Charlevoix county herald., 1906-06-09
III III; zsasIIssM O-BTESe:e:=::e '.s!.'''
.,=Ea=es4 NND:.+K NICKEL.
By. WALTER. BURR.

we come ter the Burnin' Hills. Peers az
though though GO could feel the heat right now
They were now on an eminence command
ing good view of the lower hills, and az
they looked down into the darkness they
could see distinctly long lines OF glowing
fiery serpents. The redness pulsated like
a thing OF life, and as IL did so the very
ground about seemed to heave up and down.
Then suddenly all was darkness again.
Eyer see" she continued, 81 may be a
coward, an all thet Mebbe so. 1t may q
bin all ghost story, too. But there 1t is.
an We got ter cross tibet place.
The brave young man was getting really
scared. He had never before been out In
the mountains In the night time, and the
awful stiffness, broken now ana then by
country, awed and frightened him. His
teeth were fairly chattering.
"I-I-wish we had started back sooner. ~
he managed to say. 'I-I-had no Idea
Ii was so bad"
"Yer might had purity good idea," she
answered.; but 1t amt a-goin' to do. no
good ter git scared now. Come along
By this time they were nearing the
dreaded place. Suddenly. as she reached
forward her foot to take step, she realized
instinctively that 1t was not finding a solid
footing as soon as II should. A sudden and
another instant the faint glow was seen,
showing her chasm, with the further
brink some three feet away. Leaping across
she called to . her ,cOmpaniGn Mind yer
now the master and he the slave.
What is it!' he asked, as he neared the
place: Just then he. took the fatal step.
quick. Suddenly reaching out her. arm, she
grasped him by the hand and fairly drag
ged him across the chasm.
That's something awful, don't you know.
I say are there many more like that?'
Come on, an quit yer talkin'," was the
pre-emptory order.
But GN.d say ~, 1SW n it isn't safe is it
II aiT't afear d. she answered.; "if you
are, why stay where you are, or go back
an find the highest peak"
wonder If she's going to go away and
leave me out here all alone. Perhaps 1t
would serve me right, for / suppose it's all
there own was fault BTt really l had idea
leave me all alone" And there Ha came came into
his throat something very like sob.
in the darkness he saw her some five feet
ahead of him. Don't try to walk thar, or
y yer l.; fall In sure It's wide, tell yer,
&C.. We'll. what, will Il DOR. he asked,
can't Stay here all night"
"Mebbe yer could jump across. did
but I'm only coward" She was becoming
not WITHOUT purpose The
child was beginning to see that the young
man would need every incentive she could
offer to get him to put forth his best ef-
FORTS She had no doubt of her own ability
to clear all the chasms, but she was quite
sure that her companion was not accus-
toned to such tricks Now, he stood like
a scared child on the opposite side OF the
ditch. If the situation had not been so
serious, 1t would have been comical.
We'll yer comln?'' she asked I'm
patiently.
He stepped back for run, but when he
came TO the edge again he stopped short
and looked ruefully at the red glow beneath
him. He held out his hand and drew 1t
back suddenly, as he felt the intense heat.
Then what little courage he possessed for
sock him, and he began to whimper.
Il just can't make 1t, Two-bits Whatever
shall / dor
wall" drawled the matter-of-fact girl,
II spose could go ahead an git some OF
the .fcllers from town ter come out an help
yer across; They'll make no end Of fun Of
yer, though"
"Biast the funr' he cried. Hurry up
and get me out of this, most anyway"
"All right. Stay where you are and I'll
be back after while;" and she bounded
away like q deer, leaving George Casey
sitting there in the night alone.
Minutes dragged like hours, and the dark
ness seemed TO grow thicker every moment,
except when it was penetrated by that un-
canny glow from down below. Then, as he