Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1908-06-17
The sight made her dizzy. s

The sight made her dizzy. She
closed her eyes to shut out the un-
natural spectacle, only to feel be-
meath her an undulating movement of
the snow pack.
Then 1t dawned upon Anne that the
huge drift of snow had been started
from its. bed by the storm. She open
ed her eyes and screamed with ter
ror as another thunderbolt crashed
overhead. 1t seemed to rock the very
mountainside and give fresh impetus
to the avalanche.
Anne staggered to her feet. inn
PEELED by wild desire to seek safety
in flight. She took but half dozen
steps when the careening mass up.
set her, rolling her over and over in
the rumpled, broken drifts. She was
almost smothered, terribly frightened
and when she felt herself dashed
against the projecting limbs of a
tree and wedged roughly among the
thick branches, she nearly lost con-
sciousness. But with fierce tenacity
she chung to the bending, cracking
boughs while the avalanche doomed
past with a roar that drowned even
the peals Of thunder.
The pineItree, in the top of which
she had been lodged, stood near the
side of the gorge. and luckily escaped
the full force of the snowslide. But
every vestige of a branch, save the
topmost cluster, was sheared OF
by the grinding mass of snow, ice
and debris.
Anne was too badly scared to notice
this; too dazed to move q muscle.
She had miraculously escaped awful
! death from the crushing avalanche,
yet she was far from being assured
Of her safety, perched as she was.
high above the bed Of the canon.
The storm, too. followed furiously
in the devastated path Of the snow.
slide. The wind swayed and rocked
the towering pine. A long branch
that had been missed by the ava
lanche was torn from the tree trunk
and hurled far down the ravine.
The rain fell in sheets, soaking poor
Anne to the skin. Through it all she
kept her arms locked about the rree
trunk, The thunder grew less heavy.
From her elevated position Anne saw
the black storm-clouds sweeping past
! the camping-grounds For a moment
she forgot her own plight in think
ing of the danger Of her companions;
then she shivered with cold as blast
of wind gave the big pine farewell
twist.
The storm had spent It's short,
fierce career. The rays Of the sun
penetrated rift in the clouds. Close
to the horizon was this rift; but the
welcome sunshine was none the less
comforting to the cold, fnarooned girl.
At camp they were greatly worried
when the storm-clouds broke over
Rock Lake. The dull roar of the
snowslide caused a panic among the
women. It sent the men post-haste
to find Anne.
When they had gone halfway across
the meadow, they saw Rags, wet,
bruised and running on three legs. He
was coming over the shortcut route
and yelping at every limping STEP
The men were sick at heart. Round
! Ing the shoulder of the mountain. they
cut of their view OF the gorge, they
say a mass of snow. earth and up.
rooted trees scattered over the noun
tainside.
DO you suppose she started home
that way?"asked Tom Sanders.
Il hope not. Why, oh, why did
not I go with her!"s moaned Elliott
Noxon.
A faint halloo seemed to echo this
plant. 1t was repeated with more
emphasis.
In very few moments Anne's
whereabouts were discovered by the
astonished searchers.
We'll. of all things, Anne! Do
tell us how you ever got up in that
tree!" shouted Elliott Noxon.
"Oh, can tell you that, Elliott"
came the somewhat hysterical reply,
III you will first tell me how 1 am
ever to get ,down!"
1t did appear to be difficult prob.
lem to solve. The pines big, smooth
bole scared up sixty feet, with never
"a branch for foothold. The poor
OF the canon was ragged bed Of
boulders. A fall from the tree meant
death.
IT we could get. rope up to you,
Anne" suggested Elliott.
III? Why, we must!" asserted Tom
Sanders.
20 boys. have It'll" cried the girl,
with sudden cheerfulness.
From the pocket OF her fishing Jack.
ct she produced her reel, with IT'S
one hundred and fifty feet of oiled
silk line. She fished lead sinker
out OF the same pocket, attached it
to the line and then began carefully
unreeling.
Run for the picket-ropes, some
body!" shouted Elliott Noxon.
Anne superintendent the details OF
her own rescue with exceeding calm
ness. She drew up the spliced picket.
ropes hand over hand, and knotted
an end securely round the tree. She
made the descent according to the
most approved gymnastic methods.
The moment she felt the touch OF
arms uplifted to steady her and solid
! ground beneath her feet she INDUCED
In a good cry. But then she said she
was entitled to at least that bit of
feminine comfort, and the boys
thought SO, too.-Youth's Companion.
CANVAS GLOVES AND MirTENs.
Some Eight Million Pairs Made Last
Year in This Cnmnfru