In Barracks and Wigwam — page 189: what you’re looking at

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

Te a ab ‘ Pits ‘ “p ri. - <i - fh ane mk Perilous Climb. a 179 ™: is Bepsded the sige and pushed down the slope on the Op- - posite side. This fell away at a gentle angle, and though it was rugged with stones and tangled timber, the young — officer led on at a rapid rate of speed. “It don’t matter if we make a little noise, Reily,” he said. ‘There are surely no Indians about to hear it, and the main thing with us just now is to gain time. You see, weve got to cover a good deal of ground before we can strike a safe place to lie in wait for the relief force.”’ “Right you are, sir,” replied Reily, “but we’d best go a bit cautious. This is just the sort of a trap to break a man’s legs.”’ However, no bones were broken in spite of frequent falls, and a half-hour of stumbling and sliding down hill brought them safely to a narrow ravine. Here they ~ turned southward and quickly emerged from the timber on the brink of a far-reaching plain. By the dim light = _ it was seen to be almost level and covered with patches of scrub. To the right was a low ridge running north and south, and Linn pointed to it eagerly. | “That is the continuation of the mountain we just climbed,” he whispered, “and beyond it is the valley that leads to the gorge—the same valley by which we ap- proached this afternoon.” | “And right in front of us,” said Reily, “is where the - Sioux were lying when they swarmed up and surrounded us. And I’ll bet a hundred of the devils are lurking — yonder in the thickets now, and off on the far side of the : next valley, waiting to close in on the relief force.” “Ves, that’s about it,’ assented Linn, “and it means | that we must make a wide detour to get around this dan- - gerous neighborhood, and then strike to the cukowie Bah “to meet the geiets, oh What Ho. po | think ? oN ‘ eater Be of ake C ores |