The Clay City times. [volume] (Clay City, Ky.) 1901-current, 1915-01-07
CHAPTER vi.
Ny Life Is Saved by Chip.

were approaching the Flying U head
quarters house, something happened
which would have shocked the nerves
! Of any girl fresh from the city, except
yours truly, Or. Della Whitmore.
We were riding along a ridge. Down
below. at a clump of trees, beLeld a
Z mad lot Of riders arriving at certain
, cottonwood with a man whom they
, were going to hang. Chip looked, too,
And, did fancy l saw smile curvins
his lipa-or was it just simply the nat
ural smile that seemed always to lurk
about his mobile mouth?
anyway, it was the suspicion that he
smiled that made me take philosophic-
ally al that my blue eyes now beheld.
Instead Of Cry ng out in horror and
diswGv and NAMING scene-as |
learned afterward vas expected to do
Il merely kept closed mouth.
l saw those Wa men cn the cayuses
at the cottonwood pat a rope around
the neck of the man on the horse and
prepare to hang Linn. 1t certainly was
a critical moment for the man with the
rope around his throat. But upon
closer inspection, l saw the trick. This
whole scene had been planned especial
ly for my benefit, that was quite OBJ
vious. For / now perceived-so good
we're my eyes-that the man to be
hanged was not a man at all, but only
a dummy, an eEgy.
What spoiled their farce for my
benefit more than anything else, how
ever, was that now the horse carrying
the effgy boited. Yes, that horse was
running away. The runaway sped up
the incline and was coming along the
road directly toward us. There was
no room for this flying cayuse to pass
us with the fioundering efligy strapped
on his back and finging itself wildly
from side to side of the road. The run
away horse would run right onto US
right into our blackboard and would
undoubtedly scare our own horses SO
that we would have a double runaway
on our own hands and perhaps be
killed before ever my brother could
welcome me after our four years
separation. s...
What did Chip do? Chip was right
there with presence of mind. He
wheeled our horses and plunged pen
nell down the steepest embankment
in the whole world. And he started
rolling down that awful steep embanks
ment not moment too soon, either.
For just as we got safely off the mar.
row road above, the runaway horse
with the effigy shot past. An accident
had been averted only by hairs
breadth.
On down thet fearsome precipice we
.careened in the blackboard. the horses
scarcely abb to hold the vehicle-our
wheels rolling over boulders and shoot
ing us way up in the air first on the
right, then on the left. precipitating me
bodily again and again into the stall
wart arms of one CHIP. and flinging
him bodily again and again athwart
my lap, so that at times 1t seemed as
If the natural law OF gravitatlon itself
was being helped. by this wild fierce
ride down the precipice. to literally
throw" US together.
AT last we reached the bottom, how
ever. My hair WIS all down. My
jacket was all mussed up. And Chip
b looked actually pale.
Even in that delightful moment
when every body should give thanks to
their Creator for the sparing OF life and
limb, could not forbear to tease the
gritty Chip. SO / never for a second
let him see that l understood that he
had saved my very life and that hence
forth. as they say in novels, owed my
life TO this hero. No, what | said to
him, was this;
You. were just trying to brighten
me. weren't yOu-riding down that ter
rlble place like that?"
He took long while to reply, but at
last he said:
Yes, was just simply initiating
YOU into the ways OF the Woolly West.
We often have TO take rides like that
just TO give the horses exercise And
l thought now as good time as any
TO give these horses a little extra