Tracks Of A Rolling Stone by Henry J. Coke (free e reader txt) 📖
- Author: Henry J. Coke
Book online «Tracks Of A Rolling Stone by Henry J. Coke (free e reader txt) 📖». Author Henry J. Coke
Meant To Cross. For All Answer, I Laughed At Him. In Truth
I Had Not The Smallest Misgiving. Strong As Was The Current,
The Smooth Rocky Bottom Gave A Good Foothold To The Animals;
And, Judging By The Great Width Of The River, There Was No
Reason To Suppose That Its Shallowness Would Not Continue.
'We Paused For A Few Minutes To Observe Samson, Who Was Now
Within Forty Or Fifty Yards Of The Opposite Bank; And, As I
Concluded, Past All Danger. Suddenly, To The Astonishment Of
Both Of Us, He And His Horse And The Led Animals Disappeared
Under Water; The Next Instant They Were Struggling And
Swimming For The Bank. Tied Together As They Were, There Was
A Deal Of Snorting And Plunging; And Samson (With His
Habitual Ingenuity) Had Fastened The Lariat Either To Himself
Chapter 25 Pg 133Or His Saddle; So That He Was Several Times Dragged Under
Before They All Got To The Bank In Safety.
'These Events Were Watched By William With Intense Anxiety.
With A Pitiable Look Of Terror He Assured Me He Could Not
Swim A Yard; It Was Useless For Him To Try To Cross; He Would
Turn Back, And Find His Way To Salt Lake City.
'"But," I Remonstrated, "If You Turn Back, You Will Certainly
Starve; Everything We Possess Is Over There With The Mules;
Your Blanket, Even Your Rifle, Are With The Packs. It Is
Impossible To Get The Mules Back Again. Give Little Cream
Her Head, Sit Still In Your Saddle, And She'll Carry You
Through That Bit Of Deep Water With Ease."
'"I Can Live By Fishing," He Plaintively Answered. He Still
Held His Long Rod, And The Incongruity Of It Added To The
Pathos Of His Despair. I Reminded Him Of A Bad River We Had
Before Crossed, And How His Mule Had Swum It Safely With Him
On Her Back. I Promised To Keep Close To Him, And Help Him
If Need Were, Though I Was Confident If He Left Everything To
Cream There Would Be No Danger. "Well, If He Must, He Must.
But, If Anything Happened To Him, Would I Write And Tell
Mary? I Knew Her Address; Leastways, If I Didn't, It Was In
His Bag On The Brown Mule. And Tell Her I Done My Best."
'The Water Was So Clear One Could See Every Crack In The Rock
Beneath. Fortunately, I Took The Precaution To Strip To My
Shirt; Fastened Everything, Even My Socks, To The Saddle;
Then Advanced Cautiously Ahead Of William To The Brink Of The
Chasm. We Were, In Fact, Upon The Edge Of A Precipice. One
Could See To An Inch Where The Gulf Began. As My Mare
Stepped Into It I Slipped Off My Saddle; When She Rose I Laid
Hold Of Her Tail, And In Two Or Three Minutes Should Have
Been Safe Ashore.
'Looking Back To See How It Had Fared With William, I At Once
Perceived His Danger. He Had Clasped His Mule Tightly Round
The Neck With His Arms, And Round The Body With His Long
Legs. She Was Plunging Violently To Get Rid Of Her Load.
Already The Pair Were Forty Or Fifty Yards Below Me.
Instantly I Turned And Swam To His Assistance. The Struggles
Of The Mule Rendered It Dangerous To Get At Him. When I Did
So He Was Partially Dazed; His Hold Was Relaxed. Dragging
Him Away From The Hoofs Of The Animal, I Begged Him To Put
His Hands On My Shoulders Or Hips. He Was Past Any Effort Of
The Kind. I Do Not Think He Heard Me Even. He Seemed Hardly
Conscious Of Anything. His Long Wet Hair Plastered Over The
Face Concealed His Features. Beyond Stretching Out His Arms,
Like An Infant Imploring Help, He Made No Effort To Save
Himself.
'I Seized Him Firmly By The Collar, - Unfortunately, With My
Right Hand, Leaving Only My Left To Stem The Torrent. But
Chapter 25 Pg 134How To Keep His Face Out Of The Water? At Every Stroke I Was
Losing Strength; We Were Being Swept Away, For Him, To
Hopeless Death. At Length I Touched Bottom, Got Both Hands
Under His Head, And Held It Above The Surface. He Still
Breathed, Still Puffed The Hair From His Lips. There Was
Still A Hope, If I Could But Maintain My Footing. But, Alas!
Each Instant I Was Losing Ground - Each Instant I Was Driven
Back, Foot By Foot, Towards The Gulf. The Water, At First
Only Up To My Chest, Was Now Up To My Shoulders, Now Up To My
Neck. My Strength Was Gone. My Arms Ached Till They Could
Bear No More. They Sank Involuntarily. William Glided From
My Hands. He Fell Like Lead Till His Back Lay Stretched Upon
The Rock. His Arms Were Spread Out, So That His Body Formed
A Cross. I Paddled Above It In The Clear, Smooth Water,
Gazing At His Familiar Face, Till Two Or Three Large Bubbles
Burst Upon The Surface; Then, Hardly Knowing What I Was
Doing, Floated Mechanically From The Trapper's Grave.
