The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1923-07-21

hand round to what he saw beyond. 1t
was an impressive gesture, and Made.
line, never having climbed as high as
this, anticipated much.
Majesty surmounted the last few
steps and, snorting, halted beside
Stewards black. To Madeline the
scene was as if the world had changed
The ridge was a mountain-top. 1t
dropped before her into black, stone.
ridged, shrub-patched, many-canyoned
gulf. Massed inky clouds were piling
across the peaks, obscuring the high.
est ones. A fork Of white lightning
flashed, and, like the booming Of an
avalanche, thunder followed.
Madeline glanced at Stewart He
had forgotten her presence. Immov.
able as stone, he sat his horse, dark.
faced dark-eyed, and, like an Indian
unconscious of thought, he watched
and watched. To see him thus, to
divine the strange affinity between the
soul of this man, become primitive,
and the savage environment that had
developed him, were powerful helps to
Madeline Hammond in her strange de-
sire to understand his nature.
A cracking of iron-shod hoofs behind
her broke the spell. Monty had
reached the summit.
Scene, what it won't all be dom in
a minnut Moses hisself couldn't tell. "
observed Monty. -
Then Dorothy climbed to his side
and looked
"Oh, isn't it just perfectly. lovely ="
she exclaimed. But I wish it wouldn't
storm. Well all get wet"
Once more Stewart faced the ascent,
keeping to the slow heave of the ridge
as 1t rose southwark toward the loom
ing spires Of rock. Soon he was off
smooth ground and Madeline, some
rods behind him, looked back with
concern at her friends. Here the real
toll, the real climb began, and a noun
tain storm was about to burst In all its
fury.
The sky grew blacker; the slow
gathering clouds appeared to be sud-
denly agitated; they piled and rolled
and mushroomed and obscured the
crags. The air moved heavily and
seemed to be laden with sulphurous
smoke, and sharp lightning flashes be-
gan to play. A distant roar of wind
could be heard between the peals of
thunder.
Stewart waited for Madeline under
the lee Of shelving cliff, where the
cowboys had halted the pack-train.
Majesty was sensitive to the flashes of
lightning. Madeline patted his neck
and softly called to him. The weary
burros nodded; the Mexican women
covered their heads with their nantes.
Stewart united the slicker at the back
Of Madeline's saddle and helped her
on with it. Then he put on his own.
The other cowboys followed suit Pres
emily Madeline saw Monty and Dor
othy rounding the cliff, and hoped the
others would come soon.
A blue-white, knotted rope Of light
ming burned down out Of the clouds,
and instantly thunder-clap crashed,
seeming to shake the foundations of
the earth. This moment of the break
ing Of the storm, with the strange
growing roar Of wind, like moaning
monster, was pregnant with a heart
disturbing emotion for Madeline Ham
mOnd. Glorious it was to be free,
healthy, out in the open, under the
shadow of the mountain and cloud, in
the teeth of the wind and rain and
storm.
Suddenly, as the ground quaked un-
der her horses feet, and all the sky
grew black and crisscrossed by flaming
streaks, and between thunderous re-
ports there was a strange hollow roar
sweeping down upon her, she realized
how small was her knowledge and ex-
perience Of the mighty forces of ma
ture.
With blacker gloom and deafening
roar came the torrent of rain. It was
cloud-burst. It was like solid water
tumbling down. For long Madeline
sat her horse, head bent to the pelting
rain. When it's force lessened and she
heard Stewart call for all to follow,
she looked UP to see that he was start
ing once more. She turned her horse
into his trail.
Rain fell steadily. The fury Of the
storm, however, had passed, and the
roll Of thunder diminished in volume.
The air had wonderfully cleared and
was growing cool. Madeline began to
feel uncomfortably cold and wet. Stew
art was climbing faster than formerly,
and she noted that Monty kept at her
heels, pressing her on. Time had been
lost. and the camp-site was long way
off, The stag-hounds began to lag and
get footsore. The sharp rocks of the
trail were cruel to their feet. Then,
as Madeline began to tire, she noticed
less and less around her. Her horse
climbed and climbed, and brush and
sharp corners Of stone everlastingly
pulled and tore at her wet garments.
A gray gloom settled down around her.
Night was approaching.
- Stewards, horse was on a jog-trot
now, and Madeline left the trail more
to Majesty than to her own choosing
AS black night began to envelop her
surroundings, she marked that the fir
trees had given place to pine forest.
Suddenly a pin-point Of light pierced
the ebony blackness. It grew larger.
Black tree-trunks crossed her line of
vision. The light was a fire. She
h .~I Ill 8