Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1907-11-06

slightly yielding, and over this an,
inch of light steering snow, fallen the
night before.
Martin Strengthened up and breath
ed; the skees felt the new freedom,
and taking the narrow ridge between
two ravines, he swept down with ter.
rife speed toward the upper pastures
of the Clancy farm. 1t was here that
his mother, from the loft, had seen
him pass.
Another half-mile and the valley
would be in full view. The vision of
his father faded, and another came. In
Imagination he saw the doctor speed
ling down by Clancey's house, and
himself waving and shouting from
the hillside-too late. too late. He
must go faster, faster. Raising his
pole high, he took steep slope freely,
not seing and hardly caring what was
at the bottom, and bad fall resulted.
His head struck something hard I'M
der the snow, the breath was beaten
from him, and for moment he lost
consciousness. AS he. revived and
lay there looking up forgetfully at the
! pinktinged clouds, the tinkle Of bells
came up family to his ears.
He sprang up and started down
ward again. A few seconds brought
! him. out upon the promontory, and the
valley lay like map below. The
! sound Of bells rang up clearly on the
| still evening air, and there was the
doctor passing swiftly down the val
ley and but little way above Clan
cey's house.
Doctor Briggs drove better horses
and drove them faster than any other
man in the county. Laying far back
In his hooded sleigh, he slept or half
| slept as he drove, and every one turn.
1 ed far out when they heard him com.
ing.
Martin had half-mile to pass and
! the doctor few rods. All this passed
i in one thought through the boys
mind as he dropped like swooping
hawk from the bluff and came out
upon the long, steep fields above the
house. 1t was clear, straight going
now. and crouching low, he swept like
some great low-fying bird down that
last white stretch to the road. His
| eyes were on the doctors team, that
appeared to be moving with ever.
quickening pace. The cold wind froze
his face and cut through all his cloth
ing, but the skees for the first time
seemed to be holding. He prayed for
more speed, and bending farther for
ward, tried to urge them on.
A quarter-mile above the house
Martin saw with dismay that he
should just miss the doctor there. No
cry of his could reach him, deep muf-
fled in that hood No horse Of Clan
ceys would catch him, short of the
village, miles away. The picture of
the bleeding father appeared again
before him, and weakening fear
came, and almost caused fall. But
he remembered then his fathers
words, "It's the finish we want-the
finish!" and he stiffened again for &C.
ton.
I Looking to the left, he saw that the
bluff bordering the creek ran out to
a point beyond Clancey's and then
curved sharply back to the edge of
the fields. With touch of the pole
he swerved, and went straight for
that high bank at the nearest point.
1t was unknown ground to him, but
he knew that the road was under the
bank, and the doctor was on that road,
and coming fast!
Nearing the edge, he saw the tops
of tall trees sticking up from below,
and heard the bells chime out loudly
as the doctor swung round the point.
A sharp slope led down to the brink,
and with the full speed of this.
crouching, he shot far out into the
air, and with all his breath gave out
one long cry as he sailed down over
the treetops.
The next Martin remembered was
awakening to sharp report and sit.
ting up in the snow to see the doctor
with his jack.knife rounding the
edges of piece of one of the skees.
Then the doctor put the other skee
under his foot to break it, and Mar
tin cried, Don't do that! Don't break
that, please! I've got just enough ash
| to make one more"
"All right" said the doctor. It'll
take another piece of the broken
one"
whats the matter?" asked Martin.
"Your leg is broken. Say, what
were you thinking of, anyway? Good
/ by to you If you had hit the road. Yor
went clear across 1t into the soft
snow here
Then Martin remembered 1t all, and
tried to tell it all at once, and tried to
jump up. But the doctor damned him
down and splinted the leg, and placed
him with his wrecked skees under the
robes, and together they raced for
the road that led up the mountain.
An hour later the mother heard the
sound of bells, and saw the we'll
known bays, foam-covered and steam
Ing, come at q tagging trot up the
long stretch across the fields.
They were none too soon. The best
efforts of the three had failed to stop
the bleeding wholly, and in another
hour or two the father must have sue
cumbed.
Three weeks later, as the two Grip
pies sat in the family group by the
! evening fire, the father said, Jim.
tell the men tomorrow to cut that
straight ash we've been saving SO
long-that stands above the mill.