The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1891-04-25

"a 7 S<aalTLI parted enoug
ssas--~@ss:s-G to show it
cleaning teeth
and its red tongue, as if anticipating
feast of human blood, laps out at m
viciously.
| feel that my situation is the eA
treme of peril. Retreat is impossible
He would be ut my throat with boun'
were TO make the least motion q
retrograde-and where could 90
The way came is closed to me. II
jump into the waters that are whirlin,
past me, would be death. AS well iigh
il out with this monster preparin.
to spring upon me.
My knife! | must depend upon that
just then, as if to nerve my soul an
brace my sinews for the encounter, ,ther
came floating along the corridor of tn
vaulted chamber the faint notes of :
familiar hymn of bygone days. Ala
off it was, its soft, liquid melody seem
ing to come through stony walls ant
great depths of winding hallway.
l could not distinguish the words
nor could | say they were words. Blu
there was undoubtedly a concord O
sweet, heavenly sounds that floate'
softly upon the vibrant air with har
mony of angel song. | had hearC
Annie Anderson sing that hymn in hel
far-away home, and some inward mon
itor told me it was her voice | nov
heard. This thought thrilled me will
u nameless energy, and | awaited TIN
attack of the bloodhound with strang,
He has crept stealthily forward unit
he is within four feet of where | stand
With knife held firmly IN my right
hand, still rs n statue, await his com
ing.
Now his fore-paws are advanced for.
ward of his broad, shaggy breast.
His body is pressed close to tho
ground
His hind legs are drawn well forward
under his launches.
Never for a moment have his eyes,
now green from the intense fury he has
lashed himself into, wandered from
mine.
| stand bound momentarily with ;
spell. My heart almost ceases to beat
my blood freezes in my veins.
Then mastering myself with n strong
effort, | prepare 10 strike him in the
supreme moment.Of his attack.
Now see his muscles hardening-his
every nerve and limb, and thew and
energy gathering for the
onset.
Lower still he crouches. Deeper,
tenser grows the baleful light of hi:
eyes. Another moment and he will be
upon me.
Now is my time for action. My life
depends upon my celebrity of movement
and accuracy of aim. i carefully
the distance and calculate the
force necessary to give death stroke
| must drive my knife into the heart oi
The ferocious brute, or be torn To pieces
by hs fangs.
Making one brisk step forward,
hurl the knife with all my power. it,
sharp point strikes the savage animal
Immediately between his massive
and cutting through muscle
and bone, is buried deep into the pal.
pltating heart. Without struggle the
huge beast rolls over dead.
remove my knife, reeking with
the blood of the hound, and roll The
luivering body over into the swirling
waters, which sweep it swiftly out oi
sight.
Still hearing no sound, nor seeing
any sign Of human life, save those
| now began an exploration
Of the chamber.
Unlike the first one, this had numer-
Gus passages leading to other cayerns.
Many of them | examined and was
struck by the magnilicence of the
'talactal decorations. There were all
forms and shapes-some were long and
pointed like icicles; others like gro
esque visions of an uneasy dream.
Dragons, grif1ins and serpents cling
ing to ceiling, or sprawling along the
corrugated walls.
In one apartment the lime drip had
into stalagmites that stood
grouped around in ghostly splendor.
Some of these seemed to have arms
md TO be reaching up to the jeweled
that depended from over
mead.
Others of these caverns We're merely
ong passages with high, uninviting
;ides.
Bottomless pits occurred along the
loors at irregular intervals. Some of
hem We're no more than Il foot in diam
eter: others were yawning chasms, ten
eet across and of unknown depth. l
lropped Il stone into one and could
near it Us it struck upon projecting
edges rs it plunged its downward
,ourse, until the noise was lost in the
'ibrations of its own echoes.
After Il diigent search of many hours
md after Il limited exploration of not
css than score of chambers, the most
wonderful | had ever seen sr read of,
discovered what had conjectured to
ne the way to the final retreat of the
cang.
This was an ascending stairway, very
much resembling the "Devil's stair
ase" in Mammoth cave, Kentucky.
Very cautiously ascended this spiral
way. 1t hung over Il yawning pit of
Unknown depths, and one false step
would plunge me into the blacklist sort
# an eternity.
After climbing about twenty feet |
anne to landing into another cham
er The floor of this was smooth and
pvel.
1t was of irregular shape, being per-
aps fifteen feet wide, and twenty feet
ong, and sixteen or eighteen in the
eiling. Radiating from it, lat irregular
intervals, were five halls-some wide,
theirs narrow and difficult OF explora-
ion.
One of these came TO an abrul.' ter
fifteen feet from the entrance
mother one seemed to terminate in one
f those deep pits | desired to shun.
The third, after running some thirty
aet spread out into Il very handsome
which was almost circular in
hape, smooth tloored and dry, with a
.ood height of ceiling.
Onone side of the room was fireplace
nd way above il an opening for the
gress of the smoke. | knew at opce
hat this was the robbers retreat. A