The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1886-09-23

iivid blue lame, and the rain fell like shot up
on land and water in an incesSsnt torrent
Had my position been leso terrible-had
the scene been less awful should, doubtless,
have felt my discomfort lntolerable. Ar It was,
! lost all sense Of everything but the snblim-
partial shelter, at the mouth of the cave, can
not say. 4 binding fash Of lightning sud
denly drove me backward ~ IL i had been shot
and, for some minutes, / feared that had lost
my sight forever However, l recovered, and
fearful of q repetition of the shock, l resolved,
at all hazards, to penetrate deeper into the
cavern
Il CROPPED my way for. perhaps, ten feet,
through what seemed TO be narrow, vaultsd
passage, with uneven door, and could just
touch the sides with my extended arms. Then
itwidened, evidently, very considerably, but, to
what extent, can not say, for the darkness
became impenetrable even To the lightning Is
glare; anu how far the cave extended was
mere matter of conjecture. Certain assures,
however, in the walls, too method cal to be
natural, attracted my attention as l touched
them with my extended fingers; and still
cropping my way onward, at length fairly
started with surprise as my hand came in con-
tact with piece of cold iron, which l soon
made out to be large ringbolt, apparently
covered with rust
at was now evident that the place had been
used by man-probably by smugglers. be-
came greatly excited What tn ought, If
have stumbled upon some cavern long disused
and forgotten, rc-haps filled with treasure as
rch as that discovered by Ali Baba of Arabian
storyY What would ! not have given for a
Lightly fancied that I was surrounded by q
magazine of costly fabrics, by chests OF gold
and silve. coin, by bags of Spanish doubloons,
by treasures incalculable! l gave the rem to
my ever too vivid Imagination, and forgot
cold, hunger, and fatigue, forgot the actual
peril of my position, and reveled in the Wild
est fancies-all suggested by the discovery Of
q rusty ringbolt fastened to the wall of rock.
"A light! light! exclaimed aloud, and with
frantic energy. Richard, at Bosworth Field,
shouted not for horse more frantically than
did for light to explore my newly discov-
cred domain.
Il must have advanced considerable dis
lance into the cave, though ii Is impossible to
say how far, since in the thick, palpable dark
ness, the way may have seemed longer than it
really was but amidst the darkness and a
sort of indescribable grave-like stiffness,
could distinctly hear the bowling of the wind
and the pealing of the thunder without while
the sound of the angry waves, dashng against
the solid wall of rock, seemed to come be-
meath where l stood In one of the luls of
the tempest 1 heard the church clock in the
neighborng town strike ten, and also the peal
of bells which were always rung at that hour.
me as thought how was entombed alive in
the bowels OF the earth, and yet sensible to
outside sounds and influences
"As my excitement died away, my WEAKNESS
l felt an overpowering sense of
drowsiness; and, feel ng about me, discov-
or's large chest Upon this seated myself,
and cold, wet, and hungry as l was, I fell
sound asleep.
CHAPTER ~.
Il awoke with sensation of numbness, and
a thorough chillness pervaded my frame from
having slept in wet clothing l presume I
had no idea of the time 1t was stiff of course,
perfectly dark in the cavern, but for aught l
knew 1t might be broad daylight outside The
storm appeared to have considerably subsidized,
and stretched myself with a shudder my teeth
with cold, aud was about to rise and
5rope my way back to the entrance, when /
heard the church clock strike again. Icounted
The strokes. 1t was midnight After all, had
slept but two hours. All the romance of my
position was gone now. l sighed to think how
many hours had yet TO wait till daylight and
back on the chest, l was on the point
Of trying to compose myself to sleep again,
when / perceived a faint, blush glow short
distance from me, which resembled the light
VI a lucfer match just kindled L liked my eyes
upon it with a sort Of amazsment and indie
Unable terror 1t grew larger and brighter,
u
lame shed on the floor of the cave from an
aperture in the wall of rock about ten feet
rom me. The light ii gave was soon suffi-
cient TO enable me to scan the dimensions and
appearance OF the cavern in which was seat
ed. L judged it TO be twelve feet square and
six feet in height. AT one end perceived the
narrow passage by which had entered; the
walls were damp and covered with Shiny
mildew, and the only article the place contain
ed was the chest on which / sat While / was
making this survey, the light had grown bril-
liant and steady, but all remained still as the
grave save the monotonous plash of water, as
It were, far down beneath m, and now and
again the sound Of gust of wind louder than
usual-the last effort of the subs ding tempest
My ears, intent even to pain, caught no sound
within the cave but the beating of my own
heart Ny first thought was to retrace my steps
As silently possible, and so gain the open
air, for was fearful, If the light had been KIN
died by smugglers III an adjoining cavern,
might, il discovered by Them be taken for spy
from the excise on coast guard, and be put to
death before L could make any explanation;
but in spite of my fears, curiosity had firm
hold of me, and crept softly to the aperture
and peeped through.
"No sooner had done so, than was struck
powerless with astonlshment and terror. The
light came from quaint, old-fashioned horn
lantern, with fantastic figures PAM ed on Its
sides, which was suspended
rom the roof of a cave very much larger
han that in which stood This cave was lit
orally loaded with spoil. Boxes, bales, and
Darrels-all of shape differing materially
rom those of the present day-were piled one
)n the top of another, high mp against the
walls, all around it. Within these, again, were
boxes and ca~kets such as are used to hold
specie and jewery, but all were of grotesque
md old-fashioned make; while stacked in
stands shone IA complete armory of ancient
Hint firelocks, pistols, cutlasses, and battle
axes.
81 saw all this in the glance Of a moment,
'or now my gaze was riveted upon the figures
If two men, of gigantic stature, who were re-
Ginning In half sitting posture on mass of
,ock, apparently sleeping Beside one of them
ay an od-fashonel night telescope, such as /
-ecollected having seen once at a museum,
where il was described as being a specimen OF
he earliest attempts at the manufacture of
hese instruments.
presently one of these men yawne1, shook
lmse (, and rose TO his feet and hen woke
lis comrade, who rose also. Both mpst
nave stood at least six feet six inches
nigh, and both were attired in a sim
lar fashion, such "a / hal nowhere
seen save when worn by the conventional
pirate, and robber of the melo-
drama Ponderous sea-boots, with immense
ful II sl-shaped tops, reached To mId-thigh. and
their bodies were clad in garments OF coarse
canvas, shaped somewhat like Highlander's
kilt White petit coat-trousers appeared be-
meath this kilt, which were tucked into the
boots. Each wore broad belt, slung eros
ways from the shoulder, from which a huge
1o,,ap1ad nd aacb parriaI n natr ~