The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1916-10-26

ankle still caused her such pain thnt
she was able to walk only with the
assistance Of her companions. Gradu-
ally the country In which they were
travelling became less rough, the vegc-
totion more luxuriant; the pines and
furs gave way to live oaks; the
rock-walled canyons became ravines,
and the rnvines ran out In valleys.
whose gentle slopes were cnrpeted
with lush, green grass. Little did they
dream that In this fair and smiling
region death awaited them in its most
hideous form.
Emerging on the upper slopes of one
OF these mountain valleys, they saw
below them broad band of marsh,
Its vlscid, slimy surface broken here
and there by clumps OF bullrushes and
reeds, winding like a great aud loath-
some serpent down the valley floor.
To avoid this bog would. Hope guess
ed, entail detour of several miles,
which was made out 4 the question
by the condition OF C.eo's ankle.
Its not deep" he said to Cleo. "We
can easily wade across-or rather, I'll
wade and carry you"
"It's kinda treacherous lookln',
lootenant," warned Hook. Better 20
careful or you may have some trouble
gettin' out"
"If It gets too deep I'll come back"
said Hope carelessly; "but we can't
get into trouble. It's only a bit OF
swampy ground. I've shot ducks In
far worse swamps than this hundreds
Of tines And lifting Cleo In his
arms he waded out into the marsh.
For the first hundred feet or so he
experienced no difficulty, but, as he
more trencherous, and, under Cleo's
added weight, he sank deeper at every
step. But his was not the character
that yielded easily, and slowly, pain
fully, he struggled on. Rlvulets OF
perspirntlon were streaming down his
face and he was painting from his
exertions-but he was half way across
now. Then came disaster. Without
the slightest warning the character OF
the marsh through which he had been
laboriously wading abruptly changed
he suddenly lost his footing and
plunged forward, and, before he real
lied that his struggles were only max
ing matters worse, he was ingulfed in
quicksand to the waist. Cleo, appre
ciatlng the handicap which her weight
imposed upon him, struggled from his
arms, only to find herself sink deer
into the mire. Standing side by side
with firm ground barely fifty yards
away, they were as helpless as though
, their lower limbs were incased, from
the waist down, in plaster of paris
I, Scarcely had Hope realized that b,
, could no longer free his feet, thar
, there came to him a still more terrible
! realization-slowly, almost impercept
, ible. indeed, but none the less surely
they were going down. Cleo dis
covered 1t at almost the same moment
for she said In a startled voice:
! Jarvis, feel as though I wer'
, sAaking."
"It's all right, dearest" he answere,
reassuringly. There's nothing to b,
worried about. Stand perfectly still
and I'll get you out all right"
, But despite his confident tone h,
7 was worried, terribly worried, for h,
r appreciated that their plight was
: desperate one.
, Don't come any farther, Hook" h
called to the seaman who had starte
4 after them. "We're in trouble. Ge
|, back at once or you'll be in trouble
/, yourself"
) "What's the matter, lootenant? !?
E shouted Hook. as, obeying Hope
3 order, he regained the bank. EAR
9 you In Quicksand?"
Y "rm afraid So" Hope answered
"We can't move and we seem to b.
4 slowly sinking"
Z "What shall l dor" the sailor shout
{ ed. "Shall get some branches2"
I ~ don't think they will do any good
L Hook" came the answer. "We're Il
too deep. The only way to get u
!. out is with a rope. You'd bette
;, hurry down the valley and see II yol
can find help. You may run across
Q cowboy with lariat. But you'll hav
: to hurry or you'll be too late
h we're steadily sinking"
o But to himself Hope said: "He ca
Q never make 1t. We will have sun
Il long before he can get back with helI
God-what a death-to die In quick
v sand"
i, "Keep cheered up, Miss Cleo, an
s you, too. lootenant." called Hook. a
a he started OFF on O numbering ruI
g "Ill be back with Q rope before 20
l. know I've started"
$ The time dragged by. The second
:, passed like minutes, and the minute
/ seemed like hours. Though tormente
r by myriads Of insects. they dared nc
u stir for fear of Fastening the enc
I Already the black ooze was abov
{ their hips and was slowly, lnexorabl
}, creeping higher.
Q "Dear heart" said Cleo. after Ion
D pause, "if-lf Hook should not &c
& back In time. l want to go down hole
d ing your hand. shah not be frigh
: ened of death, then"
d "You dear. brave girl" groane
Q Hope; "thls is all my fault. seer