Rocky Mountain Sam — page 216: what you’re looking at

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

ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 207 hole in the balloon and bust her up. Drat the old bag! it’s rather hard on me after we’ve stood by each other so long.” _, But there came a dozen more of them in rapid succession, and still the air-ship was not torn to. pieces. Suddenly there came a very heavy gust that shook them up like so many herringsin a box, and when it had-passed they all experienced a strange sensation—a sensation of rocking about easily and softly. What could it mean? ‘he professor was the first to realize it, and springing to his feet, he fluttered his astrological cap in rapidly lightning smoke-wreaths. ; . “Saved! saved!” he yelled; at the top of his voice. ‘“‘Hooray! we're free from the rock.” 7 It was true. ‘The wind, instead of. destroying, had saved them. Big Horn sprang to his feet and threw out a bag of ballast weighing about a hundred pounds. ‘The balloon seemed to spring upward half a mile ata single bound. ‘The smoke - had vanished, the pestiferous hole in which they had suffered, in which they had expected to die, was a dirty blot upon the earth far, far below—they sucked in the invigorating atmosphere in mighty draughts—they were saved. | Big Horn was the first to think of the women, and to turn to them. As he did so, he plucked off his hat in a sheepish, awkward way, and hung his head. As the others turned they also took off their hats and bowed their heads. Miss Chapman was kneeling in the center of the car with her hands and arms uplifted, with her face and eyes up- turned in mute thanksgiving, and with the tears streaming down her fair cheeks. Kneeling also, and clinging to her on either side, in a simple, passionate way, were the two Indian maidens. : Just before them, stretched out at his great, gaunt length, lay the blood-hound—dead. ) | | CHAPTER XXXI. THE CLOUD’S SILVER LINING. The professor anxiously studied the country, over which they were passing, through his telescope, and soon discovered — a familiar canon, where he decided to halt to make the necessary repairs to the balloon, Here also could be ob-— (ele) Eomicbooks