The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1912-03-21
Copyright. 1911, by ". G. Chapman

without a backward look tramped
swiftly and steadily up the canon
through the trees, turning at the point
OF 1T and was instantly lost to sight.
His gentle and generous purpose were
obvious even to the frightened, agi-
tated, excited girl.
The woman watched him until he
disappeared, a few seconds longer.
and then she hurled herself through
the water and stepped out upon the
shore. Her sweater which the bear
had dragged forward in its advance,
lay on top of the rest of her clothes,
covered with blood. She threw 1t aside
and with nervous, frantic energy, wet,
cold, though she was, she jerked on
In some fashion enough clothes to
cover her nakedness and then with
more leisurely order and with neces-
sary care she got the rest of her ap-
parel In it's accustomed place upon her
body, and then when 1t was all over
she sank down prone and PROSTATE
upon the grass by the carcass of the
now harmless monster which had SO
nearly caused her undoing, and shiv-
cred, cried and sobbed as If her heart
would break.
She was chilled to the bone by her
motionless sojourn, albeit 1t had been
for scarcely more than a minute in
| that icy water, and yet the blood
rushed to her brow and face, to every
hidden part of her in waves as she
| thought Of 1t. It was a good thing
| that she cried; she was not weep
| ing woman, her tears came slowly as
a rule and then came hard. She rath-
er prided herself upon her stoicism,
| but in this instance the great depths
OF her nature had been undermined
and the fountains thereof were fam
| to break forth.
How long she lay there, warmth
coming gradually to her under the d.
rect rays of the sun, she did not know,
and it was a strange thing that
caused her to arise. 1t grew suddenly
| dark over her head. She looked up
and a rim of frightful black, dense
| clouds had suddenly blotted out the
| sun. The clouds were lined with gold
and silver and the long rays shot
| from behind the somber blind over
the yet uncovered portions of the
| heaven, but the clouds moved with
| the irresistible swiftness and steadi-
ness of great deluge. The wall Of
! them lowered above her head while
they extended steadily and rapidly
across the sky toward the other side
of the canon and the mountain wall.
A storm was brewing such as she
| had never seen, such as she had no
experience to enable her to realize its
malign possibilities. Nay, it was now
at hand. She had no clew, however,
| Of what was toward, how terrible a
/ danger overshadowed her. Frightened
but unconscious of all the menace OF
the hour, her thoughts few down the
! canon to the camp. She must hasten
| there. She looked for her watch
which she had lifted from the grass
| and which she had not yet put on.
| The grizzly had stepped upon it, it
was irretrievably ruined. She judged
| from her last glimpse of the sun that
1t must now be early afternoon. She
rose to her feet and staggered with
weakness she had eaten nothing
since morning, and the nervous shock
and strain through which she had
gone had reduced her to a pitiable
condition.
Her luncheon had fortunately es-
capped unframed. In big pocket OF
| her short skirt there was a small
flask Of whiskey, which her Uncle
Robert had required her to take with
her. She felt sick and faint, but she
knew that she must eat II she was to
make the journey, difficult as 1t might
prove, back to the camp. She forced
herself to take the first mouthful OF
bread and meat she had brought with
her, but when she mad tasted she
needed no further incentive, she ate
to the last crumb; she thought this
was the time she needed stimulants,
too, and mingling the cold water from
the brook with a little of the ardent
spirit from the flask, she drank. Some
of the chill had worn OF, some of the
fatigue had gone
She rose to her feet and started
| down the canon; her bloody sweater
still lay on the ground with other
things of which she was needless. 1t
had grown colder, but she realized
/ that the climb down the canon would
put her stagnant blood In circulation
and all would be well.
Before she began the descent of the
/ pass, she cast one long glance back
! ward whittier the man had gone.
/ Whence came he, who was he, what
had he seen, where was he now? She
thanked God for his interference in
one breath and hated him for his
presence in the other
The whole sky was now black with
drifting clouds, lightning flashed above
! her head, muttered peals of thunder,
terrifcafly ominous, rocked through
i the silent hills The noise was low
( and subdued, but almost continuous.
With singular and uneasy feeling
that she was being observed, she
started down the canon, plunging des-
perately through the trees, leaping the
brook from side to side where it mar
rowed, seeking ever the easiest way.
She struggled on, painting with sud-
den inexplicable terror almost as bad
as that which had overwhelmed her
an hour beforehand growing more
intense every moment, to such tragic
pass had the day and its happenings
brought her.
Poor girl, awful experience really
was to be hers that day. The fates
cn1rfod ur}th