The Kootenai herald. [volume] (Kootenai, Idaho) 1891-1904, 1891-08-08


whence came the noise.
Walking slowly along on the same
level and feeling with my hands before
me, it was not long ere | came in contact
with a rocky wall, retracing my cautious
steps came upon just such another. i
am in a great passage, thought |, with
shudder, high and narrow, descending
deeper and deeper, and leading God knows
whittier, perhaps to the bowels of the
earthp Overpowered with this thought,
it was some time before | dared to adj
vance, but at length, summoning all my
courage, | determined to leave no stone
unturned by which l might gain my
liberty. Creeping down the stony gorge
as / neared the place whence the echoing
sound arose, my heart beat hard against
my ribs. When | seemed almost upon it
paused. Now, thought |, 4 am on the
brink of precipice. Better to be dashed
at once to pieces than die the slow death
of starvation. put my foot out, expect
ing to find only space. But TO my amaze
ment | stumbled over something soft, and
fell forward. One moment | lay still;
then, cropping about in the dark, my hand
touched something warm-a human facet
ran my hand along the body-a dressl
Suddenly the idea struck me. 'NinaP
cried out, my voice sounding like the
voice of ten thousand. She was not dead,
for it was her breath which my fears had
mistaken for the rumbling of some distant
volcanic .streaml Selling her hands, l
chafed them in mine-l-
'Oh, sir, it is needless to go over those
long moments of agony during which
worked over the half dead body of my
love, or those moments of mingled joy
and anguish when her dawning conscious
ness had to struggle with the fearful
reality.
Il told her where thought we were
how we had come there. To her piteous
entreaties for comfort | could only respond
with gloomy silence, or an equally piteous
entreaty of her to be hopeful. How
strangely the aspect of things changes as
the wheel of life turns aroundl
'At that moment, sir, we would both
have given ten years of our lives to escape
from our living entombment Now, at
least, would not for worlds we had es-
capped For then | should have lost those
many bitter sweet hours when Nina and
|, buried from the world with death
staring us in the face, were bound to-
gether bv the strongest tie humanity is
capable of-that of common adversely.
when Nina tried to move, she gave a
loud cry of pain; her ankle was sprained,
and she could not move it without the
greatest anguish. She was forced to lie
quietly where she had fallen, while |
did my best to relieve her. God knows
how long we remained thus. Hunger and
thirst came in time, but they were but
two new troubles to be added to the rest.
Though we could not sleep, still our
minds were filled with waking dreams
horrible to think of now. The strain was
so terrible that at times Nina, becoming
delirious wotGd toss and twist regardless
of the pain she gave herself, and fill the
cavern with her piercing shrieks and
heartrending means. Then she would
grow calm again, and beg me to give her
my hand, that she might feel some one
was near.
After an eternity Of this terrible tor
ture, a sudden shIver ran through the
walls and floor, followed by another and
another; at first faint rumble died away
in the echoes of the cave, but soon the
rumble grew to a roar, and the roar to
thunder The noise was deafening-the
rocky ground moved like the ocean. Now
it was my turn to become frantic ] did
not know what did, but Nina tells me
that, in a frenzy, | sliced her III my arms
and covered her with kisses. If we must
die, cried. let us die togetherl You are
/ mine now; not even death can part us.
! Proportionately as lost my reason Nina
became cool. She besought me to be calm,
struggled with me when sliced her, and
| conjured me TO prepare for the next
world, since death was SO near
But Destiny intended otherwise. In
| the midst of the tumultuous tossing of
the earth the roof of our chasm split open,
letting in flood of such binding light
that we could not shut our eyes tight
enough to keep out the glare. This
seemed to be the signal for peace once
more to return, for the rumbling passed
away and the quaking ceased. When, at
last, we dared to open our eyes, we found
ourselves in rift in the earth about
twenty feet deep The second earth
quake must have forced up the bed of the
crevice more than eighty feet. !"
And how did You get out?" | asked
ooh, said Nine lie Quail coming NJ
from the bathing houses, 1.-The people OF
Caracas drew us ont with ropes. They
came, you know. very many to the ground
of the earthquake, monsieur, and with
drew us with ropes"
Poor little girl!' said the husband, a;
he drew her fondly TO him. 1T cost you
a father and homel'
Yes; but it gave husband mel'
"And a husbands confidence, dearest
which million earthquakes could never
shake
"Mechant garcon!" said Nina, roguishly
dragging her husband up by both hands
AS we were walking up to The hotel tn,
checked knickerbockers passed us, will
their friend the little Irishman.
Hang It'll She's devlish pretty-awr
'Yis, me boy; an more's the pity sh
limps"-J. NJ. Beldon in Frank Leslie