Argosy All-Story Weekly, November 13, 1920 — page 49: what you’re looking at

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

, PRAIRIE FLOWERS. ont of the tree, exerting every atom of power in his body to dislodge the huge bulk that threatened each moment to capsize the clumsy craft. But he might as well have tried to dislodge a mountain. The fright- ened animals were plunging wildly, adding the menace of their thrashing hoofs to the menace of the, river. Vainly the Texan sought to quiet them, but the sound of his voice was drowned in the roar of thun- der, the’ swishing splash of rain, and the curgle of water that purled among the roots and branches of the pine. Suddenly the lame horse reared high, pawed frantically for a moment and with an almost human scream of terror, plunged over the side. Alice reached swiftly for the flying bridle reins of her own animal and as her hand closed upon them he quieted almost instantly. Relieved of the weight of the other horse, the boat shifted its position for the worse, the bottom canting to a still steeper angle. A flash of lightning revealed the precariousness of the situation. A few inches more and the water would rush over the side, and both realized that she would fill instantly. It is a peculiar vagary of the human mind that in moments of greatest stress trivialities loom large. ‘Thus it was that with almost certain destruction staring him in the face, the Texan’s glance took in the detail of the brand that stood out plainly upon the wet flank of the girl’s horse. ‘‘ What you doin’ with a Y Bar cayuse?”’ he cried. “ With Powder Face?” and then, the boat tilted still higher, he felt a splash of water against his foot, and as he reached out to steady himself his hand came in con- tact with the handle of the ax. Seizing the tool, he sprang erect, poised for an instant upon the edge of the boat which was already awash, and with the next flash of lightning, brought its blade down upon the wire cable stretched taut as a fiddle gut. The rebound of the ax nearly wrenched it from his grasp, the boat shifted as the cable seemed to stretch ever so slightly, and the Texan noted with satis- faction that edge was no longer awash. Another flash of lightning and he could see the frayed ends where the severed strands were slowly untwisting. Another blow, and the cable parted. With a jerk that nearly threw the occupants into the river the boat righted herself, the flat bottom striking the water with a loud splash. Before Alice realized what had happened she saw the high-flung tree-roots thrash wildly as the released tree rolled in the water. She screamed a warning, but too late. A root- stub, thick as a man’s arm, struck the Texan squarely on top of the head, and without a sound he sank limp and lifeless to the bottom of the boat. CHAPTER IX, ON THE RIVER. F'OR a moment the girl sat paralyzed with terror as her brain grasped the full gravity of her position. The wind had risen, and blowing up-river, kicked up waves that struck the boat with sledge-ham- mer force and broke over the gunwales. Overhead the thunder roared incessantly, while about her the thick, black dark burst momentarily into vivid blazes of light that revealed the long slash of the driving rain, and the heaving bosom of the river, with its tossing burden of uprooted trees—revealed, also her trembling horse, and the form of the unconscious Texan lying with face awash in the bottom of the boat. His hat, floating from side to side as the craft rocked in the waves, brushed the horse’s heels, and - he lashed out viciously, his iron-shod hoofs striking the side of the boat with a force that threatened to tear the planking loose. The incident galvanized her into action. If those hoofs had struck the Texan? And if he were not already dead, suppose he should drown in the filthy water in the bot- tom of the boat? Carefully she worked the frightened animal to the farther end and made her way to the limp form of the cowboy. She realized suddenly that she was numb with cold. Her hat, too, floated in the bottom of the boat, and her rain- ’ soaked hair clung in wet straggling wisps to her neck and face. Stooping over the injured man _ she twisted. her fingers into the collar of his © . ee * shirt and succeeded in raising his face clear of the water. Blood oozed from a long Gomichbooks (E) mm