American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1880-10-02

mako myself believe that the alarm
would be given before had time to die
of starvation in my living tomb. But
the prospect of a lingering death I'M
! foreground without food or water i'll a
| darkness that was maildening quite
unnerved me, and l felt above all
| things | could not remain inactive.
Something l must do What could
l do2
| arguing first that inaction would
kill me, and that in the second place,
| the alarm once given, every inch of this
subterranean world would be searched
till should be found, knew it mat
tered little whittier might have wan
dered-it was safe enough anywhere,
and so decided. at all risks, to grope
| my way on.
On rising and stretching my arms my
hand encountered the wall of skulls.
and sank to the earth again. A fortunate
diversion happened in my hand COM
ing upon some of the broken glass of
my lamp-that had been shivered into
a thousand pieces by my fall--and the
| blood flowing from the cut caused me
instinctively to bind my handkerchief,
my cravat, my gloves, round and round
the wound lest the blood should fall
and attract the terrible creature that
had brought me to this pass.
"A secoud effort, and conquered my
aversion enough to be able to touch the
dead about me with a certain calmness,
and l began to move slowly on, not
knowing what direction was taking.
| Remembering that l had entered
the passage on my right, and that the
skull was on the left, / turned my face
around so as to bring the skull to my
right, and when had reached the en-
trance of the passage to turn to the left.
| BY feeling l soon discovered the skull
whose teeth had attracted me to my
doom. left it on my right, and CROPPED
my way the few returning steps to the
roadway. the angle of bones telling me
when had reached it. Immediately
my highy-wrouqht senses perceived a
change; the increase of temperature
struck my right cheek.
"Like flash of light it went through
me that it was q current of air from the
outer world, and, if current of air. it
must come from an opening; that open
ing must be a door; then by following
up this current l must ultimately reach
the spot which it enters.
Il turned my full face toward the
current; gasped, for l could perceive
no difference of temperature; held my
breath, pushed the hair from my fore
head, shut my eyes, and still failed to
detect the current. But on turning my
cheek, there it was again. 1t required
. contrast, as it were, between the two
cheeks to ascertain the difference. L
explained this to myself as one of the
provisions of Nature to protect the
nerves of the face in meeting the wind
naturally-as in walking-it offers the
minimum of nervous surface to its in
fluence. As stood sideways, the
nerves of the face were struck laterally,
and therefore more alive to a slight
difference.
'.Al this gave me a fresh clew of as
pertaining my wav, for agreed that in
feeling along the line of skulls, the side
of each skull which received the cur
rent precisely as my cheek received it
would necessarily, from its action. be
dryer than the other.
ITO my intense joy, it was as l
thought. The right side of the skull
was smoother than the left, and feeling
along for twenty skulls, l found it SO
in each instance.
IL decided to move to the right. I
had become somewhat confused in the
memory of the locality. but knowing
there was more than one entrance to
the vaults hung firmly to the slender
clew that seemed to connect me with
the outer air. So travelled on, on and
on; stumbling, sometimes falling; some
times rapidly, sometimes slowly; but
ever on, for / must have gone mad had
1 sat down and waited. How many
miles Travelled thus l have never been
able to ascertain. 1t seemed many hun
dreds to me. When 1 came to one of
the transversal cuttings I had several
steps to make at random before 1 could
reach or touch the reassuring line of
skulls again. The duration of these
steps seemed as years in my agony,
while my heart beat like a triphammer
against my side. Sometimes 1 lost the
current of air entirely. but l never
failed to find it again and to plod on.
Sometimes heard the number of
vehicles overhead, more or less distinct
ly according to the depth of the stone
above me. I hailed this sound with in
tensest delight. Anything to break the
ghostly silence that reigned around me,
for even my steps seemed muff1ed, and
had learned to walk without sound.
On one dear occasion my heart beat o
fast thought l should be strangled. l
heard voice. Yes. bright. fresh hui
man voice caroling a blithe song. I
ceased that my over-wrought nerves
had deceived me and that l was the
victim of a fond hallucination. But no,
in another moment it broke forth again,
brave and brisk. l could almost dis
tinguish its words. How l fingered
about that spot 10th to leave the neigh
borhood of something near and human.
shouted, helloed. yelled, screamed
myself hoarse. but no reply came.
However, took heart from that
moment. I concentrated my whole
mind upon the current. and it grew
stronger every hundred steps, until
without the slightest warning, suddenly,
abruptly, the line of skulls ceased, and
touched wood!
when 1 realized that here, then
was the goal l sought. must have
tainted once again.
81 had known for many thousand
steps that approached the exit, but
when touched that door my joy was
too much for me.
at looked so dark beyond that l
feared had gone blind, but I broke
the door, which was open lattice-work,
and precipitated myself beyond. out,
away from the tomb and the dead be-
hind me. out into the celestial glory of
the gradually dawning light of day.
How hailed that light; how its exquisite
rays streaming through the chinks of
the outer door pierced and irradiatcd
my soul.
81 have no occasion TO tell you how
hammered at the outer door and was
at last released by half a dozen gend-
armes and throng of curious passers