The Colorado statesman., 1911-04-15

hall. Below, struggled the village
falling away in picturesque confu-
sion from the hill on which the hall
was situated. OF to the east be-
meath the rays of a perfect moon
cleaned the radiant surface of Silver
lake.
II am going to climb the Flagstaff.
said Calvin Brest. He was drug
clerk in the village. wiry' DARK
young man. with the spirit OF an ad-
venturer, despite the humdrum occu-
patton of purveying pills and pow
ders. He felt moved to do something
noteworthy tonight. Spring was stir
ring his riotous young blood and Jes-
sic Dane was standing beside him.
There was a chorus of half-fright-
ened exclamations. The fagstan
sprang from the top OF low cupola
Just above their heads. 1t was
thick. crooked lance of timber thirty
feet long. worn smooth by the beating
of many storms.
Brest did not wait for his wild re-
solve to cool. From the top OF the
railing he leaned forward and drew
himself up on the roof of the cupola.
With a laugh he laid hands on the
pole.
Wrapping his legs about 1t he be-
gan to climb. It merely shivered a
bit at first; but when he was third
of the distance to the top the pole
swayed back and forth. If 1t snapped
under his weight. there was a sheer
drop of nearly one hundred feet to
pk ha1n
But 1t did not snap. Brest reached
the top without mishap, patted the
gilt ball that crowned 1t and then
with a whoop slid down the staff and
alighted in their midst on the rallied
platform.
He was given the reception of an
admired, spoiled child. They praised
and scolded him. but the scolding was
the greatest praise. The pole had
never been climbed but once before,
and then in the daytime by steeple-
Jack whose many precautions seemed
foolish beside Brest's daring clever
ness.
Albert Whitcomb broke in on the
congratulatory chorus. Il am going
up. too" he said. and there was an
other sensation. Whitcomb was
young farmer whose land adjoined
the town. He glanced at Jessie Dane
as he spoke.
The girl took step forward and
put out hand as II to stop him; and
then, realizing that any pleading
might render her conspicuous. she
turned away without a word.
Whitcomb got to the roof and be-
gan to climb. He was heavier than
Brest and less skilled. Under his
labored efforts the pole swayed and
shivered
The smiles slipped from the faces
of the watchers; their gay words of
announcement were stilled. They re-
membered that the staff was old; 1t
had been years In place. At any mo-
ment Whitcomb might go down to his
| death.
But good fortune waited on him.
| too. He placed his hand for mo-
ment on the gilt ball. and slid back
thankfully. He was not SO popular
as Brest and his safe return was
greeted by less of a demonstration.
A constraint fell over the group.
]
The incident was not yet closed. For
the youth who had been Jessie Danes
boyish adorer was there. Would he
do as much as the others?
Whitcomb voiced the question Of
all when he said with a sneer:
well, Peter?"
Peter Price, leaning indolently on
the railing drawled, well. Al?"
Are you a sport?"
DO you mean, am I going to climb
that pole. too?"
That's what l mean"
Having been born with some
sense" replied Peter, 'I am not Be-
cause you and Calvin made fools of
yourselves is no reason I should"
Whitcomb laughed boisterously. 81
always thought you lacked sand" he
said. Later Whitcomb and Calvin
Brest walked home with Jessie.
Peter Price did not seem to notice
any change in attitude toward him.
He attended the village merrymak-
ings as usual and kept as near Jessie
as posi- bile, fetching and carrying for
her and anticipating her wishes. AS
for Brest and Whitcomb. they en-
joyed to the full the fame their ex-
plot brought.
They all attended the first picnic of
the year on Snake Island, SO called
because of it's peculiar shape and the
fact that 1t terminated in a bluff two
hundred feet high which looked like
the uplifted head of a serpent The
island was in Silver lake, perhaps a
mile from shore.
The boat landing was on a narrow
strip of beach beneath the head of
the serpent. To get to the top of the
bluff, 1t was necessary to walk for a
thousand yards along the beach to a
spot where the precfpice began to
subside and path wound upward
hxax, f.,1 -