Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1918-01-11


; ice below the hips. Outside the ms
cry Of the moment her whole atten-
ton was concentrated on sticking 10
m. back Of the horse. Numb though
her fingers we're, she must keep them
fastened tightly in the frozen name or
the animal. She recited her lesson
10 herself like u child. She must stick
on she must-she must.
| Whether she lost consciousness or
not. Shcba never knew. The next she
realized was that saltwater Pete was
pulling her from the horse. He drag
god her into Il cabin where Mrs. olson
lay crouched on the floor.
Got to stable the horses he ex-
plaincd. and left them.
After a time he came back and lit
La fire in the sheet-irOn stove. AS the
circulation that meant life Hooded
back into her chilled veins. Sheba en-
dured half-hour OF excruciatins
pain. She had to clench her teeth to
keep back the groans that came from
her throat, to walk the floor and
nurse her tortured hands with fingers
in like plight.
The cabin was empty Of furniture
except for home made table. roush
stools, and the frame Of bed The
last occupant had left little hrc-
wood beside the stove. enough to last
perhaps for twcnty-four hours. She
ba did not need to be told that II the
blizzard lasted long enough. they
would starvc to death. In the hand
bag left in the stage were box OF
candy and an Irish plum pudding
She had brought the latter from the
old country with her and was taking
/, and the chocolates to the Hustled
children. But just now the stage
WAS as far from them as Drogheda.
Like many rough frontcrsmen
Swiftwatcr Pete was diamond In
the raw. He had the kindly. gentle
instincts that 20 to the making OF Il
good man. So far as could be he
made a hopeless and impossible situ-
alton comfortable. His judgment told
him that they were caught in trap
from which there was no escape. but
for the sake OF the women he put a
cheerful face on things.
Lucky we found this cabin" he
srowlcd amiably. "By this time we'd
a. hcen up Salt Creek if we hadn't.
Seeing as our luck has stood up so
far, / reckon we'll be all right.
Mighty kind Of Mr.. Last Tenant to
, t11eave US this firewood. Comes TO a
showdown we've got one table. four
stools and a bed that will make first
class fuel We ain't so worse off,"
IF we only had some food" Mrs.
Oslon suggested.
Food" Pete looked at her in as
sumcd surprise. Huh! What about
all that live stock got in the stable?
I've heard tell. ma'am that broncho
, tendcrloin Is favorite dish with them
there French chiefs that do the cook
ing. They kinder trim It up SOS It's
most us good as frawgs legs.
Sheba had never before slept on
bare boards with a sealskin coat for q
sleeping bag. But she was very tired
and dropped off almost instantly.
Twice she woke during the night. dis
turbed by the stiffness and the pain OF
hard. whipsawed planks were pushing
through the soft flesh to the bones.
She was cold, too, and crept close to
the stout Swedish woman lying beside
her. Presently she fell asleep again
TO the sound Of the blizzard bowling
outside. When she wakened for the
third time II was morning.
In the afternoon the blizzard died
away AS far as she could see. Sheba
looked out upon waste Of snow.
Her eyes turned from the desolation
without to the bare and cheerless
room in which they had found shelter.
In spite OF herself little shlver ran
down the spine Of the girl. Had she
come into this Arctic solitude to find
her tomb?
Resolutely she brushed the gloomy
thought from her mind and began to
chat with Mrs. Olson. In a corner OF
the cabin Sheba had found torn and
disreputable copy OF Vanity Fair.
The covers and the first forty pages
were gone. A splash OF what appeared
TO he tobacco juice defiled the last
sheet. But the fortunes Of Becky and
Amelia had served to make her forget
during the morning that she was
hungry and likely to be much hun
grier before another day had passed.
As soon as the storm had moderated
enough to let him go out with safety.
saltwater Pete had taken one OF the
horses for an attempt at trailbreaking.
Me. I'm after that plum pudding.
gotta get feed Of oats from the
stage for my bronchs too. The scenery
here Is sure fine but II ain't what you
would call nourishing. Huh! Watch
our smoke when me and old Baldface
git to bucking them drifts"
He had been gone two hours and
the early dusk was already descending
over the white waste when Sheba
ventured out to see what had become
OF the stage driver. But the cold was
so bitter that she soon gave up the
attempt to fight her way through the
drifts and turned back to the cabin.
Sometime later Swiftwater Pete
came stumbling into their temporary
home. He was tagged to exhaustion
bat triumphant. Upon the table he
dropped from the crook Of his numbed
arm two packages.
The makings for a Christmas
dinner" he said with a grin.
After he had taken OF his mukluks
and his frozen socks they wrapped
him in their furs while he toasted be-
fore the stove. Mrs. Olson thawed
out the pudding and the chocolates In
the oven and made q kind Of mush out
~ emma oats Pete had saved from the