The Knoxville independent. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1894-current, 1918-05-11


as Macdonald had told her about, but
the tail of u make-believe one, enough
10 send her glowing with exhilaration
into the roadhouse with the happy
sense Of an adventure achieved. The
girl was buoyed up by sense of free
dom. For time, at least, she was es-
Gaping Macdonald's driving energy, the
appeal of Gordon EIliot's warm friend,
Illness, and the unvoiced urging of
| Diane. Good old Peter and the kid
dies were the only ones that let her
| alone.
| She looked back at the horses labor
ing up the hill. saltwater had got
| down and was urging them forward,
ears of the leaders. He was worried.
He would have liked to turn and run
for 1t. But the last roadhouse was
twenty-seven miles back. If the biz
Yard came bowling down the slope
they would have sweet time of 1t
reaching safety. Smiths Crossing was
on the other side of the divide, only
nine miles away. They would have to
worry through somehow.
Miss O'Neill knew that saltwater
Pete was anxious, and though she was
not yet afraid, the girl understood the
reason for it. The road ran through
the heart of a vast snow-feld, the sur
face Of which was being swept by
screaming wind. The air was full of
sifted white dust, and the road furrow
was rapidly filling. Soon 1t would be
obliterated. Sheba tramped behind the
stage-driver and in her tracks walked
Mrs. Olson, the other passenger.
Through the muffled scream Of the
storm saltwater shouted back to
Sheba. "You Wanta keep close to me-"
She nodded her head. His order
needed no explanation. The world
was narrowing to lane whose walls
she could almost touch with her fin
gers. A pail of white wrapped them.
Upon them beat wind of singing
sleet. Nothing could be seen but the
blurred outlines Of the stage and the
drivers figure.
The bitter cold searched through
Sheba's furs to her soft flesh and the
blast of powdered fee beat upon her
face. The snow was getting deeper
as the road filled. Once or twice she
stumbled and fell. Her strength ebbed,
and the hinges of her knees gave I'M
expectedly beneath her. How long
was 1t, she asked herself, that Macdon-
aid had said men could live in biz
card?
Staggering blindly forward, Sheba
bumped into the driver. He had drawn
up to give the horses a moments rest
before sending them plunging at the
snow again.
mo chance" he called into the
young woman's ear. "Never make
Smiths in the world. Coin try for
miners cabin up guIch little way"
The team stuck in the drifts, fought
through, and was blocked again ten
yards beyond. A dozen times the
horses gave up, answered the sting of
the whip by diving head first at the
white banks, and were stopped by
fresh snow-combs.
Pete gave up the fight. He began
unhitching the horses, while Sheba and
Mrs. Olson, clinging to each others
hands, stumbled forward to join him.
The words he shouted across the back
of a horse were almost lost in the
roar of the shrieking wind.
heluvatime ride
gulch," Sheba made out.
He flung Mrs. Olson astride one of
the wheelers and helped Sheba to the
back Of the right leader. saltwater
clambered upon it's mate himself.
The girl paid no attention to where
they were going. The urge of life
was so faint within her that she did
not greatly care whether she lived or
died. Her face was blue from the cold |
her vitality was sapped She seemed |
to herself to have turned to ice be-
low the hips. Numb though her fin
gers were, she must keep them fas-
tened tightly in the frozen name of the
animal. She recited her lesson to her
self like child. She must stick on
she must-she must.
Whether she lost consciousness or
not Sheba never knew. The next she
realized was that saltwater Pete was
pulling her from the horse. He dragged
her into a cabin where Mrs. Olson Law
crouched on the floor.
"Got to stable the horses" he ex-
piained, and left them.
After a time he came back and lit |
hre IN the sheet-iron stove. AS the cir /
culation that meant life flooded back
into her chilled veins Sheba endured a |
half-hour Of excruciating pain. She
mad to ciench her teeth to keep back
the groans.
The cabin was empty Of furniture
except for homemade table, rough |
stools, and the frame Of bed. The
last occupant had left little firewood
beside the stove, enough to last per
haps for twenty-four hours. Sheba
did not need to be told that If the biz.
gard lasted long enough, they would |
starve to death. In the handbag left
in the stage were box Of candy and
an Irish plum pudding. she had
brought the latter from the old coun-