The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1866-09-22
BLOOMSBURY, SATURDAY. SEPTEMBER 49, 1866

ing day, as he paced to and fro, re-
manned where he had cast it, though it
must have been displaced by the slight
est motion of either of the doors. This
was evidence that could not be disput-
ed; and it followed there must be some
secret machinery in the walls by which
a person could enter. He inspected
them closely. They appeared to him
one solid and compact mass Of iron; or
joined, if joined they were, with such
nice art that no mark of division was
Again and again he sur
veycd them, and the floor and the roof,
and that range of visionary windows,
as he was now almost temped to consid-
er them; he could discover nothing, alb
nothing to relieve his doubts
or satisfy his curiosity. Sometimes he
fancicd that altogether the dungeon had
Il more contracted appearance-that it
looked smaller; but this he ascribed to
fancy, and the impression naturally pro-
duced upon his mind by the undcniablc
of the two windows.
With intense anxiety Vivcnzio look
ed forward to the return Of night; and
as it approached he resolved that no
trcacherous sleep should again bctray
him. Instead of seeking his bed Of
straw, he continued to walk up and
down his dungeon till daylight, strain
ing his eyes in every direction through
the darkness, to watch for any appear
ance that might explain these myste-
ries. While thus engaged, and, as nearly
as he could judge (by the time that after
ward elapsed before the morning came
i'm, about two O'Clock, there was slight
tremulouS motion of the floors. lie
stopped. The motion lasted nearly a
minute; but it was so extremely gentle
that he almost doubted whether it was
real or only imaginary. He listened.
Not sound could be heard. Presently,
however, he felt a rush Of cold air blow
upon him; and dashing toward the
quarter whence ii seemed to proceed,
he stumbled over something which he
judged to be tic water ever. The rush
of cold air was no longer pcrccptible
and rs NiVCnhiO stretched out his hands.
he found himself close TO the walls. lie
remained motionlCss for a considerable
time; but nothing occurred during the
remainder Of the night to excite his at
tcnti0n, though he continued to watch
with unabatcd Vigiloncc.
The first approaches of the morning
were visible through the grated win
dow, breaking, with faint divisions OF
light, the darkness that pervaded every
other part, long before Nivenzio was en-
abled to distinguish any object in his
dungeon. lnstinctively and icarfully
he turned his eyes, hot and intlamcd
with watching, toward them. There
We're four. He could see only four; but
it might be that some intervening OBJ
ject prevented the iifth from being per-
ccptiblc; and he waited impatiently
to ascertain if it We're 50. As the light
strengthened, however, and penetrated
every corner of the cell, other objects of
amazement struck his sight. On the
ground lay the broken fragments of the
pitcher he had used the day before, and
at Il small distance from them, and
nearer the wall, stood the one he had
noticed the first night. 1t was filled
with water, and beside it was his food
He was now certain that by some me.
chanical cOntriVance an opening was
obtained through the iron wall, and
that through this opening the current
of air had found entrance. But how
noiselcss. for had feather almost way.
cd at the time he must have heard it
Again he examined that part of the
wall; but both to sight and touch it ap-
prared one even and uniform surface
while to repeated and violent blow,
there was no reVcrbCrating sound indie
ativc Of hOlloWness.
This perplcXing mystery had for 4
time withdrawn his thoughts from thl
windows; but now, directing his eye.
toward them, he saw that the fifth had
disappeared in the same manner as the
preceding two, without the least distin
guiShable alteration of external appear.
ances. The remaining four looked IA,
the seven had originally looked, that is
occupying at irregular distances the tol
of the wall on that side of the dungeon
The tall fOlding-door, too, still seemed
to stand beneath, in the centre of thesC
four, rs it had first stood in the centre
of the seven. But he could no Longer
doubt what, on the preceding day, Ii,
fancied might be the effect of visual de
ception. The dungeon 9cus smaller
The roof had lowered; and the opposite
ends had contracted the Intermediate
distance by space equal, he thought
70 that over which the three window
had extended. lie was bcWildcrcl il
vain imagiuing5 10 account for thps
things. Some Irishtful purposes, SOM
doviiiah tDuWc Of mind or body, SOM
unheard Of devices for producing cXqui
site misery lurllcd, heWas sure, in Wha
had taken place.
Oppressed with this belief, and dis
tracJcd moro by the dreadful uncertain
IS Of whatever fate impcnded than 1t
could be ousmayed, he thought, by tn
knowledge Of the worst, he sat ruminat
ing hour after hour, yielding hi. fear
in succession TO every ha9gard fancy
At last horrible suspicion flashed sud
denly across hi mind, and he startu
up with Il frantic air. eyes" he cN