The Colorado statesman., 1915-01-23

| troubled face, cause III go anyways
-pappy KANT keep me in this prison
no more
| Stephen took the girls coaxing hand
and smoothed it gently. He thought
of it scanned and darkened and rough
ened. Still her eyes commanded him,
and he answered hesitatingly:
THE north forty's your'n, Ike, and
Retta's mine
"Retta-May, yub're a fool" growled
her father with well-assumed dissatis-
faction. "Yuh1l wear rags yit. Reck-
on we'd better put this deal in writin'
right now, Steve. There amt no use
O. waitin"
Hadn't we letter fix this door first.
Ike?" said the young man, regarding
with suspicion the black stream seep-
ing through Retta's barrier. Looks
like we'd be swamped perty SOON"
"Hain't nuthin' we kin do but let the
water run out again. Does that ever
time hit rains. Hain't never ben
swamped yit. Retta-May. climb onto
that bench and tuck yer feet under
yuh. Now, Steve, write hit in that
| gifts y'ur north forty as divided from
the south forty by Big Rock and Sem
tinel Gum Tree. Hain't no mistakin'
that way O. putin hit. Everythin'
north's mine everythin' scuth's
your'n. Write hit in, Steve-write hit
ini"
Standing almost ankle-deep in wa
ter, the young man bent over the rude
table and gravely wrote the document
as directed.
AS he handed it to Pedigrew the
cabin tilted sickeningly forward, there
was a gurgling inrush of the foamy
flood, and the fire went out quickly
with a strong smell of wet ashes. They
were in total darkness.
"Retta," shouted Stephen, cropping
for her in the blackness. "Retta, Ret
tai"
There was gasping cry from among
the huddled furniture as the cabin
righted itself with a kissing outpour
of water, and then sprang sidewise
like chunk of driftwood in a whirl-
pool; and in moment he held the
girls dripping, shaking form tightly
with one arm while he braced his
back against the heaving side of the
rough wall and spread a protecting
hand over the silk of her hair.
Any minute something might drop
upon them-some awful thing reach
out of the hideous melee of sound.
They could hear the old man blum
dering and sputtering furiously among
the shifting debris. They could hear
the grinding and tearing of rock and
| continuous ri roar
of angry water bearing them jerkily
along in the awful gloom.
Occasionally red flare of lightning
showed them the cabins wild interior,
with objects heaped grotesquely
against, the fireplace. By one such
flash the old man made his way over
to Stephen and Retta.
Devils own night. this!" he shout
ed angrily. BEN hyar nigh on to
twenty year, and never did see no sich
COINS on before. I'll bet we're in the
river right now, goin' south like thun-
der"
So he punctuated the awful uncer-
tainty, and reiterated raspingly as the
| night wore on.
Finally, after what seemed an
eternity of tipping and whirling mono
could guess whittier, they felt the cab
In settle firmly and remain at anchor
The storm rested, and through the
broken shutters filtered the grateful
light OF the coming dawn.
Righting the obstructing furniture,
they made their way through the slimv
mud to the door. Pulling it wide on
tic
on scene that drew a sharp cry of
wonder from the young couple and a
yell of CONSERVATION from the
thwarted old schemer.
They were south of Big Rock and
Sentinel Gum Tree, on a firm, root
bound clump that had washed safely
out into the stream and worked its
way to a quiet inlet in the water side
of the south forty.
The two valuable pastures we're no.
where to be seen. Undermined and
crumbled by the wearing flood of cen
turies, they had melted and spread use
lessly under the furious yellow stream,
and over their coal and gas the water
rushed and foamed and swirled; while,
freed from its pentup, film-covered
pools, Stephen Martins southland lay
green and smiling on the ridges-rich-
ly, muckily black where the deeps
caught the rosy morning light.
Amazed at the miracle wrought over
night by the storm and the frealish
river, the trio stood. silently gazing
from the cabin door. Finally the old
man spoke:
We'll, Steve" he said matter-of-fact-
ly' tain't whut expected. but It's as
tbs, and hain't goin' tub squeal about
hit reckon the parsonn do as well
as the jestice, the way things has
turned out, sides bein' sight nearer,
lessen he's washed away