A FRIGHTFUL PERIL.
Not a sound came from the lips of our hero as his horse went plunging
into the chasm, although, in the moment when he went over the brink, the
boy fully expected to be dashed to death in the dark depths below.
He saw Big Gabe leap to clutch him, but realized that the giant was too
late.
In that fateful moment Frank cleared his feet from the stirrups and made
a desperate effort to save himself.
Too late!
All he could do was to clutch at the high pommel of the Mexican saddle,
to which he clung tenaciously.
A wild, half human scream of terror came from the throat of the horse.
"Whoa up, thar!" roared the giant, as he made a clutch at the horse.
By rare good fortune the man clutched the flowing tail of the animal
fairly and firmly. His heels settled into a rift of the rocks, and he
surged backward.
Over went the horse, dangling, head downward, above the terrible chasm,
while the giant held it thus by clinging to the creature's tail!
And our hero held fast to the Mexican saddle!
Frank was amazed when he found the horse was not going downward, and,
being unable to see the big man, he wondered what held the animal
suspended in the air.
In a moment the man above cried:
"Are you gone, boy? Are yer done fer, youngster?"
"No," replied Frank, with sudden hope. "I am hanging to the saddle.
Drop a rope to me, and pull me up--quick, before the horse falls!"
"Can't do it."
"Why not?"
"I'm holdin' ther critter by ther tail, an', burn me, ef yer both won't
go to ther bottom ef I leggo!"
Then the boy realized what had saved him, impossible as it seemed, and
he marveled at the astonishing strength of the strange giant who had
been sent to Lake Tahoe to die of consumption.
"But he can't hold out long!" thought the lad. "He must give up in a
moment, and then we'll go down to death!"
It was not a pleasant thought, and still Frank was not terrified. He
wondered at his own coolness. He speculated on the length of time they
would be falling. Would he be conscious when they struck, or would the
fall rob him of his senses?
He looked down. Far below, ragged points of rocks jutted out from the
chasm wall, seeming to beckon to him. They would bruise and tear him,
and it seemed that they were awaiting, with impatience, for him to fall.
He could not see the bottom of the chasm!
"It is sure death!"
Without knowing that he did so, he uttered the words aloud.
"Not ef I kin hold on a little longer, boy."
The giant had heard him and made reply, much to his surprise, for he had
seemed to forget that Blake was holding him from falling.
Then he marveled more than ever at the strength of the man, for it began
to seem that he had been suspended thus many hours. Surely Gabriel Blake
possessed supernatural prowess.
Something like a laugh came from the boy's lips.
"It is foolish to try to hold on longer," he said, a bit wildly. "Let
go, before you, too, are dragged over to death."
"Hyar, hyar!" called the man from above. "Don't git nutty, boy! I kin
hold yer some time yit."
Still Frank was sure it was all folly; it could only end in one way.
"I must fall at last!"
The giant heard these hoarsely muttered words, and he feared the boy
would let go.
And now Bart Hodge and the two men had become aware of Frank's peril,
and they were spurring their horses madly forward, having reached the
top of the climb.
The giant saw them coming, and it gave him new strength.
"Hold fast, down thar, youngster!" Big Gabe shouted to Frank. "Thar's
help comin' hot-foot an' hustlin'. We'll hev yer out uv thar in two
shakes, brand me deep ef we don't!"
Still, Frank did not dare to hope. Once or twice it seemed that the
horse, wild-eyed and snorting with terror, slipped a bit, and the boy
fancied Gabe was losing his grip.
It was a fearful strain on the giant, but he held fast as if his own
life depended on it. The cords stood out on his neck and forehead, and
perspiration rolled down his face. He could hear his own heart thumping
like a hammer in his breast.
The sheriff, Sile Jones and Bart Hodge came tearing up to the spot,
flung their horses back with a surge at the bit, and leaped to the
ground.
In a moment Jones had leaped to the side of Big Gabe and obtained a hold
on the tail of the horse, relieving the giant a bit.
A lariat dangled from the sheriff's saddle, and this he had freed before
he brought his horse to a halt. With it in his hand, he sprang to the
ground and leaped toward the brink of the chasm, on which Bart was
already kneeling.
"Hang on, old boy!" breathed the dark-haired lad. "The horse will not
fall now. You are all right. We will have you out of that in a moment."
Frank looked up and saw Bart peering down. The sight of his friend's
face gave the imperiled lad new hope.
"It's all right, if you say so, partner," he said, coolly. "But I don't
care how quick you get me out of this."
Jack Long reached the brink of the chasm, lariat in hand.
"Say," he cried, "whatever are you trying to do, boy? Think you can slip
me this way? Not much!"
He ended with a reassuring laugh, which was meant to encourage Frank. In
a moment the rope was lowered, and the end dangled close by the boy.
"Catch hold!" cried the sheriff.
Frank did so, first getting a firm hold with one hand, and then with the
other. By the time he had hold of the lariat Bart was ready to pull with
Long.
"All right!" shouted Frank. "Lift away, up there."
They did so, carefully lifting him over the edge of the ledge, so his
hold would not be broken, and he was drawn safely to the solid ground.
Some boys would have been completely overcome and unmanned by such a
close call, but such was not the case with Frank. The moment all peril
was past for him, he exclaimed:
"Save the horse!"
"Don't know as we can," said the sheriff, breathing heavily. "We'll try
it. If we can get the beast up without strangling it we'll be dead
lucky."
Long was skillful with the lariat, and he dropped the noose over the
horse's head with a wide sweep. He did not draw it tight till the time
came, and that was when every man and boy were ready to lift to the
extent of their strength.
"Heave!" shouted Big Gabe, in a stentorian tone.
After a desperate struggle they dragged the horse up over the brink, but
the unfortunate creature was more dead than alive, and nearly an hour
passed before it recovered.