Morgan County republican. (Versailles, Mo.) 1906-1914, 1907-09-26
CHAPTER I.


My feet touched the narrow Lodge.
was safe. But willoughby? Brave
Willoughty.
| tried to call to him. No sound
came from my lips. | was too ex-
harsted. The last atom of strength
was spent. For the moment I was
paralyzed-body and mind. | could
only lean helpless against the noun.
tainslde, gasping for breath. And al
most Immediately Willoughby's voice
came, quite cheerfully, quite steadily:
"All right? Bully for you. Look
out, here's the rope. Now IL 1 have
decent luck. Be ready to bear a hand"
Again | tried to cry out, to warn him.
IL he would wait Ave minutes, three
minutes, n minute, I might be my.
self again. Still no sound came from
my frozen lips.
The rope 1uttered over the over.
hang. 1t struck the icy ledge OF tn.
jutting rock to which I c,npg, Then
slowly IL fell over until IL swayed
loosely in the wind, still suspended
from my body.
did not attempt to draw It in. l
was too exhausted. for an exertion so
slight as that. 1t sw tyed gently to
and fro, and IL seemed to me that
presently an unseen force would grasp
1t and pull me headlong to destruction
to h glacier below. In the mean.
while Willoughby was started.
Now l dared not cry out. | could
only look up II wait. still struggling
flercely for my breath. But II | had
been too exhausted to warn HIM, to un
fasten that rope from my waist, how
was | to give him the assistance he
would surely need presently?
A stone fell, and then another, as he
fought for q foothold. ] could hear
him breathing deeply, though as yet I
could not see him. / stood rigid, look
ing upward. a prey to such fears. to
such terrors as no man can imagine.
Now he came slowly into sight, his
feet feeling with infinite caution. The
difficulties of the descent were appall'
ing. Even for me, supported by the
rope held by Willoughby from above,
they had been all but impossible. vii
loughby was no amateur; but without
assistance-no. | could not hope to
save him. 1t must be death for us
both. But, and this was the agonizine
thought. when the crisis came, would
the awful stimulus release my impris
Oned will? Or would horror still hold
me?
And still he came. could almost
touch him now. He was actually neal
me-and then, what / had feared, what
had known must happen, did happen
His feet lost their foothold. He was
hanging by his arms ove the ragged
blue.green glacier hat yawned to re
,eive him a thousand feet below.
A momen he struggled frantically
Then he hung absolutely still.
Can you reach me-" he painted
Brace. yourself and reach me II yo,
can. But be quick"
did not move. | was not afraid tc
die with him, though the world has re
fused to believe me. l did not move
because | could not. Horror for the
moment bereft me Of my very reason
to think and act. My will was frozen
My brain was numb.
Then the nightmare passed. Sud
denly | was calm. | took in a deer
breath. I braced myself against the
grim cliff for the shock as he should
fall into my outstretched arms.
But at that instant Willoughby
quietly loossned his hold-even while
! gathered all my poor strength fol
that last fight; and before he per
ished he cried n word, without pas
sion, without despair:
Coward"
His body brushed my own as it fell
heard 1t strike brutally the glacier
below. Then there was stiffness.
He was dead, and lived,
The stiffness was awful-and a soil
tude still more awful-vast, savage
and frozen, and always the whiteness
of the eternal SHOWS And then dark
ness came.
Hours later guides found me still
lying there. | saw them scrambline
toward me. ! gazed at them stupidity
indifferently. When they called | die
not answer. They bore me back tc
the Alpine village we had left the day
before. There were black nights Of
delirium. And in my delirium | cried
Il might have saved HIM. ! am
murderer. He died cursing me as
coward"
And so they judged me. When
was c~onvalescent and crawled into the
sunshine again, it was too late tc
make Gus ever II | wished. PEG
pie had already passed sentence,
No one spoke to me. | was looked
at askance, II any pitied, 1t was a pity
tempered with scorn. More than once
a kodak was snapped in my face.
vas a curiosity. / was a coward.