Rocky Mountain Sam — page 215: what you’re looking at

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

206 ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. ‘Tt is smoke,” said Big Horn. ‘“They’ve found out the only way they kin do us hurt, purfessor. ‘They kin smoke us to death.” | And then Teddy howled out at the top of his Celtic ~ lungs: on fire right ferninst our fate. They mane to smoke us to dith.” Mollie, who had long since recovered from her swoon, heard all, but said not a word. It was hard to bear—just upon the brink of recovered liberty to meet such a fate as this, but she did not quail for a moment. The four men looked hopelessly over the side of the car. Tongues of flame were beginning to dart from the tops of the firs immediately skirting the foot of the chif. They looked down until the smoke, ascending in blinding volumes, compelled them to crouch inside of the car and shield their eyes, Denser and denser grew the smoke, accompanied by in- tense heat, until the narrow canon seemed changing into a furnace. A chorus of indescribable yells arose from below. They did not know, or did not care what they were at the time, but in reality they proceeded from the throats of in- numerable, wildcats being burned in their lairs. At length the smoke became so dense that they could not see each other—indeed, could not unvail their eyes experi- encing smarting pain in their eyeballs. Then they grad- ually began to experience difficulty in their breathing. Chawer, the hound, appeared to suffer more than his human companions, groaning constantly and moving around un- easily. ‘The Indian girls began to weep and set up the weird, sad wail peculiar to savage people under visitation of death or deep disaster, and all of Mollie’s noble efforts were unavailing to soothe them. | Suddenly the car was shaken violently, and the poisonous vapors were for a brief instant partially dissipated, giving them all a brief space of .indescribable relief. But the. vapors quickly closed in and claimed their own again, ‘“What was that, professor?” asked Rocky Mountain Sam, who had stolen to Fayaway and had his arm about her neck. “A gust of wind,” replied the old man, with a peevish groan, ‘It may take several of them, however, to tear a ‘‘ Howly blue blazes! the blackguards have sit the forest CS (ee) Eomicboo