Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1890-04-10

KNEW THAT WAS SAFE.
meath my hand. and then jerk, and
the next moment it was violently drawn
upward. | withdrew my hand, and
started to one side. and then, how, |
know not, l became aware that the dog
part of the creature was coming down
stairs.
Il now became possessed of a wild
terror. The creature must be furious
that l had discovered his real form. He
had always been careful to keep his
head toward me. | should be torn to
| Pieces as kaldhein had been! Down the
stairs | dashed, across the courtyard,
and toward a lofty old tower which
stood in one corner of the castle. Up
! the winding stairs Of this | ran with
speed which belongs only to a franti-
cally terrified creature, until | reached
the fourth story, where | dashed through
an open doorway, slammed behind me
an iron door, which shut with a spring,
and fell gasping upon the floor.
In less than minute | was aware,
" a slight rafting of the great hinges,
that something was pushing against the
door but | did not move | knew that |
was safe. The room in which | lay was
prison dungeon, and in it, in the olden
times, it is said men had been left to
perish. Escape or communication with
the outer world was impossible. A little
light and air came through the narrow
slit near the top of the wall. and to force
the door would be impossible.
Il knew that the invisible dog, or
whatever it was, could not get in unless
the door was opened. | had frequently
noticed that when he entered room it
was through an open door. and l some
times knew of his approach by seeing
an unattached door open without visible
cause, so feeling secure for the present
l lay and gasped and painted.
After the lapse of a few hours, how
ever, | was seized by a new terror. How
was l ever to get out OF this horrible
dungeon? Even if l made up my mind
to face the dog, trusting that he had re-
covered from his momentary anger, /
had no means of opening the door, and
as to making any one hear me l knew
that was impossible.
Il had no hope that my servants would
seek me here. | had not seen any one
when l ran into the tower, and if they
should discover that | was here in this
dungeon how could they open the door?
The key was in my fathers possession.
He had taken it to Vienna to exhibit it
as a curiosity to some OF his mechanical
friends. He believed that there was not
such another key in the world [ was
in the habit of making long absences
from the castle, and if l should be looked
for I believe that the tower would be
the last place visited.
Night came on; the little light in
the room vanished and. hungry. thirsty
and almost hopeless. | fell asleep.
During the night there was most
dreadful storm. The thunder roared.
the lightning flashed through the slit in
the wall, and the wind blew with such
terrific violence that the tower shook
and tremblcd. After a time / heard a
tremendous crash as Of falling walls, and
then another, and now I felt the wind
blowing into my prison.
There was no further sleep for me-
Trembling with fearful apprehension
| of what might happen next, ] covered
against the wall until the day broke,
then l perceived that in front of me was
great hole in the wall of the dungeon,
which extended for more than ward
above the floor. 1 sat and looked at
this until the light became stronger and
then l cautiously approached the
aperture and looked out. Nearly the
whole Of the castle lay in ruins before
me!
1T was easy to see what had happened.
Thestorm had demolished the crumbling
walls of the old building, and the tower,
itself frail and lettering, stood alone,
high above the PROSTATE ruins. If the
winds should again arise it must fall,
and at any moment it's shaken foun-
dations might give away beneath it.
Through the hole in the wall, which
had been caused by the tearing away of
some of the connection between the
tower and main building, l could look
down on the ground below, covered with
masses of jagged stone, but there was
no way in which | could get down. l
could not descend that perpendicular
wall. III lcaped out death would be
certain.
"As crouched at the opening I felt
the head of a dog pushed against mo. A
spasm of terror ran through me, but the
moment the creature began to lick my
hands knew that had nothing to fear
from him. Instantly my courage re-
turned | felt that he was my protect
or. l patted his head, and he renewed
his careSSeS.
Passing my hand over him, found
he was holding himself in his present
position by means of his fore legs, which
were stretched out upon the floor. What
dog this must be, who could climb a
| WALL But gave no time to conjectures
of this sort. How could 1 avail myself