The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1915-12-23


81 just keep on keeping her straight"
They cast off the boat and worked
out to middle in the uuickening 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
chew of tobacco and Dipped his pad
die.
The tOat ,eaped on the first crests
of the ridge. and they We're deafened
by the nproar of wild water that re-
verberated from the narrow walls and
multiplied Itself They were t.aIf
smothered with dying spray At times
Kit could not see his conrade ut the
bow. It was only matter of two min
utes. IN which time they rode the ridge
three-quarters of mile and emerged
In safety and tied to the bank in the
eddy below.
Shorty emptied his mouth of tobacco
juice he had forgotten to spit and
spoke. Say. we went few. didn't
we: Smoke. don't mind tellin' you IL,
confidence that before we started
WAS the gosh dangdest scaredest man
this side OF the Rocky mountains
Now I'm bear eater Come on an
we'll run that other boat through"
After running the strangers boat
through Kit and Shorty met his wife.
a slender girlish woman whose blue
eyes were moist with gratitude Breck
himself tried to hand Kit $50 and then
attempted it ON Shorty.
Stranger" was the latter's rejection
Il come into this country to make
money outa the ground an not outa
my fellow critters
Rreck. the stranger. rummaged in his
boat and produced demijohn of whis.
Ky. Shorty's hand half went out to II
and stopped abruptly. He shook his
bead
There's that blamed White Horse
right below. an they say it's worse
than the Box. reckon don't das,
tackle any lightnin'.'
Several miles below they ran in t.
the bank. and all four walked down t.
look at the had water. The river
which was succession of rapids. was
here DETECTED toward the right bank
by rocky reef. The whole body OF
water. rushing crookedly into the mar
row passage. accelerated its speef
frightfully and was uptung into hug,
waves. white and wrathful This wa.
the dread mane of the White HORSE.
and here an even heavier toll of deat
had been exacted. On one side Of th,
| name was a corkscrew curl-over ant
suck-under. and on the opposite side
was the big whirlpool. To go through
| the name itself must be ridden
AS they watched boat took the heat
Of the rapids above. 1t was larg
boat. fully thirty feet long. laden witt
several tons Of outfit and handled b,
six men. Before it reached the man,
1t was plunging and Ieaping. at time
almost hidden by the foam and spray
Shorty shot slow. sidelong ganc,
at Kit and said: She's fair smokin'
an she hasn't hit the worst. They'v,
hauled the oars In. There she takes
now. God. She's gone. No. Their
she is"
Big as the boat was. 1t had beel
buried from sight in the flying smothe
between crests. The next moment, il
the thick Of the name, the boat ieape,
up crest and into view. To Kit
amazement he saw the whole long bot
tom clearly outlined The boat for th
fraction of an instant was In the air
the men sitting idly in their places. al
save one In the stern. who stood ut tn
steering sweep. Then came the down
ward plunge into the trough and a sec
ond disappearance
Three times the boat leaped an
buried itself. Then those on the ban
saw its nose take the whirlpool as |
slipped off the name The steersmar
vainly opposing with fun weight O
the steering gear. surrendered to tn
whirlpool and helped the boat to TAX
the circle.
| Three times 1t went around. eac
time so close to the rocks on whic
Kit and Shorty stood that either coul
have leaped on board. The steersmar
man with reddish beard OF recer
growth. waved his hand to them.
The only way out of the whirlpool
was by the name. and on the thir
round the boat entered the name ol
liquely at its upper end Possibly OF
of fear of the draw of the whrlpo,
the steersman did not attempt !,
straighten out quickly enough. ,Whe
he did 1t was too late. Alternately
the air and buried. the boat angled th
name and WIS sucked into the sti
wall of the corkscrew on the opposit
side of the river.
A hundred feet below boxes an
bales began to float up. Then appea
ed the bottom of the boat and the sea
tered heads Of six men. Two mana
ed to make the bank in the eddy b
low. The others were drawn unde
and the general hotsam was lost
view. borne on by the swift currel
around the bend
CHAPTER ".