Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The morning Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1899-1930 | View Entire Issue (July 9, 1906)
MONDAY, July o, loofl. THE MORNING ASTOIUAN, ASTORIA, OREGON, ABOVE THE , FORD aim t i I! ! . . kl. M . i uy noro uryanc Coj-VtiaM, Win, 4y IT. it. H'fcltiiMd . Ludlow nt on the 'river bank, with tho dog's head on IiIm knee, Ho wot very tired nml very utiii'b exasperated. Ho had left the survey camp Immedl My on riH'vivlnir Grcti'hoti's letter, telling of her arrival nt tho De la Mo ranch am! had 'thought to cover the hundred miles between camp and ranch partly, hut Indian river bad risen Inexplicably nml Kywnk refused to wlni tho ford, to now, within five mill' f the much, It looked am If ho would in In swing (Jretcbmt after all, for alio did not expect him and her visit was hut a throe days' alTulr. Thtwfore Ludlow ant behind a huge rcx-k, which sheltered him somewhat from the raw wind, and whllo getting M breoth alternately patted tbe head of tho panting time and shook bin flat at tho dlNtnnt figure of homo calmly grating o,n buffalo gross. Harm it!" rtifitHl Ludlow. "Unug ltt 1 thought Kyrak bad got over bor foolishness about fording. Wm I L- : to ' tCDLOW OAVi A Olir AT SMItHO Al CACOIIT TUB VOii'H COI.UM. asleep or craxy that 1 let her jerk tbe bridle from my baud when I led her down t drink r -", m , ; r The dog looked up sympathetically. Tbe ninety Ove mlloa of rad&f aTter Kywak bad been, nothing to bla long boarbounil legs, but tlila wild hording of a Mingle clever Indlitt Kny for three Boura bad been little strenuous, lie bad done bla beat for bla natter, but ' wben be waa not allowed to catch flank or throat In powerful Jawa bow waa be to bold a borae? Bismarck waa a boarbound, not a collie. r ? - t Ludlow glowered' at tbe cbeerleaa beapa of rocks that guarded either - bank of tbe river. "It la cold enough," he said, "for the river to be froien. Juat my luck to cave It twice aa deep aa usual I Well, Bismarck, old boy, I ace nothing for It but for you and me to leave Kywak to ber cussedncas and awlm tbe river. And I'll be a fine eight to 0retcben aft er two years! Oh, well, who knowa whether ahe'll care or not r, . Ludlow rose and began to tramp, up tbe river. "It Is bad Idea to move way from tbe ford." be thought, "but I'll go up a way and see If the .river , isn't narrower. It's too deep now to strike quicksand." ' He picked bla way carefully over tbe rocka. Indian river waa always cold . and always swift, but doubly so today, after tho early winter ralna. Tbe day . waa bleak, with a half promise of anow In tbe air. The plalna on tbe far aide of the river were aa dim and bopeleaa aa the sky. Aa he paused at a point where there seemed promise of ahclv Ing bank on either aide Ludlow shiver tl and half turned back toward the impish Kywak. , Wbat's the use?" be murmured. "Gretchcn half refused me once. She will probably wholly refuse me this time." . ' Ho stood In alienee with one band on ; Btsmarck'a head. Then he straightened himself with a Jork. . "No, old chap I ' be exclaimed. "We'll ee her again or drown In tbe attempt Now, then," I've no way to get my , clothes across except to awlm In them. I'm not up to the Swiss Family Rob inson stunt of carrying them across on . my bead. I'D leave my overcoat with Kywak. Come on, old falthfull" , lie removed hla shoos and tied them about hla neck by tho laces and walked down tho bank Into tbe rushing water, then stood still, with the water swirl ing about his knees. Tbe current waa , much swifter than he had Imagined it would be. However, the river was nar row at this point, so he took a resolute step forward and plunged In above bis depth.' - ', ' '. ' x " .; After tho first shock the cold was not so bad. But the current! Ths dowu- V ward awlrllng movement of the water was almost as powerful nn isulchsnnd Tho pointed rock -Ludlow, hnd ehown ; ' for a awlmmlug iimrl! wns'n dob:i'rrte upstream before be hud swum us r.ur.!v ' strokes. Bismarck was' swlnuulin li lde him, pulling and blov. livr ll!;o nn ' infant thrashing machine, IV.' n mo ment Ludlow thought of catching tht . dog's collar, but decided that they hot:, might go down, though .UlsmarcU coulf have pulled him across easily In qule ,"" water. ' ; ".' " The bitter cold of the water hewn io ' strike in. but Ludlow swam on with quick, "strong strokes, Oradnally It seroed to blm that be was fighting losing gAme. Tbe. swimming mark was hidden bohlnd curve in the river, woue .msmarck bad pulled quickly way front him and waa now only Short distance from the shore. Finally, After what seemed hours of swimming, bo found : himself a rod from the shore, where Blsmnrck barked at blm excitedly, But, to bis chagrin, though be dropped his feet several times, he could not touch bottom even at three feet from the bunk. And the bank I I'p and down the river, aa far as be could awe, It roue sheer and blank as tiny canyon, with not blade of gross not; a crevice for baud, or foot bold,! How Blsiuurck bad inada the kwp be could not fathom, , Uo turned on bis back, hoping