The Face of Rosenfeld — page 27: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

20 THE FACE OF ROSHNFEL. On went the spirited horses, while the merry bells jingled and the steam spouted rythmically in four evanescent streams from their nostrils, and the footfalls beat time on the hard crust. ‘The limitless black shadow settled down slowly over the sea and the land. There was a growing flush in the east which might herald a coming moon, and a fading glow in the west which be- tokened a departed sun; but these were but poor torches for a wayfarer groping in the dark, and the stars over- head, obscured by a pale mist, were puny candles against the obscuration of the deepening gloom. On went the mettled span toward the faint light in the heavens made by the distant city, held up to their steady gait by a tight rein in the doctor’s guiding hand and en- couraged by an occasional stimulating cry. ‘The ocean, stretching out from the base of the cliff into the dark- ness upon the right, grew more inky from moment to moment, and the fading white landscape upon the left became exceedingly sketchy and incomplete. Still the four spouting clouds of steam, and still the merry jingling of bells upon the frosty air! All at once there is a break in the rythm of the hoof- beats. From a steady, onward, arrow-like flight, the sleigh suddenly moves laterally and almost stops with . terrific abruptness, narrowly escapes overturning, trem- bles, jerks, snaps in every joint, and moves ahead again. ‘©i! whoa, there! What the deuce——” Doctor Lamar was on his feet, and his strong arms were reining in the frightened horses. In another min- ute he was out in the snow, running beside them, cling- ing to the bridle. A plunge, a snort, a shiver, a great -_jingling of the bells, and the sleigh had come to a stand- étill.