Little Snap the Postboy; Or, Working for Uncle SamBrowne, George Waldo
General
Little Snap the Postboy; Or, Working for Uncle Sam
Browne, George Waldo
Adventure stories; Postal service -- United States -- Juvenile fiction
Mr. Rimmon did not mention them the following morning, nor did any of
the other postmasters on his route, so nothing disturbed the even tenor
of his trip, until he was entering the gloomy region of the Devil's Wash
Bowl and thoughts of the Burrnocks of Blazed Acre succeeded those of the
missing letters.
Naturally enough Little Snap's gaze was fixed upon the rugged scene
ahead, with that intentness born of the intuition of danger. He was
passing that point in the descent into the Bowl where for a few minutes
the craggy heights would be hidden from his view, when he was surprised
to see a white speck appear for a moment upon the dark background.
Quickly stopping Jack, he soon saw a similar object rise above the
beetling rocks of the Narrows, and after wavering for a moment in the
air sink out of sight.
At a loss to know what these meant, he watched the place for several
minutes, though he saw nothing further to explain the mystery.
Resolved not to be caught off his guard, if any harm was intended him,
he rode cautiously forward into the valley and on up the Devil's Stairs
leading to Eagle's Tracks.
Not a sound broke the solemn silence of the wild scene, save the steady
tread of Jack's feet, and Snap began to breathe easier as he approached
the upper edge of the Tracks and drew near the Narrows.
"In a moment I shall be around the point of rock and——"
A terrific explosion suddenly cut short his thoughts, and looking
backward, he was startled to see a huge portion of the cliff overhanging
the narrow road topple over and fall with a deafening crash on the spot
he had just passed.
Jack jumped madly forward at the startling sound, unchecked by his
rider, who was as anxious as the steed to get beyond the frowning wall
of rocks.
The next moment he reached the Narrows and was almost at the angle where
the way suddenly wound around to the other side of the cliff, when a
second explosion, more startling than the first, broke upon the air.
Looking up with dread expectations of what he was to witness, the
postboy reeled back in his saddle as he saw the whole side of the ledge
falling upon him, while huge blocks of stone were sent flying over his
head into the chasm yawning upon his left hand.
Too late to reach safety ahead, unable to turn back, a shudder ran
through his frame, as he realized that the next moment he must be
crushed into a shapeless mass by the rending rock!
CHAPTER X.
LITTLE SNAP'S REMARKABLE RIDE.
The thrill of terror which ran through the postboy's form at sight of
the reeling cliff swiftly descending upon him was quickly followed by
the ready decision of action so natural to him.
Given but an instant in which to think and act, a less level-headed
person must have been caught under the massive block of granite. Not one
in a hundred would have had the nerve to do what Dix Lewis dared in that
awful moment.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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