The Oklahoma miner. [volume] (Krebs, Okla.) 1912-192?, 1920-05-20


you are suffering" she cried
"Whnt esn / DOT L. II this u5lan,s
bodyT
"Ycs" ! broathed. the effort NJ
gpcnkng on agony "He lies trectI,
Dcross my chest dead weight"
II taxed her strength 70 the utmost
but, Oh, the immediate relief! win
the drawing of full breath I felt
return Of manhood. o revival Of life
Another body pinned my limbs to the
floor, but this was more easily dis
posed o. Then ] managed 10 lift nv.
self, but with the first attempt htr
arm was about NV shoulders.
mo; not alone-let me help you. n,
you really think you can stand1 Why.
you are hurt, dear; this is knife
wound IN gOur side. II looks ugly, but
Is not deep and bleeds no longer. Are
there other injuries"
"My head rings, and this left arm
appears paralyzed. from blows. no
doubt; there are spots on my body
which feel like burns. No, ] am not IN
bad shape Now let me stand alone.
that's better. Good God what
scene"
The fire, by this time blazing bright
Iy. gave US full view of the entire
dlsmantled interior. The cabin was a
complete wreck, the roof practically
all gone and the upper logs Of the side
walls either fallen within or dangling
ln threat. Clearly enough II had been
the sudden plunge Of heavy timbers
and the dislodgment Of those upper
! logs. which accounted for this havoc
OF death There were dead there
pierced by bullets and braiued by rifle
stocks, but the many had met their
fate under the avalanche Of logs. and
amid the burning glare Of exploding
powder. =
Only between arched timbers and
sections Of fallen roof could we move
at all, ard beneath the network or
! this ENHANCEMENT the majority Of the
bodies lay, crushed and mangIed.
saw Kirby free from his bonds. but
dead beneath heavy beam. His face
was toward US and the flicker Of fame
revealed a dark spot on his forehead
his life had never been crushed out
by that plunging timber which pinned
him there; 1t had been ended by a bull
let. My eyes sought hers, in swift
memory Of my last order, and she must
have read my thought.
"No," she said, mot that, Steven.
1t was the boy who shot him. Oh,
please, can we not go7 There is light
already in the sky overhead-see. Take
me away from here-anywhere. out
side"
in a moment; all these surely are
dead, beyond our aid, and yet we
must not depart foodless. We know
not how far it still may be to Ottawa
Wait, while I search for the things We
need"
"Not alone; I must be where I can
touch you. Try to understand. Oh,
you do not know those hours l have
spent in agony-I have died a thou
sand deaths since that sun went
down"
You were conscious-alI night
long?"
"Conscious7 Yes, and unhurt, yet
prisoned helpless beneath those two
logs yOnder, saved only by that over
turned bench. Elsie, poor thing. never
knew how death came, II was so swift
but I lay there, within a foot Of her
body unsCratched. l could think only
of you, Steven, but with never a dream
that you lived. There were groans al
first and cries. Some Indians Greg
in through the door and dragged OF. 9
few who lived. But with the coming
Of darkness all sound ceased and such
silence was even more dreadful thar
the calls for help. Oh, cannot tel
, you,' and she chung to me, her voice
, breaking. IL dared not move FOL
, hours and then, when l did try, found
could not; that I was held fast
: Only for knife In the hands of a deaC
, savage, which l managed to secure
, ! could never have freed myself. AnC
. OH the unspeokable horror of creeping
In the darkness among those bodies
! | knew where the fireplace must be
thnt there might be live Goals thert
? stlll. ! had to have light; had t,
, know II you were dead"
: Don't think about 1t any more, dea
: heart" | urged. Eyes, we can go nov
y nothing else holds us here"
q We Crcpt out through the door IN
4 dcrncnth mass OF debris, into tn
q gray of the dawn. Beyond a llttl
81 grove we found some horses browsln
4 i'm the deep grass; they were thos
Z, that had brought us from Yelloy