Mountain advocate., 1922-05-19
Over the
Mountains
By CLAIRE SMITH

NOpS'fh| I'VE western NeWepaper Union
Mary Seaton set down her full pail
and stared over the distant hills.
She had lived all her Hve and TWEEN.
~ years in the little, sordid settle
ment in the plains. Ever since child.
hood she had longed to cross the
mountains which seemed 10 shut her
In and press on her until they became
intolerable.
She knew that beyond them no man
had set foot, except the wandering
traders and trappers Of the northwest.
There lay freedom. Perhaps II was
from her half-Indian mother that she
inherited this love Of freedom. Her
father, the hard-working old Scotch
farmer, had lived In the village foY
twenty years. He was satisfied with
his lot.
The village Of Elkwood lay in a val.
ley, just below the new, huge govern
ment dam, now nearing completion.
wherein all the head waters OF Rock
river fretted and surged. Soon they
would be led out through a score OF
apertures to carry moisture to the
thirsty fields. Mary hated the dam,
because 1t would mean more self-sat.
isfaction to Elkwood. With the new
prosperity that 1t would bring there
would be no hope that Joe would ever
take her away.
And she hated the prison, of mason
ry, built at the head Of the valley.
There was one mana tall, 1.-THE.
dark-haired fellow, whose eyes seemed
to her like those Of a captive eagle
which her father had once possessed.
He was a trusty. Sometimes he drove
the prison van down the hill, filed
with Its goods of prison making, 10
the railroad terminus.
After supper Joe came-Joe, with
his smooth. sleek face and air Of own
ership. He had not courted her-he
had courted her fathers favor, and her
father had given her to Joe.
you'll take Joe, my lass" he said
TO her. Hes a good farmer and has
the best land In Elkwood. You'll take
him NEXT month"
She went 10 bed and In her dreams
she was with the eagle-eyed man Of
the prison. He had saved her from =
crashing world, and they two stood
alone together upon the crests Of the
mountains looking northward over the
plains.
This Is our home, Mary" he said,
and kisaed her.
She started from her sleep. That
crash had been no dream. 1t seemed
as though the whole universe we're
rearing into ruin. There was the
noise Of a hundred avalanches.
She had barely thrust on a few
clothes when her father ran scream
ing to the door.
Mary Nary he yelled. THE
dams burst. God help us! The wa
ter will be here in twenty seconds !"
Mary looked at him in quiet Joy.
Suddenly, with the force OF bat
tering ram, the floods smashed down
upon the house, and timber and stone
went crashing into a heap Of rubble
and splinters. The floor yielded, the
floods surged and swirled around her.
She opened her eyes long afterward.
II was daylight; the sun was rising
over the plain and touching the tops
Of the hills with gold. She was lying
upon heap of what had once been
beams and girders. but was now only
a heap Of wood, caught between two
islands Of masonry that rose out Of
the swirling food. And all around
her was water. Not house was left
in ElkwOOd. And where the prison
had been was only pile Of shattered
stone.
Suddenly she perceived something
that made her heart beat quickly.
Upon the other side of the pile Of
masonry lay the body of the prisoner.
Painfully the girl crawled toward him.
She bent over him, and. as she did
So his eyes opened.
"The flood!" he muttered. "Where
are theyT
"They are all dead" she sobbed,
and all at once the sense Of desOla-
tion came upon her. Her father
tyrannical though he had been, had
been all she had ever had. And they
two alone survived out of thousand.
81 was with the wagon" he NUT
tered. "The flood struck me. knew
nothing more"
That was how he had escaped; as
for those shut up in the prison, not
one had survived the food.
They managed to wade TO land. They
had found box Of canned meats, and
flour. While they ate he told her his
story. He had been a trapper; he
had been arrested on a charge Of bur
glary, trumped up by stOrekeeper
with whom he had Quarrelled, and
sentenced to two years Imprisonment.
He had served three-fOurths of his
time.
where will you goT" she asked.
Home" he answered simply, point
ing over the mountains. His home
lay there; the plains and forests were