Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1888-04-01

open far, and as there was room for NE TO
squeeze through / did not stop TO scrape
the obstruction away.
A fight OF steps sank in into the dark
ness Of the interior, and a cold, strange
smell foated up, with something of a dry
earthiness of favor and a minglipg oil
leather and timber. / fell back q pace TO
let rs much OF this smell e1hale as would
before / ventuIed into an atmosphere that
had been Theoretically bottled by the ioein
that cabin since the hour when this little
door was last closed. Superstition was &C
tive in me again, and, when l Peered INTO
the blackpess at the bottom of the Eatcb,
I felt rs might q schoolboy on the tbres-
hold OF a haunted room in which he Is to
be locked up as a punishment.
l put M foot on the ladder and descend
ed very slowly indeed.
On reaching the bottom l remained
standing close against the ladder, striving
to see into what manner Of place l was ar
rived. The glare of the whiteness Of the
decks and rocks hung upon my eyes hke a
kind of blindness, charged with Tires OF
several colors, and l could not obtain the
faintest glimpse of any pert Of the interior
outside the sphere OF the little square of
hazy light which lay upon the decks at the
foot of the steps. The darkness, indeed,
was so deep that I concluded this was no
more than a narrow well, formed Of bnlk-
heads, and that the cabin was beyond, and
led by a door 10 the bulkhead.
To test this conjecture / extended my
arms in a cropping posture aud stepped q
pace forward, feeling to right and left, till,
having gone five or six PAGES from the lad
der, my fingers touching something cold,
and feeling it, / passed my hand down
what I instantly knew, by the projection
of the nose aud the ~roughneSs of the hair
on the upper lip to be Il human face.
A little reflection might have prepared
me for this, but ! bad not r,hected, at
least in this direction, and wa therefore
not prepared; and the horrible thrill Of that
black chill contact went in an
agony through my nerves, and
l burst into q violent Precipitation.
/ backedtawsy with all my hair astir,
and then shotup the ladder es if the devil
bad been behind me; and when ! reached
the deck l trembled so violently that | had
to lean against the companion lest my
knees should give way.
The companion door was small, and
being scarce more than a jar, / was not
surprised that only q very faint light Ell
tered by il. II the top were removed
doubted not l should Be able to get 2 view
Of the cabin-enough TO show me where
the windows or port holes were. So
went to work with the hanger again,
inseGsibly obtaining q little stock Of
courage from the mere brandishiug o!
it, In half an hour l had Clipped
apd cnt away the ice round tine compan-
ion, and then found it TO be one of
those old fashioned clumsy hatch covers,
formerly used in certain kinds of Dutch
ships-namely, a box with a shoulder
shaped lid. This lid, though heavy and
fitting with q tongue, l managed to unship,
on which the full square of the hatch lay
open to the sky.
The light gave me heart. Once more /
descended. After a few..moments the be-
wildeIing dazzle OF the snow faded of my
sight, and | could see very distinctly.
[TO BE CONTINUED.