River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1915-02-11

"Wat! For GODS sake, wat!"
cut with the knife until one OF the
three strands popped and parted
What are you doing?" Carson cried
desperately. If you cut I'll never
forgive you-never. tell you it's two
or nothing. We're going to get out
Wait! For Gods sakev'
And Smoke, staring at the pa ted
strand five inches before his lyes,
knew fear III an it's weakness. He
did not want to die He recoiled from
the shimmering abyss beneath him,
and his panic brain urged all the pre-
poster0us optimism Of delay 1t was
fear that prompted him to compro
mise
"All right" he called up III wait
Do your best. But | tell you. Carson
If we both start slipping again I'm go
ing to cut
"Huh! Forget it. When we start
Old horse, we start up. I'm a porous
plaster / could stick here if it was
twice as steep, I'm getting sizable
hole FOR one heel already Now you
0uSn, anu leT NE WOfK.
gasp and a grOan and an abrupt
slackening OF the rope warned him
He began to slip The movement was
very Slow. The rope frightened loyal
~, but he continued to slip, Carson
could not hold bin and was slipping
with him The digging toe Of his far
ther extended foot encountered vacan
cy. and he knew that it was over the
straightaway fall. And he knew, too,
that in another moment his falling
body would jerk Carsons after it.
B.indly, desperately, all the vitality
and life love Of him beaten down in u
flashing instant by u shuddering per
ceptiOn OF right and wrong, he brought
the knife edge across the rope, saw the
strands part, felt himself slide more
rapidly and then fall.
What happened then be did not
know. He was not unconscious, but it
happened too quickly, and it was unex-
pected Instead Of falling to his death
his feet almost Immediately struck in
water and he sat violently down in
water that splashed coolingly on his
face
His first impression was that the
creyasse was shailOWer than he had
imagined and that he had safely fetch
ed bottom But Of this he was quick
~ disabused The opposite wall was a
dozen feet away. He lay in a basin
formed in an outjut Of the ice wall by
melting water that dribbled and trick
led over the bulge above and fell
sheer down a distance Of a dozen feet
This had followed out the basin.
Where be sat the water was two feet
deep. and it was flush with the rim
He peered over the rim and looked
down the narrow chasm hundreds Of
feet to the torrent that foamed along
the bottom
'Oh, why did your" he heard a wall
from above.
"Listen!' he called up I'm perfect
~ safe. sitting i'll a pool of water up
to my neck And here's both our
packs I'm going to sit on them
There's room for half a dozen here
If you slip stick close and you'll land
In the meantime you hike up and get
out Go to the cabin Somebody's
there | saw the smoke. Get rope
or anything that will make rope, and
come back and fish for me-"
"Honest?" came Carson's incredu-
lous voice.
Gross my heart and nope to die.
Now. get d hustle on or III catch my
death of cold"
Smoke kept himself warm by kick
ing a channel through the rim with
the heel of his shoe. By the time he
had drained off the last of the water a
call from Carson announced that he
had reached the top
After that Smoke occupied himself
with drying his clothes. The late aft
ernoon sun beat warmly in upon him,
and be wrung out his garments and
spread them about him.
Two hours later, perched naked on
the two packs, he heard voice above
that he could not fail to identify.
"Oh, Smoke! Smoker
Hello. Joy Gastell!' he called back.
''Whered you drop fromY
Are you hurt?'
mot even any skin off"
Fathers paying the rope down now
Do you see it?''
"Yes. and I've got it, he answered.
Now, wait couple of minutes,