Carolyn of the Corners

by Ruth Belmore Endicott

Now that danger threatened the woman he had loved all these years, it seemed as though his mind and heart were numbed. He was terrified beyond expression—terrified for her safety, and terrified for fear that somebody, even Jedidiah Parlow, should suspect just how he felt about it.

From the very first instant he had known the danger of the women and the child, Joseph Stagg had determined to get to them and save them. The barrier of the fire itself should not keep him back.

The stillness and oppressiveness of the atmosphere finally made an impression on his mind. He noted that already the animal life of the forest seemed to have taken fright and to have escaped. Not a rabbit, not a squirrel, was in evidence. A single jay winged his way through the wood, shrieking discordantly. Although it was the height of the mating season, the song birds were dumb.

The smoke grew heavier as he pushed on. It was sharp in his nostrils, and his breathing became laboured.

Cherry showed that he felt the stifling atmosphere, too. He tossed his proud head and snorted. Long strings of froth dripped from his bit, and his whole body had turned dark with sweat. Mr. Parlow might have felt doubtful of the horse’s well-being had he seen Cherry now.

The hardware dealer drove straight on. He looked out for the horse’s pace, for he was a careful driver, but he was out for no pleasure jaunt. There was work for the horse to do.

Joseph Stagg knew the country hereabout perfectly. From boyhood he had hunted, fished, and tramped all over the township. He was still five miles from the camp, approaching it by a roundabout way.

The horse’s hoofs rang sharply over the stony path. Presently they capped a little ridge and started down into a hollow. Not until they were over the ridge was Mr. Stagg aware that the hollow was filled, chokingly filled, with billowy white smoke.

There was, too, a crackling sound in the air. V-points of red and yellow flame suddenly flecked the bole of a tall, dead pine beside the path, and right ahead.

Another man—one as cautious as the hardware merchant notoriously was—would have pulled the horse down to a walk. But Joseph Stagg’s cautiousness had been flung to the winds. Instead, he shouted to Cherry, and the beast increased his stride.