The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1914-02-21

of the cliff. And tell you
we moved as II our feet
were egg-shells we were
mighty afraid of breaking. Then
we came to a deep, narrow fis-
sure, and there the girl showed
us the ladder, hidden.
ut was a mighty long ladder,
strongly built, and heavy. We
had to carry 1t maybe fifty yards
along that ledge; and that wasn't
any joke, what with the twisting
of the ledge and the darkness and
the necessity of being always as
quiet as shadows. We saw just
how helpless we'd have been II
we hadn't had the girl. When
we came to the place where we
had to climb to the next ledge,
she cautioned us not to let the
ladder crate on the rock. l tell
you, it was a job, hosting that
heavy ladder up to its place with
out letting it bump or slide. BY
the time it was done you could
have wrung us out like dish
rags. But that girl wouldn't let
us rest a second. The ladder
was almost straight but up it she
went, light as cat.
"'All safe. I'm holding it,!
came her whisper down the face
of the rock through the dark. |
send Badly up first, not wanting
to leave Antonio a minute alone
with the girl, and he went plucky
enough, but singing so flat to
the ladder you'd have thought
he'd scrape his face off on the
rungs.
Antonio followed, also cling
ing flat. was going to wait till
he was all the way up before |
started; but the girls whisper
came down to me very sharp and
urgent, SO l came along just
about ten feet behind Antonio. |
flattened myself just as flat as
Badly had, for it looked a mile
away up there into the dimness,
and the ladder was so straight |
felt as If | was going to pull 1t
over backward.
1--WE pulled the ladder up,
noiselessly, after us, and imme-
diately hoisted it to the next
ledge. This climb was shorter
and not quite so steep. But the
next after that was a caution. 1t
was as long as the first, and, If
possible, a bit more straight up
and down. Furthermore, we
were by this time quite way up
the cliff face, and the dim valley
below, filled with shadows and
the roar of the river, looked big
and deep and empty as eternity. |
glanced down once, as was
climbing the ladder; then flat
tened a bit closer and attended
strictly to business till got to
the top.
"The ledge we were on now
was the narrowest and most tick
lish we had struck yet, and we
had the hardest work hosting
the ladder without making a
noise. 1t looked just about
straight up and down; but the
top seemed to fit steady and firm
as If into a groove made on pur-
pose for 1t. Badly and / were hold
ing it, and as the girl pushed by
Antonio to get to it, l saw him
leer at her and give her squeeze.
There was light enough now, for
the two big bonfires were blazing
down in the valley, and / saw the
girl flash back into that greaser's
face a look that, II looks could
strike, would have gone through
it like a knife. / never saw, be-
fore or since, such a flame of
hate as twisted that girls face.
AS for me, like a fool, l kind of
chuckled.
"Wait till I call you now"
whispered the girl, and made no
more of going up that ladder,
which seemed to hang by it's
teeth on the brink of eternity,
than you or l would Of going up
stairs.
"The whole front of the noun
tain was now In bright red
glare. l felt that we were in just
as plain view as II we were up
for show in a theater, and l won
dered why we didn't begin right
off to get bullets or arrows in
our backs, for we had our faces
to the rock, and we weren't look
ing down any just then, but up
for all we were worth.
"Then we waited. 1t was a
hard wait. l felt million eyes
on my back. My heart thumped.
A burst of voices came up, sud
den and clear and small, from
the depths. I wondered what 1t
meant. Then 1t was silent again.
And then the girls head appeared
over the ledge, and saw her
clamp something like the end of
a heavy pole down hard and
solid onto the top Of the ladder
to hold 1t fast.
"'It is finished she said, cold
and hard as Fate. Come quick.
You hold the ladder-foot.'
IT didn't understand her last
words nor think much about
them, for we could all see that
now, as she had fixed the top of
it. the ladder was safe and solid
as the side of a house. But 1t
was so straight up and down that
Badly couldn't go up very quick.
Antonio, impatient and ugly at
not going first. went close at his
heels. waited till Badly was