The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1923-07-11

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 moun-
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 a 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 1t. 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 a 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 a 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 crl~sscrossed 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 d~eafening
roar anne the torrent of rain. 1t was
a cloud-burst. 1t was like solid water
tumbling down. Fol- long Madeline
cot Iar har.a hAa1 Lonf 30 +I1 xol@irr
rain. When its force lessened and she
heard Stewart call for all to follow,
she looked up to see hat he was start
ing once more. Sht 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 a 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 eyerlastingly
pulled and tore at her wet garments.
A gray gloom settled down around her.
Night was approaching.
Stewards horse wa on q iog-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 p%in-point of light pierced
the ebony blackness. 1t grew larger.
Black tree-trunks crossed her line Of
vision. The light was a fire. She