The Conservative. (M'connelsville, Ohio) 1866-1871, 1869-04-02

" efora v~iaitedit.Y4 81
III AHd 81 wondeAn rd9prned Drydses
aas miles ths route. WIS
BE- " phrsah Of lnnalSessN -
There being no answer TO this question
Hubert proceeded to find an excellent grd1.
ing spot for his horse, ttthered him, and
lung himself on the ground in the shadov
thu men followed his example, ~ m'
Plenty Of low bufhes were fOund dry
enough to burn, and several hres wore soon
kindied. The choicest portions Of the buaa.
loes were readily prepared for cooking, and
IL was not long before tho odOr Of burning
hesh was ditiused on the air; four or Ave
hungry soldiers serving "a cooke. 81
twas q will picnic seone on those lonely
T,es Z syey man there enJoyed y with
Suddenly a shout from one Of the mon who
were strolling around, arrested the attention
Of the others. ~.
"Hallo, boysl' he cried. "Tm blest IL hero
isn't a cavo in the hill Come, see the hole
under these bushes. You never saw any
thing bidder aeateI ipyour livos.Yg
Jones thinks nobody ever saw a cave be-
fore, said one of the loungers. For my
part, think more Of something TO cat, than
OF a hole In tho ground"
his.sentiment was echoed by others, but
the inqusitive cave diacoveret, nothing
daunted, approached the fire, took from il a
NbtNhNh w wv HNNNtNN NENlN W. NNN
bushes, revealing a dark aperture IN the face
OF the rock, and disappeared within Il, his
liEhtgiving back yellew glare for a second
after be had ceased p BE- seen.
Thocamp revary went on, the cooking
prngreescd, tho inmates passed, and Jones
did not reappear.
"If that fellow had found a gold mine 10
there he wouldn't call one of u.s." pr0wled
tho lounger who had before spoken. II Won
Der what Jones 4qs touna m jest take a
He arose lazily. distracted 4 stieh ofburn.
ing wood for n torch, proceeded 20 the cay.
ern entrance aud disappeared from view. F.
Probably, said Hubert 1here'a a largo
cavern under that hil. II We had time, il
might pay TO explore II. Under the present
my dinner to scientific explorations"
The meal seemed 10 be nearly ready, for
the rafting Of tin cups and dishes began TO
be heard; the lieutenant's small camp-chest
was nnpacked, and tho cooke shouted TO the
strnllera p eofno y dinnor- mu 80.
"Hate Jones and Brown came back ~ ask
cd the lieutenant, az he rose to q sitting po-
sition, and glanced towards tho cavern.
The mon replied in tho negative.
60 after them then, king and hurry them
march after dinner, aud cannot afford to
waste time here"
King, 2 fine young soldier, took a torch,
aud entered the cave.
The Inner was dealt ont -hot savory
steaks aud roasts-tho coneo measured, and
the meal commenced, but none Of the mon
whohad entered tho eavo made their mp
pOarancei .HtHnsW
"How singularl' calculated Bridges, ties.
tily aud impatiently. "What can keep those
men ? King has been gone ten minutes.
Here, Sergeant HalHoy, hurry those. men
upl"
The aergeant, n brown, strong man OF mid.
die age, heaitatod, and yontured to stammer:
~ beg your pardon, Lieutenant, bui ]
thinlCthoroe something wrong inside the
cave. There's three men in thore-all hungry
and knowing that dinners ready. Surely
they'd come back II they could. Perhaps
there's wild beasts, or some strange kind OF
gas that lsmOthers 'em, Or" n
Nonsense, Sergeant " interrupted the
lieutenant, frOwnlng. 81 give you ave min
utes 10 bring those men back. Cot
The. sergeant's lace paled, but, without
another word, he took mp a'torch and entered
the cave, disappearing from the gaze Of bis
friends.
Tn minutes passed, the lieutenant and
tho mon ato their Dime mechanically await
ing %anxiously the expected return; yet none
oftho four came back.
The words OF the sergeant had mado a
deep impression on tho minds Of his hearers.
Ageneral gloom fell upon the camp, and the
men cast frequent and fearful glances in the
direction nj the cavern. Even the liouten-
ant AMI Hubert felt q strange depression
creep over them, which neither could resist.
"What can be tho mntto,2' at length de-
manded the 'oniccr. "rhn sergeant y in
trouble, l should Judge, By this long alb.
so, he would probably have had time to cry
ont. There can't be Wild beasts, for those
four men were all well armed, and would nj
least have fired. Which OF all you men wall
go into tho cave and learn what tho matter
L.fL AH.s-F
Thorc WA a oonorai .brinLing ha,I Eyo
ry soldier was brave in an Indian fight, bnt
not onG dared "a taco q mysterious and nm.
known Danger No Que wished TO risk the
romploto aud total Disappearance from earth
iud human knowledge TINT had bciallen his
"Whoeyer will venture in search Of the
men shall receive from mo a hun
lred dollars in goldlp exclaimed Hubert, In
his clear, ringing tones. "Who speaks first
for the money! X
accepted Not o WORD OF reply vas mado to
Hubert hesitatod, giving q brief thought
10 Miriam, his loved and waiting Miriam -
His face thon glowed with . heroic light, and
said in tones that did not falter;
81 Will go in search Of the men, Lieuten-
ant Bridges. Only, yOnr party is now small,
and " do not fetnrnin twenty minutes, YOU
may resume your journey"
But, Earl, expostllatod the Lieutenant,
this Ii positive madness, You must not
your life. Wo will wait a while, and If
he men do not return, we will move on r.
They may need help" replied Hubert,
'pbey may have nncountered-well,
10d knows what. / cant imagine. II ] fire
NY rifle, come 10 me. II | fail to return
within the time appointed, move onl'
He went up to the nearest fire, picked IN
blazing stick, arranged his rifle for instant
Ise, approached the mouth Of the cave.
)eered into il cautiously, aud listened IN
emily for some sound OF life within.
Notonnd came All was still ua death
The noxt instant Hubert had vanished
hprein.
All Was now broathless suspense.
Tho Lieutenant and his men gathered
mound % listen for the report of the rile.-
The minutes passed, but u came not. Five Z
dragged by-ton- fifteen, and still
10 sound Reached their ears. They could see
brief space into the cavern, by the light Of
heir own torches, hut nothing but rocky
walls and floor met their gaze.
Tseity minutes were thus passed The
inc was up, and Hubert had not returned
The men looked atone another with pallid A
aoeso As-if turned to stone, they stood au
lwe-strielten gfOup about the cayern'a mouth.
until the minutes had moro than made up All
iQur and still they fingered. /
During this time they had cleared away the q
bushes from the mouth Of the cave. They
lad tried again and again 20 peer into the
lark depths Of the opening but could n6ts
The Lieutenant had called repeatedly to HUI
but received no answer. At length he
proposed to tie a rope around his waist and J
into the sinister abyss, but his men
unanimously,
"What's the use ?" asked one. ''Thare'a
omething here that NJ mortal man can con
'ewo can't risk your life, Lieutenant, , said
Just think how few there are of
aThotime continued to drag on. .
Atlast. when tNO. full. hnura had ,naa.oA