. . . . . . .
'My Turn Was Now To Come. At First, The Right, Or Western,
Bank Being Within Sixty Or Seventy Yards, Being Also My
Proper Goal, I Struck Out For It With Mere Eagerness To Land
As Soon As Possible. The Attempt Proved Unsuccessful. Very
Well, Then, I Would Take It Quietly - Not Try To Cross
Direct, But Swim On Gently, Keeping My Head That Way. By
Degrees I Got Within Twenty Yards Of The Bank, Was Counting
Joyfully On The Rest Which A Few More Strokes Would Bring Me,
When - Wsh - Came A Current, And Swept Me Right Into The
Middle Of The Stream Again.
'I Began To Be Alarmed. I Must Get Out Of This Somehow Or
Another; Better On The Wrong Side Than Not At All. So I Let
Myself Go, And Made For The Shore We Had Started From.
'Same Fate. When Well Over To The Left Bank I Was Carried
Out Again. What! Was I Too To Be Drowned? It Began To Look
Like It. I Was Getting Cold, Numb, Exhausted. And - Listen!
What Is That Distant Sound? Rapids? Yes, Rapids. My
Flannel Shirt Stuck To, And Impeded Me; I Would Have It Off.
I Got It Over My Head, But Hadn't Unbuttoned The Studs - It
Stuck, Partly Over My Head. I Tugged To Tear It Off. Got A
Drop Of Water Into My Windpipe; Was Choking; Tugged Till I
Got The Shirt Right Again. Then Tried Floating On My Back -
To Cough And Get My Breath. Heard The Rapids Much Louder.
It Was Getting Dark Now. The Sun Was Setting In Glorious Red
And Gold. I Noticed This, Noticed The Salmon Rolling Like
Porpoises Around Me, And Thought Of William With His Rod.
Strangest Of All, For I Had Not Noticed Her Before, Little
Cream Was Still Struggling For Dear Life Not A Hundred Yards
Below Me; Sometimes Sinking, Sometimes Reappearing, But On
Her Way To Join Her Master, As Surely As I Thought That I
Was.
Chapter 25 Pg 135
'In My Distress, The Predominant Thought Was The Loneliness
Of My Fate, The Loneliness Of My Body After Death. There Was
Not A Living Thing To See Me Die.
'For The First Time I Felt, Not Fear, But Loss Of Hope. I
Could Only Beat The Water With Feeble And Futile Splashes. I
Was Completely At Its Mercy. And - As We All Then Do - I
Prayed - Prayed For Strength, Prayed That I Might Be Spared.
But My Strength Was Gone. My Legs Dropped Powerless In The
Water. I Could But Just Keep My Nose Or Mouth Above It. My
Legs Sank, And My Feet - Touched Bottom.
'In An Instant, As If From An Electric Shock, A Flush Of
Energy Suffused My Brain And Limbs. I Stood Upright In An
Almost Tranquil Pool. An Eddy Had Lodged Me On A Sandbank.
Between It And The Land Was Scarcely Twenty Yards. Through
This Gap The Stream Ran Strong As Ever. I Did Not Want To
Rest; I Did Not Pause To Think. In I Dashed; And A Single
Spurt Carried Me To The Shore. I Fell On My Knees, And With
A Grateful Heart Poured Out Gratitude For My Deliverance.
. . . . . . .
'I Was On The Wrong Side, The Side From Which We Started.
The River Was Yet To Cross. I Had Not Tasted Food Since Our
Early Meal. How Long I Had Been Swimming I Know Not, But It
Was Dark Now, Starlight At Least. The Nights Were Bitterly
Cold, And My Only Clothing A Wet Flannel Shirt. And Oh! The
Craving For Companionship, Someone To Talk To - Even Samson.
This Was A Stronger Need Than Warmth, Or Food, Or Clothing;
So Strong That It Impelled Me To Try Again.
'The Poor Sandy Soil Grew Nothing But Briars And Small
Cactuses. In The Dark I Kept Treading On The Little Prickly
Plants, But I Hurried On Till I Came In Sight Of Samson's
Fire. I Could See His Huge Form As It Intercepted The
Comfortable Blaze. I Pictured Him Making His Tea, Broiling
Some Of William's Trout, And Spreading His Things Before The
Fire To Dry. I Could See The Animals Moving Around The Glow.
It Was My Home. How I Yearned For It! How Should I Reach
It, If Ever? In This Frame Of Mind The Attempt Was
Irresistible. I Started As Near As I Could From Opposite The
Two Islands. As On Horseback, I Got Pretty Easily To The
First Island. Beyond This I Was Taken Off My Feet By The
Stream; And Only With Difficulty Did I Once More Regain The
Land.
My Next Object Was To Communicate With Samson. By Putting
Both Hands To My Mouth And Shouting With All My Force I Made
Him Hear. I Could See Him Get Up And Come To The Water's
Edge; Though He Could Not See Me, His Stentorian Voice
Reached Me Plainly. His First Words Were:
'"Is That You, William? Coke Is Drowned."
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