Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1917-07-27

One could not determine where the
real Joined forces with the imagination.
Somewhere between the two the real
became invisible and the invisible
seemed almost real. There wasn't a
thought of fear, but a half formed wish
that something would happen to add
variety to this %thro5bing, undulating
sensation, without particular motion
and with nothing to see. Where we
were or what we were doing not one
of our senses could tell. We were only
ethereal spots in the midst of an In
finite nowhere. at one end of which lay
my dying horse and at the other the
friend l was trying to
1 knew In a half day We're
rushing ahead at a speed thai was ter
rife, but felt impatient that 1t was not
greater still. The breath of the whirl-
wind might have been tame to my
quivering, overweight nerves. Shut
out of the material world by this cloud
wall, l longed for a thrill of eXpectant
danger to break up the depressing sense
of isolation. 1t wasn't the call for haste
so much as the call of impatience-a
mind taken entirely out of its realm of
accustomed comparisons and clamoring
for sensation rather than accomplish
ment.
Such were some of my chaotic i'm
pressions when l suddenly became con-
scious of objects about me and realized
that we were slowing down. The green
gray ribbons took on a spotted aspect,
which gradually expanded into some of
natures W pattern, and l vas con-
scious of a sudden relief to get back
into the world again. The gray marble
pavement shook out into the swift fly
ing belt of the morning, then gradually
came to a stop In the midst of noun
tains, trees and human forms and a
few other things.
Jack" came a feminine scream from
the front seat of our vehicle. Then |
noticed for the first time my friend In
the midst Of the group of men, still on
his feet. but with a telltale rope dan
Cling from a limb directly over his head.
We carried him back with us pres
emily. seated considerably on the back
seat beside the feminine voice, while
the mayor and l, as beftted u official
rank. rode In front. Thus we proceed
ed back toward H%alseyville, attended
ON either side for some distance, not by
the green gray ribbons of a short half
hour before nor even by the shapes of
my morning fancy, but by a good,
,Ao.,A r17or1 Ap orTnnd and nonitQnf
men, now anxious to do homage to the
man they meant to have slain in the
name of the law. In a little real haste
and a good bit of spite we hit up their
gait quite briskly ere they finally part
ed company with us after many a good
" wish and shake of Jacks hand, then
away like the wind for Halseyville.
Faster and faster over the road that
Corenca had galloped so well till the
ribbons swung up to their old place
again and cut off our view OF the
plains, on past where the avengers
that morning had thought they would
stop me and while getting their lesson
in thoroughbred temper lost just the
small margin Of time that saved Jack
until our return, OF splash through
the ford where my horse slaked her
thirst just before rushing IN to her
death, on past where / held up to rest
and to feed her-a brief rest it proved
and the last she was ever to have-on
past where she fell and doubtless now
made up her part in the greenish gray
ribbon which unrolled beside us Then
we rode into Halseyville and found
some unusual excitement ahead, where
a group of rough men were attempting
to corral a game little mare whose
speed, they declared, was as swift az
the wind and who still held the devils
own temper. d