The Tiffin weekly tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1859-1868, 1860-01-06

start.
ayes. That Is my name"
Then WdLFgANg not myth amer !
all. That mysterious wrcckCr. whose 1
namo was a source Of terror to hunost
sailors, was bcifg OF flesh and blood. T.
Ike o,he, mon. M uriCo rozcd upon him I
with wonder; and, as he Eed, he felt
that he locked upon fcnd inoarD tto. |.
He had uoen heard ofthc pirate -wroc ker, |
and so dark and mystic had been the tales /
which the Norih-Sea sailors had told, that
he had been inclined Go believe that the !
whole thCmo was a fabrication, Now. |
however, be- had no more doubt, foe the !
man before m looked as dark and bloody /
as wore any OF the pictures ho had heard |
drawn of him upon the iorecastle.
But our hero wur mot allowed much |
time for reelection. Wolfrang piled him |
With questions, q all of which Lester gave |
straightforward answers; wcll knowing |
that evasion would serve no practical pur- /
pose, aud hoping by hia franknoss 20 pro- |
pitatc the mcrcilcss fond Ia whose unro- /
strained power he knew himsolrto be.
] Whom TIE wrockor chief had olicited all |
tho information he could, and learned with |
what rich cargo the vessel was frcighted, |
and that she had $40. 600 in spcclo on
board, he smiled grimly, and romuked q
ono Of his coniederatns that sho would
perhaps be richer prize even than the
Whiie FaioR had been few years be-
fore. The mention Of the name Of tho
! ill-lated ship in which Carrie Thornton
andher father had boon lost, gave NJ .urioe
L's,or such a shock that he ncarly gcll 20
the earth. lln grew deadly pilc, and his
framo uvered convulsivaly.
Whats the natter" said Wolfgsnr.
I"You don't seem 20 have much s,rongth
llolt!--Dring hiin along, boys, where We
can dO,t0r h'm."
The sinist glance which accompanied
this last rom i-k and tho peculiar onpha.
sis laid upon the word "doofor," struck
chill 20 our horo'a heart But he could
not cyo his own safety much thought,
while no was partly forced and partly
carried along an,r Wolfgsng, who strodo
rapidly on for nearly half an hour Ho
could think only Of the WAiie Fdpn thut
had BEEN wrecked on that coast and of
his beloved Carrie who hud, perhaps, ia
company with those same men, trod tho
same path he was now trcnding. What
had boen her fatol Had she been muir
djrcd by those wretches, or reserved for
some more deplorable dooml These
thoughts filed him with unuttsrRble
agony.
Wolfglng had now drawn near the
waters edge; and soon coming t. the
mouth Of a cave he entered IL, follow ed
by the three ruililns who had charge of
our hero. The bottom of the cave slop-
cd upward from its entrance for some
distance, aud then became almost level.
The captive Qor such Maurice Lester now
felt himself TO be) frequently hit his feet
against what he thought with chill OF
horror,-wGro human bones strewn arJuut
d the cavern, but he could not clearly max,
: them out in the dim light, lie ais.
d noticed dlnt tho bottom of the cave wal
(, very wet, as though II had recently beer
i covered with water. Tho wrccker chief
y tain stopped, ut last, near what scome,
5 the end oftho cave, and making a sign I,
= his followers, they clnppod manaclos OF
n the wrists and ankles of Maurice bclor
y he had time to note their intention.
d "Now, Captain Lester" said Wolfgaug
Is 'you must remain in this place for a shur
o scason. You are psrysciiy safe here
~ Silence! Say not word! you attamT
Is t. leave this spot, you will be slain tn
moment you set foot outside tho cave"
~ Thus speaking, tho chieitlin aud hi
, followers silently but rapidly withdrew
y leaving Maurice nearly stupeied wit
!, astonishment. A they passed from tn
mouth Of the cave, their feet were wet b
= the rising waves, The tide 'oas fastcom
"a ing in.
W After a short time, the captive looko
y about him with eyes som what accustJm
ed TO the dim light, and became satisic
that what he supposed TO be human bone
were really such. There were many
q, them. And moving among them woI
nd huge rats, seeking for prey. The top
90 tho cavern, In some places, was but fe
,e feet above his head, and in one place !
y discovered a small aperture, throug
rb (which a faint light struggled, and goir
sss underneath II, he thought he smelt Il
he odor Of vegitOton and flowers.
On turning, from the contemplation
by this apaiure, towards the mouth of q
on cave, Captain Lister observed, with alor
that the water was creeping up the slo
or ing bottom. What if IL should fill Il
- c0yernl Ali now he could account f
the presence there of those human bone
ct They were tho sad memorials Of oth'
in haploss prisoners who bad been left in Il
no cave to perish By droDAiRg!
no Slowly but surely the waters crept
long. The yermin fed before them
NJ the elevated spot which Mourico stoo
Slowly following, the incoming water
k longth reached his feet
At the end Of the cave, within a fe
?" feet of the wall, aud underneath the ape
ture before spoken Of, was large pisC
I'd OF rock, some four feet high, that migl
or have fallen from above To this Mauri,
ok hastened as quickly as his manacles wou
he permit After some exertion he succee
Of ed in climbing TO the top of Il, and sto'
,st erect, his head within iew inches Of d
rOofof the cuvern. Buthe was not ALLOW
asl ed to occupy his retreat alone. As d
u. water began to circle around It's bas
the rats also sought refuge on il in gre
lis numbers, aud in vain did Maurice try
nd, disludre them with his manaclod feet
Soon Gas Il seemed TO the captiye) Il
n. water came rippling over the top Of Il
to rock. He ieltits moisture upon his fec
Aud still il rosc-slowly but relentless
IS it rose higher--hgor; and as it rose, Il
ID. rats climbed up his limbs for safety.
was in vain that he brushed them of wi
d. fettsred hands They Insanity renr
,hi cd. They clainbercd up his back-to
m shouldcrs-- over the back of his neck
in the crown Of his head; their ciinmy DO
a les striking achillt3 his weary heart.
,ut And still higher the waters rose, a
ed more thickiy the ionl yermin cluster
ok, upon the devoted oaptve's shoulders a
ist head, as their only places OF safety,
Driven frantic at last by the horrors