Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1875-03-15

obi uSh, Oii5i AinSt eibS' DNe a" n1u NV
reached the final stroke, when Julia
leaping lightly from the bed, flung her.
self upon an immense chest at the fur
ther end of the room.
"Oh, Maryl" she cried, "quick quick !
He is here he is here l cannot hold
the lid-he will get out Quick quickl p
There was, indeed. some living thing
inside the chest; for III spite of Julia's
weight, the lid was lifted, and then, as
the instinct of self preservation overcame
my terror, sprang to her assistance
Whom or what had we caught Imag-
Inc yourself holding down the lid-of "a
showman's box, with boa-constrictor
writhlng beneath; or keeping cage-top
in its place by your weight alone, with
hyena struggling to tear himself out
and devour you. But we were not long
in suspense. Horrid excavations, half
German, half English, chilled our very
hearts, and we knew that there, in the
midnight. only the lid of an old chest
was between ourselves and Hans
Schmidt
At times it started up, and once or
twice his fingers we're caught in the
opening. Then, finding our combined
weight too much for his strength, it
became evident that he was endeavoring
to force out an end of the chest. But
he could not work to advantage
Cramped within such limits, his giant
power of muscle was not wholly avail
able he could neither kick nor strike
with full force and hence his chief hope
rested upon his ability to lift us up lid
and all. Even then, in the absolute ter
Tor that might have been supposed to
possess her, queer feeling of exulta-
tion sprang up in Julia's heart.
Il was right, Mary" she cried
They won't think me fool now, will
they? ] shan't be ashamed to see Har-
ry Irving"
Poor Julia ! under the circumstances,
the idea was really ludicrous, but ma
ture will everywhere assert herself, and
Julia hated coward. Thump thump
thump Lid, and side and end alter
nately felt the cramped but powerful
blows. Then came the lift-the steady,
strainlng, desperate lift; and Julia
cheered me when the cover shook and
raised and trembled.
HE can't get out, Mary! We are
safe; only keep your full weight on the
lid; and don't be nervous either; it is
almost morning"
She knew it was not one o'clock.
But one o'clock came. How wished
it was five And two clock came, and
three ; and we hoped that our prisoner
had yielded to fate which must now
appear to him inevitable. A small al-
erature at one end of the chest, where
there was fracture In the wood, sup.
piled him with air and hence we could
not hope that he would become weak
through suffocation. He was evidently
resting from the very necessity of the
case, for his exertions had been prodig,
ious. There was faint streak of morn
ing in the sky; and there upon the
chest we sat and watched for the CLEAN
to brighten.
Suddenly there was tremendou:
struggle beneath US, as if the rufiar
had concentrated all his energies in .
final effort. At my end of the ches
there was crash, and Immediately tht
Germans feet protruded through the ap
erature that they had forced in tht
board. So horrible now appeared ou
position, that uttered scream, sucl
as | do not think L ever at any othe
time have had power to initiate. | die
not know that | was about to scream. s.
terrible was the fright of which this wa
the involuntary outburst.
To get off the lid. In order to defea
the movement through the chest-end
would instantly have been our destruc
ton; therefore, still bearing our weigh
on the cover. we caught at the project
ing feet. In doing this, however, W
partially lost our balance, and suddel
braciug up of the muscular shape so ia
forced open the lid, that the head, arm
and shoulders of Hans Schmidt wer
thrust forth. and with fearful clutch
he seized Julia by the throat Horrife,
by the spectacle, l threw myself for
ward, bearing down with all my Nigh
upon his head. as | lay partially upo
the chest.
just then heavy crash was heard a
the door below, the foot-tramp spring
|. ing towards US as if some person wer
tearing up the staircase with the fuI
conviction that this was an hour of need
The dim daybreak hardly revealed hi
identity, as he rushed into our room
but l had faint perception that youn
Harry Irving had come to us in ou
; peril.
Sometime during the morning l foun
: myself in bed with Julia and several ,
the neighboring women standing abou
me. Julia clasped me in her arms, an
! cried, she was so rejoieed that the frigH
) / had not killed me