The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1880-09-30


would be given before I had time to die
Of starvation in my living tomb. But
the prospect of lingering death un-
derground without food or water in q
darkness that was maddening quite
me, and felt above all
things I could not remain inactive.
must do. What could
I dof
..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, I
and sank to the earth again. A fortunate
ing upon some of the broken glass of
my lamp-that had been shivered into
o 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 q certain calmness,
and began to move slowly on. not
knowing what direction / was taking.
Remembering that I 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 1 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 highly-wrought senses perceived a
change; the increase of temperature
struck my right cheek.
s.Like flash of light it went through
me that it was o current OF air from the
outer world, and, if q current Of air, it
must come from an opening; that open
ing must be q door; then by following
up this current must ultimately reach
the spot which it enters.
..I turned my full face toward the
current; gasped, for could perceive
no difference of Temperatures; i 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. It required
| q contrast, as it were, between the two
cheeks to ascertain the difference.
explained this to myself as one OF the
provisions of Nature to protect the
nerves of the face in meeting the wine
naturally-as in walking-it offers thu
minimum of nervous surface to its in.
fiuence. As I stood sideways, the
nerves of the face were struck laterally
/ and therefore more alive to a sligh
difference.
s.All this gave me q fresh clew of as
certaining my way, for agreed that il
feeling along the line of skulls, the sid,
of each skull which received the cur
rent precisely as my cheek received j
would necessarily, from its action. b.
dryer than the other.
| ITO my intense Joy, it was as
thought. The right side of the skull
was smoother than the left, and feelin,
along for twenty skulls, found it 8
in each instance.
II decided to move to the right.
had become somewhat confused in tn
memory of the locality, but knowin
there was more than one entrance 3
the vaults hung firmly to the slende
clew that seemed to connect me wit
the outer air. So travelled on, on an
on; stumbling, sometimes falling; some
times rapidly, sometimes slowly; bu
ever on. for I must have gone mad ha
J I sat down and waited. How man
miles travelled thus have never bee
able to ascertain. 1t seemed many hur
dreds to me. When I came to one {
J the transversa1 cuttings l had sever,
stems to make at random before coul
reach or touch the reassuring line
skulls again. The duration OF thes
J steps seemed as years in my agon!
/ while my heart beat like triphammt
/ against my side. Sometimes lost tn
current Of air entirely, but 1 new
"Sometimes 1 heard the number
l vehicles overhead, more or less distinc
ly according to the depth of the stor
1 above me- I hailed this sound with il
l tensest delight. Anything to break Il
. ghostly silence that reigned around m
: for even my steps seemed muff1ed, ar
I I had learned to walk without SCUM
{ On.one dear occasion my heart beat |
8 fast thought should be strangled.
. heard voice. Yes, q bright. fresh h
Q man voice caroling blithe song.
= could see no light feared when
9 ceased that my over-wrought nerv
Q had deceived me and that l was {
n victim of q fond hallucinatiou. But n
/ in another moment it broke forth agai
l. brave and brisk. I could almost d
tinguish its words. How / inger
Q about that spot 10th TO leave the nei2
o borhood of something near and hums
# 1 shouted, l helloed. yelled, scream
y myself hoarse, but no reply came.
h However, took heart from Il
g moment. / concentrated my VIII
mind upon the current. and it gr'
d stronger every hundred steps, un
y without the slightest warning, sudden
% abruptly, the line of skulls ceased, q
!. l touched wood!
d "When 1 realized that here, th
was the goal sought, I must ha
1, tainted once again.
ot 81 had known for many thousa
steps that approached the exit,
le when touched that door my joy v
re too much for me.
" s.It looked so dark beyond tha'
feared had gone blind, but l brc
" the door, which was open lattice-wo
g and precipitated myself beyond. O.
ts away from the tomb and the dead
" hind me. out into the celestial glory
r. the gradually dawning light Of d
ps How hailed that light; howit exquis
n rays streaming through the chinks
re the outer door pierced and irradia'
my soul. :,
n al have no occasion TO tell you b
as hammered at the outer door and ,
It. ut last released by half a dozen ge
all armes and throng of curious pass'
cd This was not the gate had enter
% had been immured forty eight ho,
en- and all that time had never once
40 down.
%, ~ was i'll for . long time, of cou,
en- but, perhaps am none the worse
We day for the distinction claim of
ing touched more skulls than any OF
ne living man. At any rate, l never
.: gretted having tried to help mys
BIZ 1vs<hont dopouNiuo m the chances