The Argosy, June 1904 — page 17: what you’re looking at

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

THE FOOL'S POCKET. “No, no!” eried the man angrily. “You shall not pretent—deceive—le to me! No, no! I am not to be so treated. “You are blocked. farder. See! Vhis is vour path—yon- der. You do not return to Mr. Haw- ley’s. I shall go back there myself and see what he has to say. “ For, let me tell you, plates play ing de traitor-—— “Oh, you thick-headed ass!” tered Ly nn under his breath. “ iTow is that, sir?” exclaimed Cap- tain knglebock, stepping hastily toward him. Lynn stood on the extreme edge of the hank. He moved aside to ay oid the anery captain, and his foot plunged through the thin sod as though it were a cr ust over a pit. tfe stumbied to his knees. He heard Knelebock erv out, and then, with a swiftness which deprived him of breath —almost of thought—he was plunged down the declivity. As he rolled over and over he caught at some object which was likewise de- scending the bank. It was Enelebock himself, and instantly, locked im a close embrace—-for the seaman had seized him also—the two continued the awl ul descent. A hundred feet mtervened between the brink of the sand-bank and the bot- tom. it was not an ordinary fall. The edge of the bank had caved, and tons upon tons of sand and gravel were slid- ing with them down the slope. Suddenly Lynn stopped. He was torn from the grasp of the other. He had not reached the foot of the bank, but something held him. And then all about him the tumbling avalanche came. Like a flood the sand rose to his armpits—then over his shoulders—then to his nostrils. The dust was smothering. He could not open his lips to shout for help. He stood upright in the slowly-advancing sand, unable to stir. The sand shd down past him with deadly persistency. He felt it creep by his cheeks—tickling as drops of water might. Slowly—slowly if was covering him completely. Only by a trick of fate was he still enabled to breathe. You can go no if fe contem- Po mut- PRODUCED BY UNZ.ORG 503 He eowld not struggle. His arms were held to his side as in a vise. Nor could he cry out. Help might be passing at the top of the hill, but it was not for him. He had forgotten Inelebock; he had forgotten every- ihing but his own awful phght. He saw a light twinkling across the river. Ife beheld a boat sweep slowly by. Moments passed like hours. Tt became more and more difficult for him to breathe. The pressure on his chest was as though a great boulder lay there. The dust was sucked into his lungs at every gasping breath he drew! Life could not endure long under these conditions. His brain was clear enough to tell him that. It was flickering out without his hav- ing accomplished anything. [alban would never gain her share of the Fool's Pocket. The Gregorys would reap the harvest. Je had come clear across tho ocean to perish mney And Bertha Hawley! Thought of her passed through his mind like an actual pain. Never again to see her—- to speak to her! She was lost to him before he had won her! And then, as he sank imto that state which precedes absolute coma, a sudden roariny filled his ears. A verit- able burst of thunder shook the earth, and instantly the black river, the twin- kling hight in the cot on the other side, the deep indigo sky picked out by mul- titudes of twinkling stars, were shut out! The avalanche started again. It poured over him and buried his head completely in the torrent of yellow grains. Je was lost Then the awful stinging in his lungs —the terrible pressure on his chest— passed. The sweet night air was drawn into his nostrils. Not alone his head, but more than half of his body was free! Instantly he fell over and drew one leg from the sand. The other followed it. The landslide had swept on to the foot of the declivity, and he was saved! But as he scrambled upon his hands and knees over the still trickling sand he saw an arm and hand thrust up from the depths. He had seized it as he CO@ S| ClOOO© < S CO@ ELECTRONIC REPRODUCTION PROHIBITED