Glacier County chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1931-1940, 1940-09-13
CHAPTER VI-Continued

WhlteneSS, outside. Nothing coulC
be seen. Talking to herself, NUT.
tering frantically, Sheila turned
back into the room and extinguished
the light.
This done, looking down, she could
see the dim, white expanse of the
roof below and see, against the
grayish-white, something black pros
trate.
ooh, my God, he's killed him.
self" Sheila whispered. "Oh, God,
help him!" And leaning out, she
shouted, "Peter!"
Her voice was muff1ed in the snow,
but the wind was not so high now,
although the flakes were falling
thicker and faster.
"Peter!" she cried again, in ag-
ony. Oh, he would die there, with
no one to help him. And she couldn't
get down! She was back at the win
dow again. Peter was groaning fee
bly,.
"oh, God, help US both, get US out
of this!"
Not conscious of what she was
doing, she ran to the window,
gripped its deep sill as best she
could, climbed over it with almost
the swiftness of a leap, and was
dangling out in the snow.
"Oh, God, forgive me my sins!"
sobbed Sheila, and dropped.
A shocking instant of descent
rushed by her; she landed on some
thing soft, sprawled helpless on the
snow.
Get off mel" shouted Peter. "My
God, you've killed mel"
Sheila, snowy, breathless, painting.
gathered herself together, rolled
over, scrambled to her knees, to her
feet. She bent over him.
"Oh, I've hurt you! And I'm not
hurt at all! You broke my fall"
"I'n tell the world I broke your
fall" Peter agreed, groaning and
twisting. "You knocked the wind
out of me! Oh, my leg"
"Is it broken?" She was pulling,
lifting, trying to make him sit up.
IT think it is. But what got me-"
he said, feebly struggling to his
knees in the darkness and the raw,
soft GOODNESS of the snow, ''what
got me-ouch! was that I thought
I had a couple of ribs in my lungs.
I thought I was bleeding to death,
inside"
"Gosh, I certainly thought I
wrecked myself" Peter shouted,
standing, then limping along beside
her. Sheila supported him with both
arms; they were making their way
toward the two hooks of the fire es-
cape, just visible in the gloom. The
snow whirled softly about them, wet
their faces.
"Peter, 60 carefully. It would be
awful to walk right off the edge of
the roof"
81 can't hear you"
"Take care!"
81 didn't think could walk as well
as this, even"
"Oh, you'll be all right"
"Be awfully careful going down
the fire escape. We're up on the
third floor"
They fingered its wet iron rails, in
the gloom.
Take it easy now, Sheila!"
"I'm going awfully slow"
She lowered one foot cautiously
over the edge, gripping the railing
tightly. Backing, she put down the
other foot, and so descended careful
ly; snow falling all about her and
powdering head and shoulders, and
the already piled snow dislodged and
falling away below her fingers and
feet.
Following her, Peter was surprised
to discover, as she had discovered,
that the fire escape went down only
one short flight and ended on anoth-
er dark, snowy roof, among CHM
neys and skylights.
"We're all right now!" Sheila
called joyfully, as he Joined her.
There's sure to be door here, or
we can yell and stamp and they'll
come up"
A hooded door rose from the roof
level. Peter fumbled with her at
the latch, and it opened at once. It
admitted them to gloom and to the
heavy smell of badly kept house,
but they were in out of the snow
and the bitter cold, at least. They
took hands cautiously to descend
narrow stairs.
els it hall down there. do you
suppose?"
at mightn't be-"
She called: ''HallooI Down therel
Halloo!"
There was no response. They de-
ecsnded farther. struck solid hvel