
And SO, advancing and calling, and
waiting while Sam fought the stub
born horses with lash and rein out
of the shelter which they coveted,
Franklin led out of the fiat coulee,
into the wider draw, and edged up
and up to the right. agonizedly re-
peating to himself. over and over
again. the instructions he had laid
down, and which the dizzy whirl of
the snow mingled ever confusedly in
his mind. At last they had the full
gale again in their faces as they
reached the level of the prairies. and
cast loose for what they thought was
west, fearfully, tremblingly. the voy-
age quarter OF mile, the danger
infinitely great; for beyond lay only
the cruel plains and the bitter storm
this double norther Of a woeful
Christmastide.
Once again Providence aided them,
by agency of brute instinct. One of
the horses threw up its head and
neighed, and then both pressed for
ward eagerly. The low moan of
penned cattle came down the wind.
They crashed into a fence of lath.
They passed its end-a broken. rat
tling end, that trailed and swept back
and forth in the wind.
"It's the chicken corral" cried
Sam, "an' it's down! They've been
burnin'-"
Go on! Go on-hurry!" shouted
that the gale might not quite rob him
of his breath. and Sam urged on the
now willing horses.
They came to the sod barn, and
here they left the team that had saw
ed them, not pausing to take them
from the harness. They crept to the
low and white-banked wall in which
showed two windows, glazed with
frost. They could see the chimney
plainly, but 1t carried no smell of
smoke. The stairway leading down
to the door of the dugout was miss
ing, the excavation which held 1t was
drifted full of snow, and the snow
bore no track Of human foot All was
white and silent. 1t might have been
vault far in the frozen northern
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