The Newark journal., 1909-03-05

Now go ahead" he commanded.
Jim whistled to the leaders and the
outfit moved forward once again with
the jingle of trace chains and hame
bells and the rumble and rattle of the
tandem wagons
1t was almost dusk when they
reached the point where fuckers Cut
branched off from the main road This
cut was short route over the noun
tains to Goodall's Landing and was
little used because of the heavy grades
and poor condition of the roadbed,
which in some places was even dan
gerous. A stream crossed the road
here and Jim got down to water the
animals before the long ascent. The
man with the gun had been noddinG
but as the teams came to a standstib
he woke UP with start and gripped
his weapon alertly After the thirst
OF the animals was satisfied jim
looked over the harness and spent
considerable time adjusting the coup.
lings which bound Little Betsy to her
ponderous sister Joe slept soundly
on the grain sacks, the empty socke.
where his eye once had been staring
upward into the gathering gloom.
Again the bells and chains jinglea
and the team began to climb the cut.
The road became rougher and wound
in and out along the sides of steer
rayine 1t was almost dark now, but
the leaders picked the way, avoiding
washouts and other distractions with
marvellous sagacity. Above them the
black shadow of the mountain side
sloped upward to the stars. On the
other side. SO near sometimes that the
outer wheels crumbled the edge
yawned steep canyon. Along the
bottom, several hundred feet below
I small stream flowed over a bed of
stones and boulders.
Several times jim looked furtiveIy
back over his shoulder at the two men
IN the rear wagon. Joe lay out
stretched on the sacks. slumbering
heavily The man with the gun sat
on the hay. his chin dropped forward
IN his breast and his head swaying
from side to side, as the wheels
bumped over the ruts and stones IL
their path. lie, too was sound ASLEEP
Jim peered through the darkness foi
some time at the limp figure, then
stopped and quietly wound the jerk
line around a cleat on the footbOard
The mules remembered their training
and continued their steady pull up tie
grade Noiselessly the negro climbed
down from the high seat and crawled
over the iron TASKS to the rear of Bic
Betsy. Here he paused and listened
intently He could hear the heavy
breathing of the two men only few
feet away In a moment he slipped
over the end of the heavy vehicle and.
clinging with one hand to the tail
board. deity unwound the chain that
fastened the tongue or the smaller
wagon in place Again he looked back
into the darkness and listened. He
could see the faint outline of the man
sitting upright and back of that the
dark figure on the sacks. With quick
tug he loosed the last loop of the
chain and showed the tongue back
ward and outward with all the
strength in his black arm.
Little Betsy lowered for an instant
on the edge of the descent and then
with a creak toppled over into the
canyon. An awful shrek came up
through the darkness, and then the air
was filled with the sound of breaking
wood and metal as the mass shot,
end over end, down the rocky decliv-
ity. A miniature avalanche of stones
and dirt ratified down into the creek