Lincoln County times. (Jerome, Idaho) 1911-1919, 1918-03-07

out worthless"
A bit Of stiff climbing brought them
q mountain ridge.
Beyond the boulder field the ridge
rose sharply. Gordon looked little
obviously at Sheba.
"Are you good climber"
I'm sure I must be-" she answered
with smile adorable. 81 believe l
could do the Matterhorn today"
Well up on the shoulder of the ridge
they stopped to breathe. The distant
noise Of falling water came family to
them.
"We're too far to the left-must
have followed the wrong spur" Elliot
explained. probably we can cut
across the face of the mountain"
Presently they came to an impasse.
The gulch between the two spurs ter
minated In a rock wall that fell almost
sheer for two hundred feet.
The color In the cheeks beneath the
eager eyes Of the girl was warm.
Lets try It," she begged.
The young man had noticed that she
was as sure-footed as a mountain goat
and that she could stand on the edge
of precipice without dizziness. The
surface of the wall was broken. What
1t might be beyond he could not tell,
but the first fifty feet was bit Of
attractive and not too difficult rock
traverse.
They had been following a ledge
that narrowed till it ran out. Jutting
knobs Of feldspar and stunted shrubs
growing from crevices offered toe
grips instead Of the even foothold Of
the rock Itself. AS Gordon looked
down at the dizzy fall beneath them
his Judgment told him they had better
go back. He said as much to his COM
panion.
The smile she flashed at him was de-
lightfully provocative. $50 you think
I'm a 'fraid-cat, Mr.. ELLIOTT"
His inclination marched with hers.
1t was their first adventure together
and he did not want to spoil 1t by I'M
due caution. There really was not
much danger yet so long as they were
careful
Gordon abandoned the traverse and
followed an ascending crack In the
wall. The going was hard. He looked
down at the girl wedged between the
slopes OF the granite trough.
She read his thought. 1.-THE Old
Guard never surrenders, SIR" was her
quick answer as she brushed In salute
with the tips Of her fingers a stray lock
of hair.
The trough was worse than Eliot
had expected. 1t had In 1t good deal
OF loose rubble that started In small
slides at the least pressure.
BE very careful Of your footing" he
called back anxiously.
A small grassy platform lay above
the upper end Of the trough. but the
last dozen feet Of the approach was a
very difficult bit. Gordon fought his
way up with his back against one wall
ana his knees pressed to the other
Three feet short of the platform the
rock walls became absolutely smooth.
The climber could reach within a foot
Of the top.
Are you stopped7" asked Sheba.
Looks that way"
small pine projected from the
edge Of the shelf out over the prec,.
pice. 1t might be strong enough m
bear his weight. 1t might not. Cor
don unbuckled his belt and threw one
end over the trunk Of the dwarf tree
Gingerly he tested 1t with his weight
theH went up hand over hand and
worked himself over the edge of the
little plateau.
All right" the girl called up.
All right. But you can't make II.
I'm coming down again."
"a Ike to try 1t. I'll stop II it,s
TOO hard" she promised.
The strength of her slender wr,sts
surprised him. She struggled ND the
vertical crevasse inch by inch. His
heart was full of fear, for a missten
now would be fatal. He lay down with
MS race over the ledge and lowered
10 ner the buckled loop of his belt