The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-08-20


and shaken escaped the fate, which
otherwise + must have met, of being
dashed TO pieces on the spot.
l felt a moment Of relief-of Joy. Yet
had cause for ..exultationg 1 gathered
myself up and looked about me.
There, above me, was the opening of the
shaft, beneath circle Of eleer sky, in
which, TO my surprise, a star was shining,
though the time was noon. Ny wouder
was, however, only rnomentary; the effect,
knew, arose from looking up the tunnel
of the shaft-as, In the broadcast sunshine,
the moon and stars are visible from the
bottom Of we'll A more momentous OBJ
serYation seized my notice; the interior of
the shaft, wet, slippery and shining, pre-
scented neither crevfce nor projection. Even
as looked realized the horror Of the fate
before me. Escape was impossible was
the captive of the geyserl Beside the
rocky ledge on which I stood-a space
about yard in width could perceive, as
my sight became accustomed to the feeble
CLEAN which fell into the chasm, the awful
throat Of the abyss, descending, Avernus
ike, for all knew, into the very CULTS Of
fire From the gorge q faint steam rose
like mist, and in the utter stiffness could
hear, far down, the sound Of gurgitating
waters.
In little while-how long I could not
teIl-the moment Of eruption would return
and food the chesm- I should be drowned
drowned like trapped rat; no, horror
drowning is not an instant death, and the
abyss would have become bubbling caul-
sron. should be boiled alive
As the horror of this thought broke on
me my veins ran chill within me and /
shook from head to foot as if with ague.
Sick and dizzy, for many minutes l re-
manned like man paralyzed, incapable of
thought or motion, yet conscious-con-
scious even of the keenest torture-Of the
flight of every moment An expectation
a suspense unutterable-strained every
nerve to agony. The instants numbered
by my fevered pulses seemed to fall upon
my heart like drops of melted lead. Ny
ears were strained to catch the far, faint
sound Of the abysmal waters-a sound
which might be changed at any instant to
the roar which would anticipate my doom.
At last, with the spasmodic effort of a
dreamer starting from the clutches Of
nightmare, | reused my mind into exer-
ton. Was I doomed-inevitably doomed?
was there no possible escape before meS
I turned my eyes again upon the shaft.
1t was, as have said, about five feet in
width a little narrower, and I might
have had a chance of freedom; by setting
nv back against one wall Of the ascent and
my hands and knees against the opposite,
might gradually have worked my body
upward, as chimney sweeper's boy goes
up q stack. AS it was, however, theattempt
was idle Unable TO employ my knees in
elm bing, could not raise myself foot
above the ledge.
Then another CLEAN Of hope shot through
my mind. Could 1 cut notches In the walls,
and so ascend, as by a LADDER pulled out
my hunting knife and prepared to try its
point upon the surface. Then stood hest
tating, knife in hand, afraid to make the
trial and find my last bope taken from me.
Yet the surface though SO polished, might
quite possibly turn out friable and earthly.
At last l struck the point against it; a
shudder ran through every fiber of my
frame; it was as hard as adamant-the
steel blade barely scratched it. In pas
sion of despair I struck with all my force
against the linty wall; the blade snapped
short and fell with a ringing noise into the
depths of the abyss, where 1 heard it strike
lrOUl sue W SlIo us IL OcSCCA1GCO- az l6hStI
as if 1t reached some vast, unfathomable
space, the sound ceased suddenly and /
heard no more.
Up to this moment had forborne to cry
for help; at heart knew too we'll that it
was useless. The camp was half a mile
away, and my loudest outcry, muff1ed by
the chasm, would be inaudible at fifty
yards from the shafts mouth. Yet, at
l., -
! raised my voice and uttered loud, long
and piercing cry. But when shall forget
what followed2 The sound had scarcely
left my lips when it was answered by a
voice within the gulf-by a cry, beginning
low and quick, but swelling into a wild,
reverberating peal or shrek, which stopped
the very beating Of my heart; shrek so
utterly appalling and unearthly that 1t
seemed as if all the demons OF the pit had
burst at once into a scream of hooking
laughter Again, and yet again, the sound
reverberated, in unimaginable echoes,
through | knew not what abysmal caves
and hollows Of the world
Shaken as / was in every nerve, I could
no longer reason: otherwise must have told
layseIf that the cry could only be a repe-
tition of nv own. No living monsters
voice from the abyss could have appeared
to me more real or more terrific. Scarcely
knowing what | did, ! flung myself upon
nv narrow platform and stopped my ears
to shut away the sound
When at last | ventu-ed to uncloSe them
the awful peal had faded into silence, and
no sound was to be distinguished except
the faint. continual noise of gurgitating
water, which had not ceased to issue from
the depths OF the abyss. To this sound
now lay listening in a kind Of frightful
fascination for some minutes-fve or ten.
Then, even as | listened to the sound,
heard, with freezing blood, a change Of
character take place within it, change
into long low, booming rurmur, dread
full as a lions growl. 1t was the wakening
voice OF the eruption. At last my hour was
cOmel
Rigid with horror I threw myself against
the wall, and, with starting eyes and pant
ing breath, awaited the volley of the boil
ing stream | heard the sound increase
into a thunder. 4 fierce explosion shook
the very rock. There came blast, q
shrek. from the abyss. | felt shock that
stunned me, and the tremendous spout Of
water shot me from the gulf and hurled
me fifty feet into the air.
Strange that l had never thought OF this;
that had never taken into calculation the
gigantic power of such = jet! How incredi-
bly, absurd it now appeared that l should
fancy that q current Of such force would
leave me in the hollow Nor was | fated
10 be boiled alive The water, though its
heat WIS only Just endurable, was by no
means boiling hot Had l beer aware be
fore that this occasionally happened my
bitteress despair would have retained a