Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1891-07-31
Two YEARS vAcA TON.
BY JULES VERNE,
Esoy Of The Tour o. The World IN y
Days" 100, 600 Leagues Under
the Seas" Etc.


this evening her place was empty.
They called Fan, but Fan did not re
spond
Gordon went TO the door and called
again. No sound broke the stiffness.
Donovan and Wilcox ran, one to the
lake, the other down the rlyer-bank, but
saw nothing OF the dog.
In vain the search was extended for
some distance above and below the cave.
Fan could not be found.
II was evident that the dog must be out
OF hearing, for she would certainly have
answered Gordon's call Could IL he that
she had strayed OFF, This was scarcely
probable. Had she fallen into the clutches
OF some wild beastp This might be, in
deed IL was the most plausible eXplnnH
ton Of her disappearance.
1t was nine O'Clock In the evening; both
lake and cliff were enshrouded in dark.
nefs and nll further search must be aban
doned for the night.
Sadly and gloomily they all wended
their way back TO the French Cave, in
con soluble ut The thought that the intelli
gent animal had disappeared, perhaps for
ever.
Some threw themselves down upon then
beds. The others seated themselves around
The table, too much depressed TO think Of
sleep, for IL seemed 10 them that they were
now even more forlorn and even further
removed from their friends and homes
than before.
Suddenly In tho midst of the silence
fresh growls were heard followed this
time by cries of pain which were prolonged
for fully n minute,
"The sound comes from here" cried
Brian, darling into the tunnel.
All the older boys sprung to their feet,
~ If expecting TO behold some frightfnl
appnrition; the younger lads, overcome
Sc lth terror, buried their heads under the
hcd-clothcs,
Scarcely moment had elapsed before
!! an emerged from the tunnel, eXclam-
iug--
There certainly must be another cave
q olniHg thls.'
In which animals tnke refuge during
the night" added Gordon.
Il think SO so, too" replied Donovan;
''pt we Ind better make another attempt
{, discover the entrance to II tomorrow"
= ust then savage bnrk, followed by
H., CO growls, resounded from tho interior
o. the cliff.
What II TINT is Fan fighting with some
q mnlfn cried Wilcox.
riAn who had again rushed into the
tluueL was listening breathlessly with
d =, ear pressed TO the wall Not another
49,. nd was heard, but whether Fan was
h., re or not, the existence Of another cave
81 - established beyond doubt. The rest
~ he night passed quietly, but search
IT, the mouth of n cave made shortly after
t. break the next morning was no more
st eesslul thnn the previous one, and
e. uuh Fan was called again and again.
,.. failed to appear.
rian and Baxter iabored In turn at the
H. mel all the morning, and nh advance
c' about twn feet was made The lads
paused now and then to listen, but all was
quiet.
The work was again resumed immedi'
ately after their midday meal, though
every preGautIon had been taken for fear
a blow of the pick should open u passage
for some feroclous animal The smaller
lads had been sent outside, and Donovan,
Wilcox, and Webb, weapons In hand,
stood ready for any emergency
About two O'Clock Brian uttered an ex'
clamation. His pick had just pierced the
rocky wall and disclosed large open
space
Brian FASTENED back TO his comrades,
but before he could open his lips n rust
ing sound was heard, and nm animal
sprung into the middle of the cave with q
single bound.
II was FAM
Yes, Fan. who rushed straight to yes
sci fun OF water and began to drink vo-
raciously; then, without showing the least
sign of alarm or irritation, she began to
leap aud gambol around Gordon. There
was consequently nothing TO fear.
Taking u lantern, Brian entered tho tun
mel, followed by Gordon, Donovan. VIII
COX, Baxter, and Moko. A moment M.
tp} ward having orawlcd through the
opening, they all found themselves In .
set oud cave of about the same height and
" 9TH OF the French Cave, but much
longer As this cave seemed to have n"
communication with the outer world,
there was reason to fear that the mir was
not 1T to breathe, but as the lantern con.
tinued to burn freely, II was certain that
fr, ali air must lnd it's way through some
opening. Besides, IL there had been ne
SNth opening, NOW CpHlN bhH hHNt kNlHNu
an entranoeS
Just then Wilcox stumbled over some,
thing that was lying on the floor of the
cave, and as Brian turned the Hight of tho
lantern upon IT, The dead body Of u iaCkal
was disclosed to view
"A iackal that our bravo Fan must have
strnnRledt' cried Brian. "ihis solves the
mystery"
But how and whore did the animal gain
an entrance into the cavcp Determined 10
satisfy himself on this point, Brian left
tho French Cave aud walked slowly along
the base of the oltf fronting on the lake,
utterlng loud shouts which were at last
answered from the interior, and in this
way he succeeded In discovering n mar
row opening almost on n level with the
ground through which the jackal had
glided.
How delighted everyone vast Fan was
not only restored to her young masters
but they were also spared long ant
arduous task for, IA Dole expressed It
they now had a ready made cave at Their
disposal
BY enlarglng this opening they would
secure another place OF egress on the lake
side and sufficient additional room +,
make themselves very comfortable dp"
ing the winter, so the Lads, VINO had al