A groan of horror burst from the dry throats of the men, and reading the
agony in their faces, she stopped short, glanced up, and understood.
"South!" shouted McLean. "Run south!"
The Angel was helpless. It was apparent that she did not know which way
south was. There was another slow shiver of the big tree. The remainder
of the gang stood motionless, but Freckles sprang past the trunk and
went leaping in big bounds. He caught up the Angel and dashed through
the thicket for safety. The swaying trunk was half over when, for an
instant, a near-by tree stayed its fall. They saw Freckles' foot catch,
and with the Angel he plunged headlong.
A terrible cry broke from the men, while McLean covered his face.
Instantly Freckles was up, with the Angel in his arms, struggling on.
The outer limbs were on them when they saw Freckles hurl the Angel,
face down, in the muck, as far from him as he could send her. Springing
after, in an attempt to cover her body with his own, he whirled to see
if they were yet in danger, and with outstretched arms braced himself
for the shock.
Pages:
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331