Molly McDonald / A Tale of the Old Frontier

n hers, clasping the cl

ered confidently. "Wait until

he feared, for wide as it appeared stretching from bank to bank, he realized its shallow sluggishness. The peril lay in quicksand, or the plunging into some unseen hole, where the sudden swirl of water might pull them under. Alone he would have risked it recklessly, but with her added weight in his arms, he realized how a single false step would be

, Miss McDonald; you mus

es

s do not scream-just

r throat. "Tell me first, plea

he two of us together on one pair of feet will make it harder to

es

ttom. I don't mind those so much, although t

an s

nevertheless. You could keep afloat at least, and

e Sergeant drew in a long breath and tr

, if we can," he explained. "There is no hote

ad shoulder, clasping her slen

a firm grip. I 'll c

nst his legs as he moved. The bottom was soft, yet his feet did not sink deeply, although it was rather difficult wading. However, the clay gave him more confidence than sand underfoot, and there was less depth of water even than he had anticipated. He was wet only to the thighs when he toiled up on to the low spit of sand, and put the girl down a moment to catch a fresh breath and examine the broader stretch of water ahead. They could see both shores now, that which they had just left, a black, lumping, dim out

ce of alarm. His groping feet touched the edge of a hole, and he turned, facing the current, tracing his way carefully until he found a passage on solid bottom. A bit of driftwood swirled down out of the night; a water-soaked limb, striking against him before it was even seen, bruised one arm, and then dodged past like a wild thing, leaving a glitter of foam behind. The sand-dunes grew darker, mo

al exertion. He had realized fully the desperate nature of that passage, expecting every step to be engulfed, and the reaction, the knowledge that they had actually attained th

urt?" she questioned. "T

d to speak cheerfully. "Only that was a rather hard pull, the last

beyond, and he seated him

he explained. "Sit down here, Miss McDonal

ll wet, so

terday's sun, and my clothes will dry fast enou

of water, and beyond appeared the dim outlines of the higher bluffs. The slope between river and hill, however, remained in impenetrable darkness. The minds of both fugiti

not over there now,"

they will not wait much longer. Hard as I have worke

ot expect

so weak just now, but it was the strain. You see," he explained carefully, "I 've been scouting through hostile Indian country mostly

kno

ou. That was what made me worry; that, and knowing a single misstep, the slightest noise, would

d to her face, her eyes fixed on hi

ean, k

ing around; "I would have had to do it-j

ped his, and he glanced aside

re I was hurt, but-but I could n't, and somehow I trusted you from the first, when you got

rning away from her face to st

had seen yo

ou told us you wer

aining there with him was a disabled cavalry captain. Every man he could trust was out on scouting service. He took a chance on me. Maybe he liked my looks, I don't know; more probably, he judged I would n't be a sergeant

re not obli

if I would have consented if I had n't been shown

ped together, her eyes

re would have been some so

ough material. To be in the ranks is almost a confession of good-for-not

ave been brought up thinking so; onl

hope I am alrea

My father trusted

od for powder. I came into the regular army at the close of the war from the volunteer service. I was accustomed to discipline and all that, and knew my place. But I never suspected then that a private soldi

at him, surprised at th

nters-and yet you know that the majority of enlisted men are-well, dragged from the slums. My father says it has

rtheless, and every commander knows it. A little c

er head que

are two viewpoints. You were in the volunteers

ht I did. I knew there would be plenty of fig

to a com

ibility, the great gulf fixed. I dreamed that good

has been

t, but that ended it. There is no bridge across the chasm. An enlisted man is not held fit for any hi

derate army? You must

ior college year when the war broke out. But, Miss McDonald, this will never do! See how light it is