Rocky Mountain Sam — page 72: what you’re looking at

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

a ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 63 ‘“‘No; unless the devil wants his breakfast, and is kicking up a muss under ground.” “A new mud volcano has just bursted through the.crust L” exclaimed the professor, joyously. ‘You don’t say so? -Jist like the one in your canon?” “Yes, only ten times more powerful and grand. Ah! my young friend, you probably behold in me the only mortal to whom nature has vouchsafed to reveal the actual birth of one of her most remarkable and terrific phenomena. But let us refill our balloon at one of these carbureted gas-_ jets at once while Fayaway is preparing us some _ break fast. hen I will take you up to see the voleano. It will serve one good end, at any rate, in freeing this valley of panthers, I saw upward of a dozen of them prowling around on the edge of the woods up there this morning.” “What! Painters?” exclaimed Sam, seizing his rifle with a hunter’s enthusiasm. ‘“‘Be easy! Work first, play afterward.” ‘hey soon succeeded in dragging the neck of the balloon over one of the gas-emitting holes, and by the time the sun put in an appearance above the Sierras the vast and buoyant sphere, finely distended, was tugging and dragging away at its anchors like a proud falcon impatient to be free. They speedily ate the excellent repast which little Fay- away had, inthe meantime prepared for them, repacked the car, making everything in readiress for a start at the earliest notice, and then piloted by old Max, set out to visit the new wonder, Sam being armed to the teeth and Fayaway following a little timidly in his rear. They picked their way cautiously over fissure-seamed eround, which was almost white and thickly crusted with sulphur and alkaline deposits, at times almost stifled by the effiluvia of the escaping gases, while the thundering under- ground reverberations grew louder and louder as they ad- vanced. ) ‘There it is! You can see the top of the fountain just beyond that big rock,” sang out the professor, and then, just as they turned the angle of the big rock in question the view of the mud-volcano burst upon them in all its awful randeur. . Although the eruption had begun in smooth and there- tofore unbroken soil, and had been in operation only a few hours, a considerable crater had been worn by the immense » 900 comic ‘S (ele) a Ms a8 >