The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1908-04-06
BRAVE
! -. EFFORT.
Toriginall


Edgar Bertram, young American
travelling abroad. was making Pc
destrian tour or the Alps. One evening
while stopping at an inn on the road
leading over the Fraele pass man
and a girl OF eighteen. carrying a
variety OF bundles. came aud sat down
ut a table near him. The girl was
very pretty. and Bertram kept CHANGING
at her repeatedly. After supper the
man who was with her smoked bis
pipe on the porch OF the inn, and
Bertram fell to talking with him. He
said that the girl was his daughter
and they were going over the pass the
next day.
The height Of the, Fraeie pass is over
1000 feet and the distance the two
proposed to go perhaps ten miles. Ber-
tram wondered why they should at
tempt 1t. The man was past nifty, and
the girl, though strong. was. after all,
but girl There is no danger" said
the man. I'VE have done 1t before.
OF course we have some bad places
to cross. but we tie ourselves to
rope like other climbers. and IL one
slips the other stands fast"
The man went into the taproom,
where he INDUCED In bottle OF wine
and game Of dominos with the land
lord This left Bertram and the girl
together. He chatted with her some
time and won her confidence. "TeIl
me-" he said, why you attempt this
pass when there are easier ones? And
why do you not cross the mountains
By conveyance? You seem to be peo-
pie who are able to pay Then the
girl confessed that they we're SNUG.
glers and by crossing the Fraele pass
on foot could get the goods they were
carrying into Italy without paying any
duty
The next morning when Bertram bad
finished his breakfast he stood on the
porch of the inn looking up the road
that led over the pass. Ear up the
mountain side he saw two figures. a
man and a woman. trudging slowly
onward. He always carried pair Of
glasses with him. and. bringing them to
bear on the figures. he saw that they
were the smugglers He watched them
for an hour They were tied together.
the father leading. At last a cloud
enveloped them, and be saw them no
more
To the smugglers the cloud was
mist, through which they could see
nothing. They toiIsd on as best they
could, but despite the fathers efforts
to keep on the road be lost his way.
Then suddenly there was d quick slide
and Jerk on the rope. The girl caught
projection with her Ice Ak, and 1t
held. Then she knew that her father
had slipped and was dangling over
precipice.
There was no way By which he could
gain d foothold to save himself or less
en- the strain on the rope, which. as his
daughter lost strength, would ineyi-
tably pub her over aud the two would
together fall thousands Of feet into the
abyss below.
"Cut the roper be called.
4No!'
"Cut itl One Of US may live. Both
cannot"
..Nols
Repeatedly he called upon her TO do
that which would send him into the
abyss. She always answered NO
but gave no reason why she should not
10 his bidding. they we're alone far
up in the mountains: there was no one
near to help. and for the mist they
could not be seen II there were those
TO see them.
An hour passed. An hour-sixty min
utes OF sixty seconds each. and each /
second q frightful strain. There could !
be no change Of position either for the !
father or the daughter. Any motion on |
bis part would increase the strain,
and the daughter must lie fat both 1
hands cllnging to the Ak handle How
long would her strength endured And I
why should It endure? Was not each /
III. agony to be followed by the I
frightfui end at last?
Thirty more Of these dreadful min
utes nassed. each an etesalty Of agony. /
Then 4 zephyr carried away the mist.
and the girl clearly saw down the
a man approaching. He was
zIancing about him as II he we're look
|ng for some one. With all the little