that tho current would bold blm against tho wall while be felt for a bund bold But bis fluKcru only slipped over the rough sandstone, while the river carried blm rupldly dawtitrcnm,iud Bismarck fol lowed, barking and whining. The weight of his clothes and the cold were by this tlniii rendering blm almost helpless. Ludlow turned on bis face and aguln let bis foot drop. To bis Joy, they found resting place, and bo stood with bis shoulders out of water. He rested, anting and fighting off tbe numbing cold, then again passed bis hands up nd down the fuce of the rock for grip. The ' surface was boieles8ly smooth. Tbe top of the bank was too fur above the highest reach of bis hands, even with Jumping, to grasp, lie tried cautiously to walk along tho bank, but found that bis foothold was mere outcrop of rock not more than foot In diameter. He dropped bis bruised, bleeding bawls ladespalr. Bismarck pushed bis great bead over the edge and whined pJtoously, with au eager light in bis brown eyes that seemed to say: "Can't you understand Can't your Ludlow gave great spring and caught the dog's collar with bis right band. Instantly Bismarck braced bis mighty shoulders and pulled back. Inch by Inch the man was pulled from the water until be grafted tho top of tho bank. As bo let the dog's collar go Bismarck, , frantic with excitement, caught the shoulder of LudloWs coat In his teeth and, with little growls and whimperings as Ludlow scrambled and pushed, pulled blm fairly oa to the bank. , There Ludlow lay panting, too weak to pat the dog, who licked bla bands and face, wild with joy. Late that evening the group around the fireplace In the living room of the De la Itlo ranch beard weak rap plug at tho door, followed by tbe quick, deep bark of a dog. As Jack opened tho door Ludbjw ataggered in. white faced, baUeaa, bit frozen garments crackling as be moved. The sudden warmth and light daxed him, and be leaned weakly against the wall, the great dog crouching beside him. Tbe group around the fireplace waa speechless with amaxement at the familiar figure of Ludlow in bla strange plight . Then Uretcben, who bad gone white aa bor dainty gown, uttered little pitying cry and, giving uo heed to spec tators, ran acrosa tbe room. "Frlta Ludlow !" she cried. "Fritx, what la ltt What Is the matterf Bbe threw ber anna protectlngly around bla shivering body. A auille of great eweetness'and con tent came to Ludlow's drawn .face. ."Nothing Is the matter now," be aald, and Bismarck pawed hla knee, with jealous whine. oeoeoeOeOeQeoOeOeOeOeOeOeO I Mutiny I 5 By JED STRONG OpvrtyW, 1JXM, by P. C ZaUmnt OeOeOeOoOeOeOOOoOeOeOeOeO Howie glanced after Marcla with re gret Here waa a splendid cruise spoil ed almost at tho outset Just because be bad ridiculed her matinee hero she bad stamped ber foot angrily and bad doclared that she wanted to be set ashoro at the first opportunity, ana Marcla waa always as good aa her word. ; While bo was still gazing at tbe com panlonway down which ber slender fig ure had vanished Mrs. Lorraine came panting up the stairway. "Mr. Howie," she said majestically, "my .daughter Informs me that she has been grossly Insulted. I must ask that you' put the yacht about at once and land us at the nearest port" Howie tnndo tho mlstako of trying to orguo. "I merely said that Itowlnnd Montague was a stick," he began, "and then Marcla grew angry aud gave me back uiyrlng and said she wanted to go homo." "I consider Mr, Montnguo a most ab mlrable actor," announced the lady, who cared nothing for Montaguo, but who dearly loved a battle. "It was not polite of you to attack the Judg ment of your guests. Perhaps bad It been a horse we should have bad to bide your judgment, but of the finer arts you know nothing, and I am glad that my daughter has discovered ber error, In time to avoid an alliance with man of such poor taste.- Elease put bout at once." Howie groaned. Of old he knew Mrs. Lorraine as an antagonist worthy of one's steel. She would persist In up holding Marcla In ber bad temper. It they ever reached port with Marcla in this humor he could never hope to 're store the engagement In spite of ber tempetf, i or possibly because of It, Howie loved Marcla, and he was deter mined' that at all basards tbe yacht would not touch the. landing aj Talm i I - ' ' ' f t i - : t .. ' . Beach until tnlo had teen effected. He was till pondering the matter when half an hour later Mrs, Lor mine's portly form reappeared upon the deck. Instead of coming toward blm she went to the' wbeelhouse and presently she bore down upon blm, tbe light of virtuous indignation firing ber W '-, :. ' "i ' : " "'; "I perceive that we are still beaded northeast," she said as she approached. "I must insist that you turn about Im mediately." ; ' Bhe was almost sorry that she would not have this tractable young man for son ln law, but ber Joy waa short lived, for when tbe sun set In the east It was plain to be seen that the com pass card had been tampered with and there was an explosion that proved more diverting to tbe rest of tbe party than to Howie or the Lorralnes. It