Beyond the sunset

by Arthur D. Howden Smith

The Dutchman's breath came in great, gagging pants. It seemed as though a dozen yoke of oxen were tugging at that rope. An exclamation from Tawannears warned me that the haulage might pull him from his foot-hold on the ice-shelf, with a resulting increase in the strain upon Corlaer, and I managed to wriggle sideways as Peter dragged me up, so as to release a spare coil of the hide-rope. The instant I had all four limbs on hard ice, I shouted to Peter to let be, lifted myself shakily to my knees and crawled to where he sat, with his feet propped on the bowlder Tawannears had warned us against, taking in the slack of the line, hand over hand.

"Now, we pull Tawannears oudt," he puffed.

I seized the line beside him, but my efforts were not what counted. His immense shoulders bent forward. His back and arm-muscles bulged through his hide shirt. His legs braced like steel pillars against the bowlder, luckily frozen fast to its icy bed. And slowly, very slowly, I was able to collect a few inches of slack. The heavy rope chafed against the dull, rounded edge of the precipice, but it held is no hempen cable could have done.

Tawannears' arms appeared above the brink, clutching for something to hold to. Presently, the Seneca's face rose to view—and Peter's breath came in the same regular, explosive puffs. Then Tawannears got one hand on a level space, found leverage for the other.

"Corlaer has done enough," he panted. "Hold fast! Tawannears can bring himself up the rest of the way."

We held the line taut, the Seneca gave a heave, swung one leg over the edge—and crawled out of danger, carefully, inch by inch, lest the broken ice betray him a second time.

Corlaer straightened to his feet, and released the breath from his lungs in one mighty blast.

"Oof!" he grunted. "Dot was no choke."

"No joke!" I protested. "You saved our lives!"

"Corlaer has added more to the debt which Tawannears can never repay," said the Seneca. "He is stronger than the buffalo bull. He is like the Great Tree which upholds the sky. Tawannears will not forget."