ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Western Short Story - The Quest, Chapter Three

Updated on August 23, 2011

Chapter Three


The stabled horses rolled their eyes at him in disbelief as he pulled the first saddle off the rack.

“Sorry boys, but I don’t like this any better than you do.”

It was shortly after noon by the time he rode away from the warmth and safety of the cabin. When last checked, Jacob Cross was sleeping fitfully, mumbling a little in his delirium, but he seemed a bit cooler. There was nothing more Chancy could do for him. It was now up to bed rest and Providence.

Uncle Charlie had described the location of the Cross cabin, and there was a good trail that would pass within a quarter of mile of it. The only difficult section was that of Hannigan’s slope, but he’d deal with that when the time came.

Half an hour later, he picked up the trail, and was gratified to discover that it was mostly free of drifts. The wind was picking up, but it was blowing on his back. The snowfall was now steady, but the visibility was still a half a mile or so, and the temperature had risen to nearly twenty degrees. He was making good time, despite the occasional drift. Then he abruptly rode out of the timber, and halted, staring up at Hannigan’s slope.

Eons before, a giant, flat slab of granite had been thrust up by a mighty upheaval of the Earth’s crust. It rose nearly three thousand feet above him, sloping down at a steep angle toward him and the trail he was following. Its barren and nearly treeless face was strewn with countless angular boulders clinging to its smooth surface, and poised in an ageless threat to the unwary traveler. But now, the real threat was the huge drift at the ragged summit. It was several hundred feet thick, and curled far down upon itself. It was unsupported by anything other than its own huge mass, and the trail snaked directly below it for nearly a quarter of a mile.

Chancy studied his route for a few moments. There was one drift about a third of the way across that he would have to clear with a shovel. He could detour and ride down into the canyon, but it would add at least twelve miles, and he would also have to cross the treacherous ice of the stream in two places.

He nudged his horse. The big gray snorted and shook his head, hesitating for a moment. Then he stepped out, and Chancy held his breath. They took the trail at a slow walk, and the wind picked up, creating a low moan from the stand of pines. Chancy felt like moaning with them.

When they reached the drift, he dismounted gingerly and began to carefully shovel a narrow path. Glancing up at the massive drift far above, he shuddered and quickened his pace. Even the horses seemed to sense the danger, and stood perfectly still, abandoning their usual impatient stamping and snorting.

At last, he broke through, and returned to the horses. The shoveled path was too narrow for a mounted man, so he led the horses carefully through the drift on foot. Gingerly mounting on the far side, he eased them along the trail. Far above, he heard something crack loudly, and then silence. He realized he was holding his breath. His shoulders unconsciously hunched themselves against the coming avalanche. He rode on.

Finally, they reached the tree line on the far side, and in another few minutes, they were out of danger. The wind was increasing again and snow was falling faster. Visibility fell to less than fifty yards, so reluctantly, he began to look for a place to hole up. They made another half mile before he found what he was looking for.

A rock shelf jutted out some fifteen feet from the face of a bluff, and beneath it, he could see blades of dried grass under the thin covering of snow. It was excellent shelter for the horses, so he stripped the saddles and gear, running a line between a tree and a boulder, to tie them off. They contentedly began pawing off the snow and cropping grass.

Nearby was a small stand of saplings, spanning about seven feet. Chancy retrieved his hatchet and cleared them of their limbs. He then bent them over and began tying the tops together with piggin’ strings. Soon, he had a roughly rectangular framework, arched over into a crude roof structure. He began cutting low hanging pine boughs, weaving them in and out around his saplings, forming walls, and then a roof. He left a smoke hole in the center of the top and began gathering wood for a fire. He placed addition boughs on the floor for a bed, and placed his blankets on top. By the time he began to build his fire, visibility was down to feet, and the snow had all but sealed the gaps in his shelter.

He checked on the horses one more time, and then pulled a book from his saddle bags. He was reading by firelight in his cozy shelter, when he heard a distant, loud crack, followed by a low rumble. It quickly grew into a deafening and mighty roar, with the sounds of massive boulders crashing together, and tree trunks breaking. Then abruptly, all was silent again, except for the wind and blowing snow.

He shuddered violently, but not from the cold. He wouldn't have to worry about a Hannigan's Slope avalanche on his return. The giant drift that had been precariously hanging on the peak was now piled high in the valley, far below. However, it also meant that the trail he had just crossed may now be under tons of impassable snow.


Chapter Four


working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)