The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1872-02-17
EBENsBURG, PA, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY H. 1872

supporls-in short, in places SO filed with
the old drifts that it Was necessary 10
crush through them For an lour or
more our adventurer wandered through
the mazes Of the level, more intricate than
the Iabyrinhs of Crete, OF at least than
that OF Woodstock, in which, as the story
goes, fair Rosamond was imprisoned. but
no store of precious ore could he find
At length, in crowding his way through
some fallen timbers in tumble-down
chamber. the whole came down behind
him, followed By tremendous cave Of
earth, which blew out his candle and
blocked the way behind him, completely
cutting off his retreat. THIS he saw when
he relighted the candle. This accident
drove cut Of his head all fear OK dead men
and shrieking, mocking Cobalt lie
knew that he must now give Up all hope
of finding ore, and must use au bis wis
in finding way out Of the mine Walk
ing to and fro, and taking the bearings Of
the places as we'll as he could, he searched
about until he found an opening leading
down to the floor below. Descending by
means of his ropo~ladder through the
/ opening, he passed under the cave, and
after wandering for a time in the dismal,
rocking place in which he found kiuI5elf.
he came upon an old rotten ladder, up
| which he assembled, thanking his stars thar
/ he was again free. lie now started TO
| find the mouth Of the incline, and was
congratulating himself that he had rccoy-
cred from his former childish fears Of goJ~
Itins, when, upon elevating his candle above
his head TO peer as far as possible iato the
! narrow passage in advance, there sudden
/ ly rose before him q most frightful aopa~
| rition. Uuering helpless, smolhereG
! shriek-which seemed TO be answered bv
still more desPairins shrieks from every
cavern in the mine-he dropped his candle.
/ Stopping squarely before him in the mid
| die ot the passage, Eo had seen a tall man
OF most venerable appearance. His hair
and beard were of snowy whiteness, and
the latter reached far beew his waist
| his flowing robe was also white, but his
face was black as ink. In the invoIun~
tary act Of covering his eyes 10 shut fom
his sight the fearful thing, his candle was
| dropped, and it was some moments before
!
and again look before him. When be did
SO lie was more frightened than before at
what he beheId. The anpariiion was
| still there, bat ten times more terrible than
before. 1t appeared a living, glowing
flame, except the face, which was, if pos
sible, blacker than before More dead
than alive, he stopped and CROPPED about
! till he found his candle then, with trem-
bling hands, he lighted it, never once look
ing toward the awful object till bis Heh:
was fairly burning, when, with forced
resolution which he felt to be little short
of impIdent, he boldly faced about and
held up his candle His ghost was gone,
! but in It's place was a timber which had
| pitched from above, and which was COM
| p!otely clothed In the white fungus he bad
! seen so much of in other parts of the
mine, lie examined it minuieiv, and
was astonished that 1t should have given
him such a fright but thea it stood
alone and in a place where he did not look
for timber in any garb. BY shading his
candle be soon discovered that the fiery
appearance II had worn in the dark was
owing to a pbosphorescent light gwen out
by the reeking fungus. These discoveries
did not give him the courage that might
have been expected-oD the contrary. he
had quite enough of the old mine, ami be.
fore he reached the mouth Of fhe old in
cline, lie again had the feeling of being
followed, and The dripping of water sound
ed in his ears much like the distant shouts
OF tiendlsh laughter.
Going up the incline was slow and hard
work, and more than once he was forced
20 seat himself and rest his trcmbliug
knees. At such times he was again over
come by the silence of the place; and, did
he happen TO cough, looked about expect
| ing TO hear al answer or TO see ieerinn
face peering out at him from the next side
opening above. The rats, too, fightcaed
him. His rambling below seemed to have
startled them up from the old char.bers.
and one which was scampeiiug above
happened to fall upon bis arm, lie shook
and brushed his sleeve most fcantical!v,
then gazed above and about him shuddor,
in2ly, expecting a whole sack Of the yer-
min TO be emptied down upon him -
When the top Of the incline was reached
he feryen!ly thanked the Lord, and, sciz
ing the largest rock he could find, hurled
it down the black chasm, listening with
exuliatiou TO the noise Of IS bounding aud
crushing It's way toward the ghustly, fun
! gus-breeding caverns below.
Another fright awaited him. After
his extra display of bravery iG defyiug the
ghosts of dead men, goblins, Cobalt and
all, by hurling a rock down the incline,
he all at once thought, as he walked away
from the place, that i: would have been
better had he not done il; though why, it
would be foolish to think. He was now
on the tunnel level, and fast nearing the
tunnel itself, when his way would be
straight, and not beset by yawning cham
bers, into whose depths he could not see,
and out of which a; any moment he might
/ ctalt- % l, II