The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1910-09-03
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had offered since he lisped at bis sncthtr's !
knee For second the horse stood ng'd 4
with ears laid back and forelegs thrust for
ward. Perhaps voice was borne to him on
the bowling wind--sirely that, for he did MOI,
pitch, but Strengthening his neck, plunged I.
into the storm at gallop. He was running I
away, buthe was running away towards Dog.
hole, with the gale at his back and Father
Walsh LET him 60. No thought he gave to tbs
perils that leaped to meet them at every strid&
His mind was on deathbed in the town sofsF I
ahead II framed itself in his brain like
picture Black Hans lying broken on bis \
bunk, his soul racked by fears and longing |
for confessor Hans's voice cried in his ears
insistently. "
He was never rider, the good father.
Time was when he found even the burros y
easy shamble rough and uncomfortable, and I
had he paused to reflect, it may be that fright \,
would have unnamed him; but the idea Of !
falling did not occur. All that he saw wasA Il
Black Hans, tortured by conscience. An |
that be thought Of and strove for with iabbings
heels, was 10 reach his side before Il was toetI
late The bronco ran desperately, in panis
from the warning elements and the strange Y
moist thing that now tapped and snapped il /
the wind, now clung clammily TO his sidev
Father Walsh had forgotten to button tho
slicker over the horn Of the saddle. II
That may explain why he was spared Ia I
reach his goal The wind veered and 4 /
twist in the trail brought the rain smashing
against their faces Twice the horse swerved
and tried to wheel, unable to make head I
against it, but the priest brought his nose up !
with jerk, secured mastery Of the bit and (,
forced him TO 60 on. Another mile always
upward and their way carried the wind over
their shoulders, at which angle it was bear
able Now they were making the Gap,
where the lightning focused as on a magnet. !
His mount was laboring distressfully and fell
to a trot but with voice and hands and knees E
the priest urged him on keeping his seat and |.
maintaining the stirrups by the sublime luck 4
Of the helpless Far up the last ascent close
to the heart Of the storm, the shattering force
Of the thunder parayzed the senses. As the
fierce flashes zigzagged across their front and
the smell Of them smote his nostrils, the horse
stopped and shifted in pitiful terror Father !
Walsh called to him and struck him with his =
heel, bare Of spur The horse shivercd
and went forward haltingly, and then they
were rolling down steep declivity OF shale, /,
amid cascade Of stones and sand and peb /.
bles ~ 1
The horse brought up in mesquite bush Y
and scrambled to his feet His rider had !,
fallen clear, and he lay, perfectly quiet ten feet
distant, his face in the damp earth The
horse waited with mlzze thrust out and&
whinnied, but there was no answering move Y
ment and he took a tentative step, prepared;
to fec. AZ that instant the prone form raiseE
itself with long, moaning sigh, and the horse
halted
Slowly very slowly the priest got to h;s
knees, to bis feet. An agonizng pain in the
right shoulder made him dizzy so that he
reeled and he abandoned. with groan, an
effort to move the right arm. There was
queer, numb feeling up his left side, too. AS
he ventured a step, the numbness was broken,
so piercingly that he bent half double
Steady, boyl Brave horse, brave horse"
he muttered hoarsely gathering up the reins. I
The horse did not bulge whilst he climbed
into the saddle, dragging himself up by the
left hand on the name. Once more atop, he
set on towards Doghole. feeling his way back T
to the trail with caution. Shooting pains
forced cry from him at times, and he was !
sick, horribly sick; but he compressed his
lips and stared doggedly into the whiring
dark.
"We may be late What il we're too
latel he cried again and again. Now they
were back on the trail anu ha shook bis horsc
into lope
This doctor, hushing Hans trenzied prayers
for priest as he watched tho spark of life
flicker and fought to stay lis gSng-out, caught
confused tumble Of sounds above the whine
Of the retrestng storm. A uneven clatter
Of hoofs at the door OF the shack, and he
reached Il in a bound, throwing It vide so
that yellow food cf light poured out into
the street There in thc brightness sat man
on a horse, man who swaeed, but poke to
him in the voice at coiii possre. 4
'It is Father Wash. Yon viii have to
help me down, please am IN time3r
Poor, battered Hans heard hin sheo be
crossed the threshold cc ii.noing ssrs Into
the glazing eyes care glow ana b made to
stretch out bis aims, bali rising IRON, the
bunk as the pres, swiftly crossed ihs soom.
Father Walsh dropped On ais kD--~ = his
side. 4
1t is over, he said at last III
" But, Father Wash, tacre > olnrd N ycur
face and hands. Ysu. MT. Let me