Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1860-01-13

ACEifui1 1915 Wy lDc tl-nC uC a@hiy WA
the party, they were upon him.
4Hailo,' the leader cried, as he saw our
hero, shere we have another And, as he came
up, be added And guess we've found
live one, too,. -onc that knows something
Say--who are 30 a7
This last sentence was addressed to Maurice,
who quickly answered
Ny name is Lester. And now. to be fair,
what is your uamef
Well / guess you've heard it before. Men
call me Ryan Woligang.
sWoLFGANan z repeated Lester, With a start.
sYes. That is my name
Then WoLFGANG was not myth after all
That mysterious wrecker, whose name was
source of terror to honest sailors, was a being
of flesh and blood, like other men, Maurice
gazed upon him with wonder and, as he gazed,
be felt that he looked upon iend ncarnate
He had often beard of the prate-wrecker, and
so dark and mystic had been the tales which
the North Sea sailors bad told, that he had
been inclined TO believe that the whole theme
was ia brication. Now, however, he had no
more doubt, for the man before him looked as
dark and bloody as were any of the pictures
he had heard drawn Of him upon the foreeas.
lie.
But our hero vas not allowed much time
for reflection. Wolfgang piled HIM With qucs-
tons, to all of which Lester gave straIghfor-
! ward answers; we'll knowing that evasion
would serve no practical purpose, and hoping
| by his frankness TO propitiate the nerciless
| 6end in whose unIcsirsined power he knew
himself to be.
| When the wrecker chief had elected all tie
| information he could, and learned with what
| rich cargo the vessel was freighted, and that
she had 5000 10 specie on board, he smiled
| grimly, and remarked 10 one of bis confedera-
ties that she would perhaps be richer prize
| even than the White Fdwn had been few
years before. The mention of the name of the
ill-fated ship 10 which Carrie Thornton and
her father had been lost, gave Maurice Lester
such shock that be nearly fell to the earth.
lie grew deadly pale, and his frame qaigered
convulsively.
whats the matter g said Wolfgang. sYou
don't seem to have much strength left - Bring
him along, boys, where We can doctor him.
The sinister glance which accompanied this
last remark, and the peculiar emphasis laid
ii 'on the word sdoctor,' struck chill to our
! hero'r heart. But he could net give bis own
| SAFETY r4neh thought while be was partly forced
| and partly carried along after Wolfgapg, who
| srode 70 cidIy on for nearly half an hour. He
| could think only Of The White FaWn that had
| been wrecked O., tha coast, aud of bis beloved
Carrie who had, 2erhsos, in company with
| thoss same men, iro,il tho came path he was
now treadihg. What hat, been her fate Had
she been murdered by these wrt>tches, or re-
served for some more deploraole doom =
! These thoughts filed him with unul, eraSIe ago.
| ny.
! Wolfgang had now drawn near the N2ter's
! edge and soon coming 10 The mouth Of Ga We
he entered it, followed By tho three rufians
/ who had charge of our hero. The bottom of
| the cave sloped upward froH its entrance for
some distance, and then became almost level
| The captive flor such Maurice Lester now fel;
himself to bel frequently bit his feet against
what he thought, with chill of horror, we're
human bones stTe8n around the cavern, but he
| could not clearly make them out 10 the dim
! light. lie also noticed that the bottom of the
cave was very wet, as though it had recently
been covered with water. The wrecker chief
tain stopped, al last, near what seemed the end
of the cave, aud making sign to his followers,
they clapped manaeles on the wriste and ankles
Of Maurice before he had time to note their IN
| tention.
Now, Captain Lester said Wolfgang, syou
must remain IN this place for short season.
YOH are perfectly safe here.-Silence Say
| not word II you attempt TO leave this
spot, you viii be slain the moment you set foot
outside the cave
Thus speaking, the cheftan and his followers
silently but rapidly Withdrew, leaving Maurice
nearly stupefed with astonishmeut. As they
passed fiom the mouth Of the cave, their feet
were wet by the rising waves. The ttde loas
fast coming an.
After short time, the captive looked about
him with eyes somewhat accustomed to the dim
light, and became satisfied that what he lad
Supposed TO be human bones were really such
There were many of them. And moving among
them were huge rats, seeking for prey. The
top of the cavern, 10 some places, was but a
few feet above his head, aHd in one place he
discovered small aperture, through whish
faint light struggled, aud on going underneath
it, ho thought he smelt the odor of vegetation
and flowers.
On turning, from the contemplation of this
aperture, towards the mouth of the cave, Cap
tain Lester observed, with alarm, that the wa
ter was creeping up the sloping bottom What
If it should fill the cavern Ah! now he
could account for the presence there of those
human bones They were the sad memorials
of other haplsss prisoners who had been left in
that cave to perish By droacaing
Slowly bnt surely the waters crept along
The yerlDn fed before him 20 the elevated
spot on which Maurice stood. Slowly follow
ing, the incoming water at length reached his
feet
At the end of the cave, within few fee. OF
the wall, and underneath the aperture before
spoken Of, was a large piece of rock, soma four
feet high, that might have fallen from above
To this Maurice FASTENED as quickly as his
manacles would permit. After some exertion
no succeeded in climbing to the top of it, and
nfnnH Z e. q L.