THE WEST SHORE.
it iib dry "1 od I'ta" knoU'
NVwKt,iwth,tril.rl like swest music
Mr;:lL.rJMHw"rkof!jhorid,imones. I
my Kritiv. , ar Mt the nv of additional swee
wmU, I U I tL iir.vrT.cn.Iiug, murmurous tinkle of
h,j,W'wM nwinUin streamlet, running close
I tin u t,t my cabin, with occasional orchestral
vY,rajnirn"isl in th- H, llinS (liAI,ft80Q of Dam'
crl, ray W.gtriM and faithful pack mule,
I l.uilt, or rather, excAvatM, a comfortable, cave.
lab for hmcH clow against the upper end
of my cabin, and lb grateful animal, feeling that he
m c1m wngb to command my car at all hours,
lt lip no .j'irtunity for expressing his sense of
obligation. In fact, m time wore on, and ho found
LiriiM-lf wll M and low, ao demonstrative did he
Uvim that I fell into the habit of addressing him
ir.furtnally, many time a day, by the first syllable of
li name, which med to mo to form a pretty and
appropriate diminutive
lly thr tirn I had complcUxl my building opera
tion, hit hauled and clmpjed rny winter's wood
which I piled in a formidable aemi-circular barricade
fcUut ray dr -November wu well advanced, and I
lgan to think of laying in my store of provisions for
U wirr. I knew tho neaaon was close at hand
hrn I might ei-ct lo U "mowed in," entombed
alive in from ix to t-n fw-t of snow, and held a pris
on r u:Ai! urh time in the spring as old Sol should
uwl in mating away my snowy shackles.
K one morning when tho iky was heavy and the
at in- j. hero ktai with indications of coming Bnow, I
bright out DamocU and his pack saddle, and to
g Ihrr wo wrnd-d cur way townwariL
Tho aidant wa net great - scarcely two miles
but Ike trail M Wp m n anJitwas t
tn Lm t reached homo with tho first install.
is'M of my wintn'i We, Already snow was fall.
: g, thoh 0 a !a,y, loUuroly way-tho big, slow.
ng UU forming M ind-scribably beautiful
ftik,t the dark mouLUin background. Treat-
jtg almHftoahastylunch,I8tArt(Hl
f-r ; d,WminM to accompli a sec
I tnj, t, fore mght ihould rU in
Hy thMimel itwUllown, the temperature had
f-? -drably, chilling northed v
Ur.g Ub the i",
tain nest, but now we were more than, two hours in
plunging and struggling over the snow-draped bowl
ders and pitfalls that beset our way.
When within about two hundred yards of our des
tination, we came to a point where the trail was un
comfortably narrow, and made a sharp curve around
a high, overhanging crag. A false step just here was
likely to plunge the traveler down a perpendicular
declivity of thirty or forty feet not an appalling
height, it is true, but still high enough to imperil
limb and vertebra). Damocles had a special, and en
tirely justifiable, dislike for the spot, for the reason
that his pack invariably collided with the overhang
ing rock, and necessitated a nervous plunge on his
part to avoid losing his foothold. So, now, as we
neared this pass amid the added perils of snow and
fast-falling darkness, the sagacious animal, seeming
to realize that he must gather and concentrate his
forces for the ordeal, voluntarily paused for a breath
ing spell.
At the same instant, the profound, snowy stillness
of the mountain side was broken by a clear, ringing
voice, which seemed to rise from the depths at my
feet
" Hello 1 Who goes there?"
Startled though I was, by the suddenness of the
sound, I bent forward and shouted back
"A friend, if such be needed."
"Thanks," responded the voice, heartily. "A
man has fallen down here from the trail, and seems
to be pretty badly hurt I can't get him up alone.
Canyon help me?"
Answering in the affirmative, I gave Damocles a
gentle hint to resume his homeward march. Then
going back a few steps to a spot less precipitous, I
clambered down to the place whence the voice had
come. I found a man lying prostrate and insensible
on the snow, and another standing beside him, who
said, m explanation
" This man and myself have tramped over the
mountains, from the Conroy mining district, on our
way to town; but the storm caught us, you see, and
f 11 7 1 ? I00"? tbt Crag UP there he stumbled and
Wl, and I fear he is seriously hurt"
(JZl8 1 hU quiet collected way of speaking
Z 2 m hat the iniured man was no more to
amine Utft b?" 1 M "ttow
i ViSy u w? not for tH he would
M However n n the stgatforward reply,
tho proa 1 1 f " that doe8 ter the face of
1 Cam0Dt wt get him out of this if we