Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-02-21
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down once, as / was climbing the lad
| der: then fiattened bit closer and
attended strictly to business till got
to the top.
.sThe ledge we were on now was
| the narrowest and most ticklish we
had struck yet. and We had the hard
est work hosting the ladder without
making q 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 purpose for it.
Baldy and | were holding it. and as
| the girl pushed by Antonio to get to
| il. saw him leer at her and give her
| a 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, if looks could strike,
would have gone through it like a
| knife | never saw before or since
| such flame of hate as twisted that
| girls face. AS for me. like a fool
kind of chuckled.
Wait till l call you now! whIs-
pered the girl. and made no more
| of going up that ladder. which seem
! ed to hang by it's teeth on the brink
of eternity, than you or / would of
going upstairs.
"The whole front of the mountain
was now in a bright red glare. l felt
| that we were in Just as plain view
| as if we were up for show in a thea
tire. and | wondered why we didn't
begin right off to get bullets or ar
| rows in our backs, for we had our
faces to the rock, and we weren I
/ looking down any just then, but up
for all we were worth.
"Then we waited. 1t was a hard
wait. | felt million eyes ON my
back. My heart thumped. A burst
of voices came up, sudden and clear
and small, from the depths | Won
dered what it meant. Then it 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
on to the top Of the ladder TO hold
| it fast
ut is finished, she said, cold and
| hard as Fate. Come quick. You hold
the ladder-foot'
al 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
it was so straight up and down that
Badly couldn't go up very quick. An
tonic, impatient and ugly at not going
| first, went close at his heels. l waited
! till Badly was about three quarters
of the way up, then / just couldn't
| wait any longer. l slipped round on
to the ladder and began to climb.
well. 7 hadn't gone above two
rungs when an awful chill went down
my backbone, and I stopped The
| ladder was moving!
81 hadn't time to think As if the
| ladder had suddenly become red-hot,
so l couldn't hold on to it, l let go. and
| just dropped down like stone. Then
/ saw a mans dark face look over the
edge and down at us-a sober. big.
quiet face, neither savage nor glad,
| but just kind of final. And right be-
side that awful gray face the face of
a girl looked down and smiled. The
| ladder leaned further out. and ! saw
| that the man and girl were holding
the pole hard now, so that it wouldn't
| go too quick. With wild effort |
wriggled up and lay fiat on the ledge.
clutching al the rock with both hands
and staring. because | couldn't turn
my eyes away. With dreadful slow
ness the ladder kept on leaning out
| further and further. | saw Antonio
clawing up the rungs like a monkey
| toward the pole.
Then suddenly the ladder swung
clear, carrying the pole with it. The
man and the girl had let so.
81 reckoned | was out of my senses
for a good bit, maybe Then 1 heard
the girls voice calling to me, and
looked up.
What are you going to do?' she
asked quite careleSsly.
Nothing. | reckonn says l, after
thinking a moment.
"'You shall live-if you will she
continued nresently
Yes, you shall live if you will,
came a somber voice. And the big
faced man looked down on me, grave
as an idol.
'Why--me?' I demanded.
You don't deserve it, that is true,
she answered, colby. You are a
thief, but, as far as we know, you
are not a murderer, ] saw the old
man and the boy killed. And l saw
your face, and knew it was not your
will. saw that you would have pro-
tected me. You shall live.
"'What do you want me to do? ]
asked.
"'You shall leave your knife and
your guns there on the ledge and
take this ladder and climb down and
deliver yourself a prisoner to my
people yonder.'
well. / had some sense left, for q
wonder. took off my knife and my
guns and laid them down on the
ledge beside me. Then | took hold OF
tho ladder. But would you believe it,
boys. at the thought of climbing
down. down, from narrow shelf to
narrow shelf on what looked like the
very same one ] had seen pitching
into space with Badly and Antonio
clinging on to it like spiders, made
me SO sick the bright cliff began to
| swim around me.
wait said the girl; and l saw
her start down the ladder. You are
my prisoner. I'll go down with you.
| And that seemed to put the stiffening
! into my knees again
| I'VE left my knife and my guns
| there on the ledge, and she helped
me lower the ladder. That climb
down-well. l got through it some
how without letting her see how |
| felt; but however [ kept from just
pitching out in that hollow, moon
| light space, I never will know. 1t
was a nightmare then. It is a night
mare now from which I wake up
shaking all of sweat
And now, boys, you know why 1
| preferred to come down a rope to-
night / was a fool, I know, but !
couldn't help 1T
And tipping his chair forward to
| the table. Martin Block began refill
| ing his pipe.
"But how did We git away" de-
manded Jim Sayres.
AN what become O. the gurrl?''
asked Corrigan.
An did We bring away any of the
yellow stuff when We came?" in
| quired MacNutt,
| Boys" answered Martin Block
that's another story, and too long a