The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1876-05-17

that he would possibly land in safety
with only severe fright and shaking.
These thoughts crowded pen-mel upon
my mind at the first shock of surprise.
But;, conceive my horror, when,w with 0,
loud jar, the noise Of the wheels ceased,
and the rope no longer descended!
& How I started 7 ( He has let GO,
thought 7, and listened breathlessiy, in
sickening expectation of the crash which
I conceived must follow. J But all was
still; and mechanically I crawled up to
the edge of the hole and, leaned over,
thinking to see his crushed body in
Rhastly heap below me.
4 NNofgH About fye-and- twenty feet
down, vibrating in sheer space, was sus-
pended my poor friend, at a height of at
least fifty feet above the stone flooring
of the nave. He was in the very midst
of the stream of light that poured
the clerestory windows, In
some way o. another, he had relieved
the strain upon his hands by getting his
leg over the hook at the end of the rope.
I called to him to hold fast for while,
and to keep up his courage but I never
shall forget his despairing eyes, nor the
hoarse agonizing whisper that replied:
sssI can't hold on! I'm numbed.
Loose the winch |. Be quick, for Gods
sakel' -,-s-f.-.,r.
: "Waiting for no further suggestion, I
rushed back again 10 the staircase, and
found in the darkness, almost, by intui-
tion, the steps which led still upward,
and hastened to mount them. Once or
twice, as T painted in the ascent, I re-
member that I came to the edge of a
sheer depth, and drew back, scarcely
conscious, of the danger. 7 listened in
'tently for any sound from below, but
heard nothing; and, at length, in what
must have been an incredibly short
space of time, breathless and gasping, I
emerged on the rough, uneven flooring
OF the higher story of the tower. Trem-
bling. ] erept fully forward to the
center of the space, and found the winch
standing over an opening correspo ponding
to the one below. I eagerly looked
down, and could Just see that something
was still suspended in the now partially
;obscured light. I shouted again and
again words of encouragement and hope;
but there was no reply. With . Gcken-
ing thrill ISset to work to examine the
winch, and found, as Il had supposed,
that the handle had been entangled in
the coils of rope, from which I had
some difficulty, in the darkness, in .e1tri-
eating it, But, ouce released, Ialowed
it to revolve slowly, until Isfestt there
was no further strain upon it. Scarcely,
however, had the assurance of Symes'
security dawned upon me as posi-
blity, when q deadly faintnesss crept
over me, and T think for minute or
two I lost consciousness. -'.,t
"How succeeded in getting down
without disaster through that perilous
labyrinth, J. can form noidea, nor have
I any recollection. remember de.
voutly thanking God as I stepped ont
from. the door of the transept on to the
floor Of the nave. nHg !t2HID 2AtGA
"'Here I am, old, fellow + I cried
aloud to Symes, andsprung forward into
the open space. " -"
"There was no reply. My heart beat
violently Could he have gone home,
and left me there2 The moonbeams had
sloped further up the building, leaving
the center aisle in deep gloom. Creep
ing forward in vague terror, I almost
stumbled over the body of my friend,
apparently Gfeless, but still clinging to
the rope. With trembling haste I dis
entaneled his limbs, and drew him on to
the! mat beside the yerger's bench,
where I left him for a moment, while I
rushed to fetch assistance. But con-
ceive again my blank despair, when I
found the door, which shut with Q
spring, locked, and the key-I couldn't
tell where I had probably laid it down
in some forge.ful moment, and l was
locked in, with man dying or dead un-
der my charge.
i"I shouted; I beat; I kicked upon
the door, in the vain hope Of being heard
by some stray passenger; but there was
no house within fifty yards, and I bad
heard the clock strike ten some time be-
fore. Wild with desperation, 7 ran back
to my inanimate companion. By this
time I had become so used to the OBJ
security as to be able to discern that,
while I had been away, he had lifted his
arm on to the bench, although there was
still no further sign of consciousness
Such moments, my dear fellow, make
one religious, if nothing else does. I
do not know whether you have ever ex-
perienced the wave of relief that sue
ceeds the unexpected deliverance from
extreme peril; but assure you that the
conviction that poor Symes was not tdead
brought me upon my knees, in thank
fulness for the mercy that had protected
US in such an awful crisis.
81 was overcome with weariness and
weakness holding the hand of my un-
conscious friend, and I almost think
that / was doing, when I heard the
sound of an opening door and friendly
voices. I cried aloud, and we were at
once surrounded with lights, and eager,
frie htened, inquiring faces, besieging
me with questions, which for the time ]
was altogether unable to answer.
Symes, still insensible, was carried to
his. lodgings on the other side OF the
green, whittier I followed him, and wait
ed for more than half an hour, until the
doctor came and told me that he was
partly conscious, but must not on any
aoconnt be disturbed or excited by see
ing anybody. He said he would remain
with him through the night; and I re-
turned with anxious thoughts and an
exhausted frame, but with grateful
heart, to my own home. 4 .f3 e
eft turned out that little Jenny Ok
ley had been the means of bringing Of
the help that we had despaired of. My
old housekeeper had come into my room
here two or three times during my alb.
sence, and could not understand my
leaving the light burning, if I had in.
tended to be away so long. She went
over to Oxley's, and mentioned the cir
cumstance, on which the verger said
why, my boy left them in the cathe
dral an hour ago. And you may depend
upon it, added he, shat they've agone
and locked themselves in, and that 'ere
young. fellow ,has.bean and lost the key
and they can't get out 7"