Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1913-01-04

nOiu, ana, lndee0, only t0n00dF 20; 10
centuate the steepness and the height
of the great rock faces. III ,.s ia
An owl whizzed in from the valley,
swung past Captain Kettles head. md
then swooped upward and disappeared.
Got nest there, that FOWL he
thought, "Or roosting.pl There's
been bit OF fall OF rock here: the
outside's shelled of. I wonder"
He ran out briskly into the plain and
stared hard at the face Of the rock.
The night was thinning. Alresdy the
east was gray. Day would stare a.
him within matter Of minutes. and
II he was to md cover, II must be be-
fore day showed him to the curious
Yes. in the edge OF that rockfAll there
was dark patch that might well. BE
q hollow. There was 4 darker stain
at the foot Of 1t that merged into green
below, and meant trickle OF wet.
It would be damp and uncomfortable
In the hollow even II he could ge& into
It, but he WAS in no position jiat then
to pick and choose. He must take
what offered, and II II tirnsd ont that
the dark patch was merely shadow and
not hole at all. we'll. there Was. no
getting over the fact that hts position
would be desperate. So he ran Sip
once more. clambered up over tiA
tumbling screes. and then with sflnEers
and toes attacked the narrow lodges
OF the rock itself I IL, ~ Z, sss,
He told me afterward It was the fifst
piece Of rock climbing he had done ;irf
all his life, and from the description,
land he was never the man to ,exaK:
gerate) 1t must have been no kind
OF work for an apprentice, But, al,
the other hand. It must be remember;
ed that he had learned, to climb son, Z
sailing ship, and later had been second
mate on full rigger, and from kta
omctal position had been expected itu
be and was) the most reckless ana
sk1llful climber on board
This, training one may gather: saved
his life just then He went ,lp. he
crawled sidewise, he went down, and
clambered up again with strRinifig I'M
ger-tips: and finally got to. the middle
OF fraceuriess slab of rock, and had
TO give up and go down and start
afresh. @" ~ .
He prospected more diligently this
time. traced course. plotted 1t In his
head, and attacked lit, with toes and
| fingers. This time he had more sue
cess. Daylight was fiogging at liiS'
heels, and he strove upward with every
muscle and nerve in his body But the
way was almost vertical and terribly
lard. The jealous inches Yielded to him
reluctantly. The owl, for the first time
in its history, scented an intruder, and
came out to the edge OF its hole ana
hooted derisiyely. Az ss
Kettle halted ten seconds for breath
and nodded at it pleasantly. I'll tweak
your tail feathers yet before the ldax
comes up" he gasped-"if only You'll
wait for me" And then UP he drag
ged himself hand over hand for six
feet till once more he could find lodg-
ment for the toes of his boots. And
then came triumph. He put out
hand high above his head and got Il
in firm hold. A second later$he WAS
| in the place where his hand had been,
and the owl complaining noisly,, few
! outward past his ear. MN
For while Captain Kettle lay on the
floor Of the cleft. getting back his
breath in labored sobs. The valley be-
low him was eclipsed. His only. view
was Of snow-capped peaks at q far dis
lance, rosy now with an unseen sn,,-
rise. and limitless sky spread with
the palette of the dawn. He looked
and lusted. by James he mutteref.
IF only I'd time to get you down OH
paper"
But he was never a man to- allow
himself the luxuries of poetry when
business still remained to be done.
The cleft ran into the mountain, -
stream tinkled at its foot: and N
was place to ambush the Wangaroo's
men II SO be he found It necessary to
bring squad Of those Animation riff
fans up to the valley.
All evidences showed that the cleft
had been but newly opened. Tha
rock slab that sealed It's mouth Ind
shelled away and tumbled down on
the screes below only matter Of
weeks before. perhaps days. And the
|enterprising owl which had taken pos-
session had not vet had time to build
more than the rudiments OF nest.
much less lay the impending egg. The
main question was would the cleft hold
enough men?
The hollow in which he lay and pant
ed would harbor half dozen at Q
plHCH-Il LAcy COuNl. SCI tAOA0. -
rose to his feet and pressed on tosths
gloom at It's farther end. The cr1ck.
went into the rock. and the stream
murmured up into the black distance:
hut the rock walls drew together, ard
Kettle could not press even his slim
body in between them.
A draft came out Of crack with the
water and blew it's grateful chill on to
his perspiring face He unwound the
Irritating head.rope and removed hin
head cloth to get the full benefit Of It
and-no-yes-surely there was an
other draft blowing down from above.
He shut his eyes tightly. and then
lpeered upward into the gloom. Yes,
there was a hole above him.
He pressed his toes, knees and o.
bows into the rock walls and heaved
himself up, chimney-sweep fashion.
and presently stood In channel
above which appeared to lead directly
In toward the heart OF the rock
He had matches, but they were few
~,~,hnr orl hof did mt want RI