The Lambertville record., 1910-01-19

Hla strlouSle auu III no FtSuEtr i'Pfithi
rendered II so unsafe that II had been
abandoned. and no one who knew of its
treaehery dared venture into the shaft.
Almost breaihless. Faith gained the
mouth Of the mine and. dropping On
her knees. peered dowu into the dark
depths beiuw. The bluek SulIeu WI.
ters of the rising stream boiled and
hiSsed among The Jagged rocks und
ercvices, laShing uadiy the legs of IA
man who stood insecureiy on II narrow
ledge fully halfway down. He WAS
clingiHg in terror to Il juttihg rock
above him. which threatened every
moment tu give way. II was Il peril
GUS. m awful situation. and the girl
shuddered M she gnzed. while IA the
white horror drawn face upturi.u to
hers she recognized Mex Sanders.
For Gods sake. Faith. try To help
me out of this lie screamed.
I'll try. Nick" she called buck
but how WIS she To do II: She
looked ai"ut hopeIessly: then her eyes
fell upon large coli OF caSton rope
II up eagerly. and. lowering one end 10
Nick. she said:
Tie this around you under the
arms
He did ri and felt himself being
slowl! drawn upward Such WAS his
peril that he could not realize that the
girls hands aione were not strong
enough 10 pun him to the top. He did
not KNOW that another had also heard
his calls fot help and had arrived Just
III time Ia aid In he n,scue When
almost M blow ou the head from II
sciouS lot several minutes.
When he came To- himself he WIS ly-
ing oii the bank ut deer Fork. aud
Faith was bathing his face. Hearing
Howard Olney's voice. he KEEP. his
eyes closed and listened.
I'm glad | WAS In time to help you
save him. the young man was saying
Il was on my WAY IL see YOU Faith.
To siy goodby before leaving the ,uii-
yon. Al first Thought | would 80
away without. but / couldn't. felt
thai | must look upon Your face once
NOR" before ! gave you up IL him.
Nick heard the trenlnr IN Oiney's
voice thai told of the emotion he wis
endeaVorllg To control
Just once more Faith" he went
on. Il should not go ii you could love
me. but ! know how 1t il. You have
u f,,,I4 IL.
lirinm ui his fever learned how mu h
he loved you. and afterward he told
me that you ioved him In return
will not come between you. G""ihy.
dear one. Remember helped save
him for yoir sake"
There waS Intense pain In the tones.
and ia te turned away Faith gave II
quick sob. and Nick felt II hot tear
fail on his face But the girl made
no effort to detain the man she loved
One word would have called him back
to her side. yet her Hips seemed Imra-
lyZed. She knew that he loved her
aud was going because he believed she
loved another; that she would never
see him again and her old lonely life
wauld 20 oiI unbrokpn. unbrightenpd
by him He was slipping away from
her forever. still she could not utter n
word
And MEX knew. too. that II Olnpy
went nov his own chances of some
time winning Faith were better than
ever.
Hold ou n minute. Howard" called
th, rescued man. sitting UP.
what Is IT, Mex" asked Oiney
turning back. though he did not trust
himself to ionk toward Faith
Come NJ nearer. I've got soInethin'
to tell you both. aud you don't know
how hard II Is for man 10 call him
self oui lond and right before tw"
emery big liar." s,iid Nick. hut THAT'S
just what | am II emery big liar.
lied to yuu about Faith's iovin' me.
and then ! lied To her about your leav
In Deer Fork Ia keep accounts for Mr.
Owen inst because you were in love
devil. b,lI when | was down Ia that
ole shift Il facin death | made MP my
mind II ever got the chance I'd im
better man Now tbnt you two have
saved my worthless life and have give
me the chance | asked for I'm goin'
to begin with You and Faith by seiiin
you right. iou love each other. aud
wnnt to sec YOU happy. ~ my Hes
ain.t standin In your trail any more.
Maybe you wonder how | happened
to be down in thai old mine. You re
member that Swede who got pile of
gold and some Nuggets stole from his
cabin over on Firecheck creek: Well.
| am the thief and | hid II all down
IN thai shaft. where | knowed nobody
would dare go pokin' round went
down aimin' 10 Git part of II to swap
on. and that water riz right up like
Il avengin' angel hain't got the
maxim of half saint In me but I'm
goin' to tote back that stun where |
got II from and strike new trail mp
the canyon Of life"