The weekly mountain Democrat. [volume] (Placerville, El Dorado County, Calif.) 1861-1862, 1862-11-15

who should have filled it had put but q
few inches of cement at each end Of the
hole, then in an other hour | would be as
safe as If were free. would risk it
That hollow sound was so CHEEKY, that !
would believe that ii must be true guide.
Blow after blow, and the hole grew
deeS NDa nv TT"y~'''\". 14HSH
over the point Of the instrument lcSsencd,
when one sudden, sharp blow drove the
chsel into the wall the length Of my urn.
The place was hollow. had now but 10
drive it through the crust Of cement on
the outer wall, and should live. drove
it cautiously and carefully, and at last
heard the echo of the pieces falling on
the other side, and drawing out the chiscI,
J felt the air rush in. How caa.w0rl'' >e'''
! vey the sensation experienced as drew
in the God.giveD breath Of life i could
! now defy Oealn-t there was a-Iountain at
which ! might drink and live.
For hours I sat close to the hole and
breathed, and then fell asleep. know
not how long | slept, but awoke sore
and tired, and with horrible hunger
and thirst on me. | could not have many
more hours to stay, So hoped on, and
tightened my belt to ease the gnawing
pain at my stomach and now began the
horrors of solitude ; while | had employ
mcnt for the mind, | felt no pain Of any
kind; now was going mad with anxiety
and fear. must find some employment.
And what in this utter darkuessy But
if darkness, why not light? yes, would
have light. For this | must enlarge the
hole, and went to work again with hlist-
cred hands, ard in two hours had enlarg.
ed it to twice its original diameter, and
had consequently four times Us much air
flowing in.
My next step was to CRATE from the
edges of book paper powder for tin
den, and spreading this on the ground in
heap, ! struck with the point Of my
hammer the stone shelf above it. The
sparks flew about at the contact, but it
was at least an hour before one lodged in
the heap, and set it smouldering |
watched anxiouSly as the little red ring
grew larger and brighter in the heap, and
then applying piece of thin paper roll
cd TO fine point to the center of the
ring, | gently blew the rcdncss into fl me
--ycs, flame! Real flame, that blinded
me with its brightness, that seemed to
pierce my brain with a sword, so long
and deep had been the darkness.
took my paper stop from off the gas
and heard the serpent hiss once more
/ this time without fear. lit the issuing
gas, and then sat looking at it as BaIti-
rReus might have done in the joy Of his
new found sight
had donc--I had light and air; but
still | must have employment or | should
rave.
Employment The thought came TO
me of that unfortunate sentence that had
caused me to run this risk: If had
access to his books would prove that
fraud was possible
! There they were--cverv one ; not one
missing. Could | prove it? Could
must-my good name depended on prov
! ing it. II he were true, was false.
set to work, and with my pencil, which |
happily had with me, went through ac-
count after account from beginning to
end-and well was I rewarded; for |
learnt that my uncle, supposed to be rich,
had been systematically robbed for years
/ by this scoundrel, and was now almost
ruined; and that his daughters portion,
invested in English securities, had been
sold out, and the interest paid by NJ. Yer.
nay himself, SO that father and daughter
were at the mercy of this man.
, These facts learned from small lock.
ed book that was in a box marked with
Ncrnay'S name. SO confident had the
i servant been of his masters trust in him,
that he had left in that masters safe the
whole Of the securities Of his nefarious in
vestmcntS, and there they were, with a
systematic account Of them in this locked
book ; so that while the master, who was
supposed to be worth his hundreds Of
thousands, was almost a bankrupt, his
clerk was man Of immense wealth.
When | broke the lock of that book,
and read down its columns, | felt a joy
and IA pleasure that would have enabled
me again to endure what | bad suffered,
il it would have led to the same result.
| made notes of the whole affair, and
took the securities into my possession.
and then calmly waited long, long hours !;
could not tell how long, for was walked
up from kind Of stupor by the sound Of
a door opening. and then heard the voice
knew so well--that Of NJ Vernay.
You need not stay can bring all !
need. Give Inc lucier.'
He was speaking to the porter. heard
the mutfled sounding footsteps; | heard
! the key turn in the lock and then, a.
the door opened, stood face to face with
my foe, and where he expected to find
darkness and death he found light and
! life. lie saw mc--Saw in my hand his
book that contained the secrets Of life
time. with the lock forced--Saw- his
schemes defeated, and himself an outcast.
1t was too much for his mind. He shrek-
cd cry Of mingled horror and fear, aud
fell forward in the doorway, as il he were
dead.
| Wept ,s pns SIttsejrs,tp the o@re ord ,s;IA
to the porter NJ. Ncrnay is below in
the strong room; go down and see to
him, and went over to the house.
suffered long illness, during the
whole of which Nictorine was my nurse
and thanks to that, and good cons itu-
ton. | recovered, and got up such a
SlSAi NdSC dSdlNot hs Ciid1J ludl luV
whole of the property | had rescued was
restored to my uncle.
To NJ. Vernay this was matter of in
difference, for his mind never recovered
the shock, and he spent the short remain
der of his life in IA criminal lunatic asy-
lum.
The mistake of the thousand francs
was easily explained by the application
of magnifying glasses to the figures. He
had cleveryly altered the one to a nought
an bribed Francois to put the missing
note into my room.
Need | add that l am now in posses
sion of my uncle's business, and blessed
by my Victorines constant presence {;
and. further, that my present strong room
can be opened with perfect ease ?-[Once
a Week.
SAYS Prentice 20" Although the Seces-