The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1869-04-01

whoever will venture in search of the
missing men shall receive from me a
hundred dollars in gold!' exclaimed HUI
bert, III his clear, ringing tones Who
speaks first for the money?
| accepted. Not word of reply was
made to 1t.
Hubert hesitated giving brief thought
to Miriam, his loved and waiting Miriaml
His face then glowed with heroic light:
and he said, in tones that did not falter:
L will go in search of the men. Lieu
tenant Bridges. Only your party is now
small, and if l do not return in twenty
minutes, you may resume your Journey
But, Earle, expostulated the lieuten-
ant, this is positive madness. You must
not risk your life We will wait while,
and If the men do not return, we will
move on!'
They may need help replied Hubert
steadily They may have encountered
well, God knows what, [ can't imagine.
If fire my rifle, come to me. If [ fail
to return within the time appointed,
move ont
He we went to the nearest fire, picked
up blazing stick, arranged his rifle for
instant use, approached the mouth Of the
cave, peered into it cautiously, aud lis
tened intently for some sound of life
within.
No sound came. All was as still as
death within the cavera.
The next instant Hubert had vanished
therein.
al wi-s now breathless suspense.
The lieutenant and his men gathered
around to listen for the report OF therlfie
The minutes passed, but it came not
Five minutes dragged bv-ten-ffteen,
and still no sound reached their cars
They could see brief space into the cav
ern, by the light of their own torches. but
nothing but rocky walls and floor met
their gaze.
Twenty minutes were thus passed. The
time was up, and Hubert had not return
ed.
The men looked at one another with
pallid faces, As if turned to stone, they
stood an awe-strickeu group about the
cavern mouth, until the minutes had
more than made up an hour-and still
they fingered.
During this time they had cleared away
the bushes from the mouth Of the cave.
They had tried again and again to peer
into the dark depths of the opening, but
could not The lieutenant had called re-
peatedly to Hubert, but received no an
swcr At length he proposed to t rope
around his waist and decend into the sin
lister abyss, but his men objected unani-
mously.
What's the use p asked one. There's
something here that no mortal man can
conquer.
We can't risk your life, lieutenant,
sad another. just think now few there
are of Us.
The time continued to drag on.
At. last, when two full hours had pass
ed, Lieut. Bridges staggered to his feet,
and said:
This is horrible beyond ex-
preston We have lost four of our COM
rades and this noble young stranger, VIII ON
[ loved as a brother. This fearful cave
must hold the secret of their fate, be it
what in may. Let US go.
Without word, but with white faces
in a sort of mute terror, the men
mounted their horses and resumed their
Journey. The above is all of this story
that will be published in our columns
The continuation of it from where IL
leaves off here can be found only In the
New York Ledger, which Is for sale at
all the bookstores and news depots. Ask
for the number dated April 10, 1869, and
in it you will find the continuation of this
beautiful tale. The Ledger is mailed to
subscribers at three dollars year. The
publication of Rev. Dr.. lying great sto-
nv, which has been written expressly for
the Ledger, is just commenced IN the
Ledger. so that our readers will get the
whole of sthese two stories IN It, The
Ledger has the best stories of any paper
in the world; aGd Henry Ward Beecher,
James Parton and Fanny Fern, have ar
ticles IN every number.