Evening star., 1928-08-23

Fret narte, lsss;iao2. was an American
for his - stories, RI. ou,ersts Of Poker
! Flat and The Luck Of Roaring Camp
She lived midway OF the great slough
! Of Dedlow Marsh and a good sized
| river which emptied four miles beyond
| into an estuary formed by the Pacific
| Ocean. on the long sandy peninsula
| which made the southwestern boundary
! of noble bay. The house was a small
! frame cabin, raised from the marsh a
few feet by stout piles. and was three
miles from the settlements on the river,
Her husband was a logger.
| 1t was early Spring when her hus-
band left on the ebb of high tide
with a raft of logs for transportation
to the lower end of the bay AS she
stood by the door OF the little cabin
she noticed a cold look in the south
eastern sky, and she heard her husband
say that they must endeavor to finish
] their voyage before the SouthweSterly
gale broke. And that night 1t began to
storm and blow harder than she had
ever before experienced, and some great
trees fell in the forest by the river and
the cabin rocked like her baby's cradle.
But however the storm might roar
about the little cabin, she knew that
her husband had driven bolt and bar
with his own strong hands. and that
had he feared for her he would not have
left her. That night. she could not
tell why she didn't feel like sleeping or
even lying down. The storm had some
what sbated. but she still sat and sat
and even tried to read. 1t was nearly
IL o'clock when at last she lay down
in her clothes.
rbn S1N
but she awoke with a dreadful choking
in her throat. and found herself stand
ing, trembling all over. In the middle of
the room with her sickly baby clasped
10 her breast. The baby cried and
sobbed, and she walked up and down
trying to hush 1t. when she heard a
scratching at the door She opened It,
fearful, and it was old Pete. their dog
who crawled, dripping wet, into the
room. The wind shook the door so
savagely that she pushed 1t shut at
once
Then she lay down a little while
Lying close by the wall of the cabin
she heard once or twice something
scrape slowly against the clapboards
Then there was A little gurgling sound {.
then something went click click" and
"cluck-cluck, so that she sat up in bed
one iiutlCed something tnaJ CTcHL from
the back door into the room It wasn't
much wider than her finger. but soon
1t swelled to the width OF her hand and
began spreading all over the floor, It
was water.
She ran to the front door and threw
II wide open, and saw nothing but
water She ran to the back door and
threw 1t wide open, and saw nothing
but water. She ran to the side VIM
dow-and saw nothing but water. She
went to the back door and threw out a
stick of wood II drifted away toward
the bay. She scooped up some OF the
water and put 1t eagerly to her lips.
IT was fresh and sweet. It was the
river and not the tide!
1t was then that fear dropped from
her like garment. and her trembling
ceased. II was then and thereafter
that she never lost her self-command
through all the trials of that gloomy
night.
She drew the bedstead toward the
middle of the room and placed a table
upon 1t. and on that she put the cradle
The water on the floor was already over
her ankles, and the house once or twice
moved SO perceptibly and seemed to be
racked so that the closet doors all few
open Then she heard the same rasp-
ing and humping against the wall
and looking out, saw that large up