The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-12-18
Il never thought of that"

soon as possible. The Tenth street
property which you and Eva own
Jointly must either be owned BY both
as one or divided. To divide it would
be ruin. Come! Bestir yourself"
I'll see what l can do" replied
Amos as he strobe away thoughtfully.
Amos and Eva lived in billy coun-
try that in part might be called noun
famous. There was one place called
the Devils Climb because an ambitious
youth had lost his life trying to get up
1t. Amos was driving past it one day
when he saw man scaling it like a
cat. Indeed, while he climbed with
the agility OF cat, he seemed to be
endowed with invisible wings. He not
only climbed, he flew. No part of the
cliff was so perpendicular that he could
not mount it. at times it seemed he
was about to fall backward and be
mangled on rocks hundred feet be-
low, but he always caught, sometimes
on the edge of landing above him;
sometimes he would draw himself up
by twig that seemed too slender to
sustain kitten. Yet up he went, sur
mounting every difficulty, till he reach
ed the summit, then turned and, as
suming theatrical attitude, took off
his hat and waved it to imaginary per-
sons below.
AS soon as he had achieved his ex.
plot group of persons who had been
standing near began to shout and wave
to him to the music Of a movie cam.
era which had been set up near enough
for Amos to hear. Then, the show be-
ing over the players moved away.
Then Amos, looking about him, sag
things that he had not noticed before
Several cameras were being removed
and placed in vehicles. A man on top
of the cliff was taking down sort
Of derrick that had been hidden from
view, while one at the bottom was coil
ing wire and taking apart an APP
paratus similar to that above. A man
was directing the transfers, and Amos
approached him.
"The man who climbed the cliff was
pulled up by wire, presume?" he
said.
"Just so; and a donkey engine.
There 1t is going into that wagon"
"Could l secure this paraphernalia
and these men to hoist me up there?'
II reckon you can II you want to pay
for It,"
"What would it cost"
"Well. reckon about a hundred dol
lars"
"I'll pay you the hundred dollars If
you'll permit me to choose my own
time. Would need any practice?"
"You could do better Job by having
had practice, but it isn't absolutely
necessary"
Amos paid the man $40 on account,
and he agreed to be on hand with the
apparatus set up the following after
noon at o'clock.
The next day Amos took Eva to ride
and directed his car to the Devils
Climb. On reaching a point a few
hundred yards from 1t Amos pulled up
and, assuming an air Of injured inno-
cence, thus addressed her:
"You have thought proper to i'm
pugn my courage. You have intimated
that am nothing better than a worm
Of the dust. You have said that you
wished some one for q husband who
would elevate, not drag, you to earth.
This, coming from one / love better
than my life, has blighted it. 1t is no
value to me. am going to risk it to
convince you that am a man, not a
coward"
Jumping from the car, he ran to-
ward the Devils Climb. Reaching
point directly beneath 1t, he paused
and looked up. He was doing some
thing with his hands, but Eva could
not discern what It was. He hooked
wire to belt under his shoulders.
Then he began to climb.
"Great heavens!" cried Eva. SIS he
going to try to scale that cliff"
Amos sprang lightly over the lower
rocks, which were comparatively easy
to scale. Then he reached a perpen- |
dicular rock higher than his head. He
sprang up, clutched 1t, and in another
upoh uC uoSCht III" I
became more difficult, but the more !
difficult 1t was the easier 1t seemed for |
him. When he was nearing the top |
he stopped beneath straight up and |
down face in the rock and carefully |
placed foot in cavity. Then catch
ing a slight projection he placed the |
other foot on a similar support. He
was midway up the face Of the rock
when he fell backward.
Eva gave shrek loud enough to
wake the dead and covered her eyes
with her hands.
In a moment she took them away |
and looked again. Heaven be praised! I
Amos had been caught by scrub tree
growing out of the face of the cliff.
Giving a spring, he seemed to fly Il
back to the cliff slightly below the
rock from which he had fallen and
proceeded to make a second attempt H
to scale it.
Eva shouted to him to stop. Wheth-
er or not he heard her he paid no at
tention to her. This time he succeed
ed in standing upon narrow landing
and resumed his ascent