The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1913-09-05
warm IN their veins lhey so1.e Hvs ,

ANSt anu ISuI
Oarroll's horse stumbled and rolled
catching the numbed trooper Under
MS weight. The jerk on the lariat
hung Wade out of the saddle, dangling
head downward. With stiffened fin
gers. scarcely comprehending what
they were about, the Sergeant ant
Wasson came to the rescue, helped
the frightened horse struggle to hi,
ieet, and, totally blinded by the fury
OF the storm which now beat fairly in
tneir eyes. grasped the dangling
oooy, swaying back and forth as the
startled animal plunged In terror. II
vas a corpse they gripped, already
SUN with cold. the eyes wide-open and
staring. Carroll, bruised and limping.
came to their help. groaning with
pain. and the three men together man.
aged to lift the dead weight to the
horses back. and to bind 1t safely
with the turn Of q rope. Then. breath.
less from exhaustion. crouching be-
III h animals. punched helplessly
together. the howl Of the wind like
the scream Of lost souls. the three
men looked Int each others faces.
7 reckon Jim died without ever
KNOWN H." said the scout, breaking
again the film Of Ice over his eyes, and
thrashing his arms. IL alters heard
tell 1t was an easy way o. goin'. Look
me he was better OF than we are
just now. Hurt much. CARROLL"
"Crunched my leg mighty bad;
cam bear no weight or 1t. Twas
darn near froze stif before; thet's
why couldn't get out O. the way
quick"
Sure; well. yen have ter ride, then
Wen take the blanket of Jim; he
won't need 1t no moro. Brick An !
kin hoof 1t yet awhile-hey, 'Briok'r-
Hamlin lifted his head from the
shelter OF his horses name.
Il reckon I can make my feet
move" he asserted doubtfully, but
they don't feel as though there was
any life left in them" He stamped
on the snow. How long do these bliS
yards generally last, SAM"
Blow themselves out in about thros
days"
Three days? God! We news.
live it out here"
His eyes ranged over the dim out
lin of Wade stretched across the
saddle, powdered with snow, rested an
instant upon Carroll, who had sunk
back upon the ground. nursing his In
1ured limb. and then sought the ssce
of WATSON.
What the hell can we do?"
G on; thet's an of It; go on TIL
we drop. lad. Come. Brick my boy"
and the scout gripped the S~ergeant's
shoulder. you're not the kind to lie
down. We've been In worse boxes
than this and pulled out. It's up to
you and me to make good. Let's
crunch some hard-tacs and 60 on,
afore the whole three Of us freess
stiff"
The Sergeant thrust cut his hand.
That isn't what's taken the nerve
out of me, Sam" he said soberly. TITS
thinking Of the girl out In all this
with those devils"
Likely as not she amt" returned
the other, tramping the snow under
his fee I've been thinkin' bout tibet
too. Thet outfit must hev had sts
hours the start o. US, didn't theyr"
Hamlin nodded.
We'll, then. they couldn't a ben far
from the Cimarron when the storm
come. They'd be safe enough unde,
the bluffs; have wood fer a FIRE, ane
lay thar mighty comfortable. That.
whar them bucks are. all right. Why,
damn it, man, we've got to 60,
through. 'Taln't Just our fool lives
that's at stake. Brace up!"
How far have we Gomez"
"A good ten miles, an the compass,
has KEEP us straight"
They drew in closer together. and
munched a hard cracker apiece, occs
sionally exchanging a muttered word
or two, thrashing their limbs about
to keep up circulation. and dampenins
their lips with snow. They we're bui
dim. spectral shapes IN the darkness
r the air filled with crystal pellets
swept about by a merciless wind. tn,
, horses standing tails to the storm ane
heads dropping. In spite of the fRh;
. refraction of the snow the eyes could
] eSe IVY W anu AWAY luTOuRE
the smother. Above, about, the cease
> less wind howled. Its icy breath chill
y ing to the bone. Carroll clambereo
sttfay into his saddle, crying snc
swearing from weakness and pain
The others, stumbling about in tn.
deep snow. which had drifted AROUND
: them during the brief halt. stripped
; the blanket from Wade's dead BODY
' and tucked 1t in about Carroll as bes,
!, they could.
. Now keep kicking and thrashins
about. George" ordered the Sersesn nj
sternly. For Gods sake, don't &c
{ to sleep. or you'll be where Jim is
Wen haul You out OF this. old man
Sam, you take the rear, and hit Car
= 'oll a whack ever. few minutes: II
: break trail. Forward! now"
5 (TO BE C~ONTINUED)
Oeilcacy on tho Bench.