ended in the yacht's nose being swung around, and, with a pocket compass, Mrs. Lorraine teriflod the course. The rest were sorry that tbe trip was to tx abandoned; but foil of the Joy of victory, Mrs, Lorraine con sidered no ono but bersolf. It was barely light tbe next morning wben tho sound of pistol shots were board on the deck, and the party rush ed up the companionway. L'p forward the crew had gathered and stood, sul len faced, regarding the owner and his captain. At the appearance of tbe party Howie left tbe sailing master nd camo toward them. "ira all right" be explained. "There was mutiny, and I am afraid that tbe men have1 possession of tbe boat They have promised not. to interfere with our comfort and they will land ua at one of the Bahama group, w)tb enough provision! to enable us to reach Nas sau. They will give us the launch." For a moment Mrs. Lorraine eyed tbe crew and seemed on tho point of going forward to them, but to tholr great relief she elected to have hys terics instead and caused diversion that occupied tho entire party until the till civil steward announced breakfast The situation seemed more pleasant after breakfast Apart from the fact that every man In the crew carried revolver, ostentatiously displayed, they went about their work tbe same as usual. No detail of service was lack ing, and Jimmy Trovers declared mutiny de luxe to be a positively novel nd pleasant experience. Mrs. Lorraine offered tbe men rapid ly increasing sums to put tbe party shore at Palm Beach, but tbe crew de clined to approach within reach of tbe authorities, and even the good lady's threat to have the southern Atlantic squadron ordered In their pursuit tbe moment they reached cable station did not move them. They were stubborn, but polite, and finally even sbe gave up tbe endeavor tad ooo tented herself with sighing loudly from the depths of deck chair as she watched Howie pace the deck. Howie had hla hand in bondage, explaining lightly that be bad barely been scratched by bullet in the fight, nd Marcla followed blm about tbe deck with ber sympathetic glance, though It waa not until evening that aha broke the conversational Ice. Tbe full moon waa Just rising out of the sea she came toward the spot where he was leaning against tbe rail "Does your hand hurt very muchf she sked, trying to make ber voice sound cold and polite. "Not very much," waa the indifferent newer. "That la the leaat of my trou bles." "It is Very awkward," she conceded, "to have your boat aetsed." , "I don't care about the boat" he dis claimed. "They are welcome to tbe Irene for all I care. 6he would only serve to remind me of you, and I roust . put you out of my heart if I can." "Do you care so much?" she asked wonderlngly. "Ton did not seem to mind yesterday." I "I had aome hope yesterday," he de clared. "I realise now that there is none." "'Faint heart ne'er won fair lady,'" she quoted. He grasped her band. "Do you mean that Marcla?" he de manded. . j "Perhaps Montague Is little stilt ed," Bbe conceded. "It Is very silly thing to quarrel over, anyway." "And you are willing to make up?" For answer she slipped ber hand within bla bandaged member. Tbe ring finger shone white and bare In the moonlight Sbe slipped the ring upon It "I was a very silly girl, Fred," she said penitently. "I do not deserve for giveness." , . "We never get our Just deserts," he laughed, "and, besides, I should not have poked fun at Montague." Mrs. Lorraine came up the compan ionway just In time to see two beads close together. Marcla saw her first "It's all right mother," she laughed. "It was all a mlstako." With a sickening sep.se of defeat, the elder woman turned and went back to the cabin. With ber hand stlir In bis. Howie went forward to the wheel house. "It's all right" be said quietly. "Head back for the course." , The man at the wheel touched his cap respectfully and swung the wheel Marcla started. ' "And you have been in command all the time?" she demanded. "Not exactly," he declared. "But the mutiny" she persisted, "Made to order," he admitted. "When your mother espoused your cause I could see that nothing less than a mu tiny would clear the air. You said yourself 'Faint heart ne'er won fair lady.'" "Poor mother," sighed Marcla. "I don't think you will make an Ideal on-ln-law." -y V ' V "But a good husband,;' he insisted, "nd the head of the bouso." '. "Poor mother," said Marcla again. A Wonderful BooK of I II If"!, "JI, The Complete Story VS. SCO UAK 1 hKWhu l A 'if... ... i IfT,? m mm w-wr Thoroughly Illustrated By 265 Actual Photographs taken at the time of the Awful ''s'..;.-.''-,: Catastrophe 'I .f . T T- ' ' t V t" Thi9 great book which retails at 1.50 and so mucli desired by every one is now offered as a premium with The Mornimg' Astprian In order to get the Book subscribe for the MORNING ASTORIAN at the regular subscription rate, 65c a month and 50c addditional to cover cost of -f express age. Old isubscribers can ; get this book by paying the additional charge of 50c. Only a limited number of books will be given away-r-come early und avoid the rush.