St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-08-16

NaVC.
The pluck we have" said Zathmar
but have we the strength"
What does it matter?" replied Bathory;
If strength fail us. we shall die an hour or
two sooner. that is aHr'
There is no need to die, Stephen" said
Sandorf. Listen TO me, and you also.
LadlslaS; do not miss any of my words. If
we possessed rope, we should not hesitate
TO hang ourselves outside the window, so
that we might slip down it to the ground.
Now this cable is better than a rope. be-
cause its rigidity will render its descent
much easier. Like all neutrality-suspicious.
there is no doubt but that il is fastened to
the wall with staples. These staples will
be fixed points on which our feet may find
rest. There is TO swinging to dread. be-
cause the cable is fixed 10 the wall. There
Is no vertigo to fear, because it Is night. and
you will see nothing. Then, once through
the window, we have only to keep our cool
ness and courage and we are free. That
we risk our lives is possible. But it gives
us ten chances TO one; whereas, if we wait
till the morning. and our keepers find us
here, it is hundreds upon hundreds to one
that We have to dieI''
BE it so, replied Zathmar.
Where does the cable end?" asked
BathOry.
in a well probably" answered SandOrf
but certainly outside the dOnjOn. and
we'll take advantage OF it. l do not know.
only see one thing in the end OF it, and
that Is nberty-perhsDS"
Count Samdorf was right in his SUPPOSE
ton that the lightning-cOnductOr was fast
ened to the wall by staples AT equal distances.
The descent would thus be easy, for the
fugitiveS could use the staples as stepping
stones to keep them from sliding down too
swiftly. But what they did not know was
that when it left the crest of the plateau on
which rose the wall of the donion, the iron
cable became free, floating, abandoned in
the void. and its lower end plunged into the
waters of the FOiba, then swollen by recent
rains. Where they reckOned on finding
firm ground at the bottom OF the gorge was
a foaniing torrent, leaping impetuOuSly into
the cavems of the Buco. If they had
known this, would they then have recoiled
from their attempted escape? No.
Death for death, said SandOrf. 1--WE
may die after doing all we can to escape
death"
The first thing was to clear the passage
through the window. The crOSsbar that
INSTRUCTED it would have TO be removed.
How was this to be done without pair of
pincerS, a wrench or any other tool? The
prisoners had not even a knife.
The rest will not be difficult said San
dorf, but that may prove impossible! To
work.
And he climbed up to the window, seized
the crosSbar vigorously with his hand, and
felt that it would not require such very
great effort TO pull it down.
The iron bars which formed it were lose
in their sockets. The stone. split away at
the edges, did not offer very much resist
ance. Probably the lightning conductor.
before it was repaired. had been in inferior
condition for its purpose. and electric
sparks had been attracted by the iron of
the crosSbar, and had acted on the wall;
and how powerful such influence would he
we are well aware. This may have been
the cause of the breakageS round the
sockets into which the ends of the bars were
thrust, and of the decomposition of the
stone, which was reduced to a sort of
spongy state, as if it had been pierced by
millions of electric points.
This explanation was given by Stephen
Bathory as soon as he noticed the phenom-
enOn.
But it was not explanation, but work
that was wanted, and that without losing a
moment II they could manage to clear
the eXtremitieS of the bars after forcing
them backwards and forwards in their
sockets. so as to knock off the angles of the
stone, it might be easy to push the iron
work out of the embraSure, which widened
as it went outwards. The noise of the fall
was not likely to be heard amid the long
rollings of the thunder which were going
on almost continuously in the lower strata
of the clouds.
But We shall never get that ironwOrk
r,.,Nv 4, 49, i. a
MOP answered SandOrf. 1--WE ought
to have piece of iron. blade"
Something of the sort was necessary,
there could be no doubt. Friable as the
wall might be round the sockets, the nails
would be broken, and the fingers worn till
they bled in trying TO reduce it to powder.
1t could never be done without some hard
point or other.
SandOrf looked round the cell. which was
feebly lighted from the corridor by the
small fanlight over the door. Then he felt
the walls. on the chance of a nail having
been left in them. He found nothing. Then
il occurred 20 him that il would not be i'm
possible 10 take OF one of the legs of the
iron bedSteadS, which were fixed TO the
wall The three set TO work. and soon
Bathory called to his companions in
whisper.
The rivet of one of the metal laths form
ing the lattice-work of the bed had given
way. All that was necessary was to seize
hold of this by the free end and twist it
backwards and forwards until it broke OFF.
This was soon done. Sandorf thus OBJ
tanned a thin piece of iron, about an inch
wide and five inches long. which he
wrapped round the end with his silk cravat,
and with il he began 10 clear away the four
sockets.
This could not be done without some
noise. Fortunately the rumbling of the
thunder prevented the noise from being
heard. During the intervals of silence
SandOrf stopped, to resume his task as soon
as the storm began again. The work adj
vanced rapidly.
Bathory and Zathmar took up their posi-
tiOns near the door and listened, so as TO
stop him when the sentry went by.
Suddenly ''sh-sh-sh-" escaped from
Zathmar's lips.
The work instantly stopped.
What is the matters" asked Bathory.
Listen" answered Zathmar.
His ear was again al the focus of the
ellipsOidal curve, and again there was evil
dent the acoustical phenomenon which had
told the prisoners the secret of the treach-
cry.
These are the fragments of speech which
were caught II short Intervals
Tomorrow. =. set. =. liberty
Eyes. books closed. and"
'.After the execution. =. L shall rejOin
my cOmrade, Zirone, who is waiting for
me in Sicily"
yours has been a short visit to the dom
jon"