Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1915-03-30

6ofor0 no SOuto StdUtooT VII SSs'S ~
Was Wet to the Waist.
started you won't be able to bear me.
20 just keep on keeping her straight
They cast of the boat and worked
out to middle In the quickening cur
rent From the canyon came the ever
growing roar. The river sucked In to
the entrance with the smoothness OF
molten glass. and here. as the dark
ening walls received them. Shorty took
q chew Of tobacco and dipped his pad
die.
The boat leaped on the first crests
Of the ridge. and they were deafened
by the uproar of wild water that re-
verberated from the narrow walls and
multiplied itself They were half
smothered with flying spray. At times
Kit could not see his comrade at the
bow. 1t was only matter Of two min
utes, in which time they rode the ridge
three-quarters of a mile and emerged
In safety and lied to the bank In the
eddy below.
Shorty empted his mouth Of tobacco
Juice he had forgotten to spit and
spoke. Say. we went few. didn't
we? Smoke. l don't mind tellin' you In
confidence that before we started |
was the gosh dangdest scaredest man
this side of the Rocky mountains
Now I'm a bear eater. Come on an
we'll run that other boat through"
After running the strangers boat
through Kit and Shorty met bis wife.
q slender. glrlish woman whose blue
eyes were moist with gratitude, Brock
himself tried to hand Kit $50 and then
attempted 1t on Shorty.
stranger" was the lattePs rejection.
II come into this country to make
money outa the ground an not outa
my fellow critters"
Brock. the stranger. rummaged In his
boat and produced demiJohn of whio
Ky. Shorty's hand half went out to It
and stopped abruptly. He shook bis
head
There's that blamed White Horse
right below. an they say It's worse
than the Box I reckon ! don't dast
tackle any lightnin'.''
Several miles below they ran In to
the bank. and all four walked down to
look at the bad water. The river,
which was succession of rapids, was
here detected toward the right bank
by a rocky reef The whole body Of
water, rushing crookedly into the mar
row passage. accelerated Its speed
frightfully and was updung into huge
waves, white and wrathful. This was
the dread name Of the White Horse
and here an even heavier toll Of dead
had been exacted On one side OF the
name was corkscrew curI-over and
suck-under. and on the opposite side
was the big whirlpool To 60 through
the name itself must be ridden.
As they watched q boat took the head
Of the rapids above. 1t was large
boat, fully thirty feet long. laden with
several tons of outfit and handled by
six men. Before It reached the name
It was plunging and leaping. at times
almost hidden By the foam and spray.
Shorty shot slow, sidelong glance
at Kit and said: She's fair smokin'
an she hasn't hit the worst. They've
hauled the oars in. There she takes II
now. God. She's gonei mol There
she isr'
Big as the boat was, It had been
buried from sight In the flying smother
between crests. The next moment. in
the thick Of the name. the boat leaped
up crest and into view. To Kits
amazement he saw the whole long bot
tom clearly outlined. The boat for the
fraction of an instant was In the air,
the men sitting idly In their places. all
save one in the stern. who stood at the
steering sweep. Then came the down
ward plunge into the trough and q sec-
ond disappearance.
Three times the boat leaped and
buried itself. Then those on the bank
saw tn nose take the whirlpool a. II
slipped OF the name. The steersman.
vainly opposing with fun weight on
the steering gear. surrendered to the
whirlpool aud helped ths boet . taks
tn CIRCLE