New Ulm weekly review., 1886-08-18
comfort, until I might expect assist

u
| ance from without.
In my assaults upon the door had
! already discovered that the place in
which I was enclosed was ofvery small
Dimensions. It was, in fact, little
more than a. recess or deep niche in
the masonry, not exceeding three feet
square. It would neither enable me
to lie at full length nor to obtain any
other relief for tired limbs than blythe
change of one cramped and uneasy
posture for another. The floor was Of
solid pavement. The roof, as L stood
erect, just touched my head. The
| walls, like the floor, were of solid
stone. Standing close to one ofthese,
and casting my eyes upward, Imadea
| discovery which filled me at first with
surprise, and afteward with extreme
perplexity.
Between the roof and the wall there
was a space OF at least four inches.
Through this space I became aware Of
a faint gleam OF light very far above
my head. With the object of ascer-
tanning the length of this aperture
moved along the wall, keeping my eye
upon the crevice. The light did not
| vanish. l turned the angle of the wall,
and still the light renamed visible. [
traversed in succession the four walls
OF the cell; no obstacle obscured the
feeble gleam. The roof did not touch
the wall at single point Of the cir
cult.
| At this unaccountable discovery |
was SO astounded that for some time
refused to credit the evidence of my
own senses. The roof was, to all APP
pearance, like Mahomet's coffin, sus-
pended in mid air. 1 struck it with
my stick, it sounded heavy, massive,
substantial as the walls themselves.
But yet neither to the touch nor by
the peculiar ringing sound which it
emitted when struck did it seem Of
stone. 1t gave rather the impression
of block of solid iron. But how
could this be?
Totally unable to account for this
discovery, now placed myself on the
floor OF the cell, my back supported
against one Of the walls and my feet
against the opposite, and was relieved
to find that the posture was more
tolerable than expected. l began to
be not without hope that l might in
time be able to fall asleep, and so pass
a portion of the weary hours before
me IN unconsciousness. Little did I
know what WAS to rouse me. Sleep!
It was not sleep that was in store for
me.
Presently a loud and startling
sound, seeming to issue from the roof
above my head, burst suddenly upon
the silence. It was the great clock of
the cathedral striking the hour. The
notes fell slowly from a deep, solemn
and sonorous bell. But instead Of
reaching my prison, as might have
been expected, in dull, far-of and muf-
fled tones, they fell upon my ears with
thrilling clearness and dlstinctness,
as il they were close at hand It was
evident, in fact, that my cell must be
situated directly under the clock tow
er. This conclusion, however, led me
no further at the moment.
| sat for long time in reflection up
on the number OF hours which must
elapse before I could expect to be set
free. The bell had struck the hour of
SIX. The cathedral would probably
not be open in the morning before 8
or 10 O'Clock. / had, therefore, some
fifteen hours at least before me to get
through as best I might.
How slowly the time waned! At
seemingly long intervals the bells
struck the quarters; one, two, three,
four; and then in deeper tones the
hour ITSELF o'clock. And now, when
the ringing sound Of the last note had
died away, the bells of the carlton be-
gan to chime. The notes fell on my
ears with the same singular and un-
accountable distinctness which | had
observed in the striking of the hour.
They chimed the evening hymn.
Very suddenly a strange thought
struck me, causing me to raise my
eyes toward the ceiling OF my cell. In
my present position could just per-
ceive the faint gleam OF light discern
IDLE far up through the interspace
between the roof and the wall;
but the roof itself was buried
in darkness. I rose slowly
to my feet, and the scarcely formed
conjecture of my mind was instantly
confirmed. AS l had expected, I could
no longer stand erect; my head now
struck the roof. The whole truth
flashed at once across my mind. I
now saw clearly the explanation Of
what had before astounded and per-
picked me. [ saw why the roof did
not touch the walls of the enclosure,
why it was formed ofmassive iron. It
was descending.
Yes, descending During the hour
had remained seated, the roof had
sunk through space fully of four
inches. But this discovery, when now
[ made 1t, so far from causing me
perplexity, at once revealed to me the
whole mystery OF my prison.
The distinctness OF sound with
which the Ginning OF the bells
reached my ears had already
told me that the belfry must be
situated directly above my head. |
now perceived that what I had taken
for a solid, heavy roof was, in fact, the
massive and enormous weight of the
great clock. was imprisoned in the
bottom of the shaft into which the
weight descended. The ponderous