The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-08-21

making many trips, have carried Off the
nuggets, but | needed help 60 get the images
to the surface Of the earth, and | decided to
do the clever thing by you and share like
and like. Now you've got sharp head, so
tell me how we are going to move all that
| gold
This was problem, for we did not care
to share the secret In order to secure help,
| and the getting Of the gold above the ground
was not the only difficulty, for we would
then have TO convey 1t from the spot. One
breath OF our secret and we would have
been mobbed. | was thinking OF this when,
without warning, was thrown down on
my lace. staggered &c my feet and looked
about me. Below lay near me, insensibe
for falling as had done, he had struck his
head against rock. and caught him by
the arm, screaming:
Get up, man, and run for your Iifel The
mountain is coming in two, | believe for
| horrible, rending, grinding sound was to
be heard deep down in the bowels of the
| earth, the rocks about US shook, and as
| shouted to my companion | saw an awe
striking sight The bed of the ancient river
split like pine shingle right down the mid
die and saw mighty gush Of water thrown
fully twenty feet In the air. Bellew stag
gered to his feet and as he did so the torrent
caught us, whirled us, still clinRing together
down the slope to the other stream. The
canoe swung round on the crest of the wave,
but l caught at it ere it could be swept
away and steadied it aud myself against
big rock. Bellew seized it also and together
we succeeded In getting ou6 of the torrent,
sweeping down to join the river,
that seemed as IL IL, too, was dashed
by an unseen hand. Then came another
shock, and for IA moment tho stream actu-
ally appeared to he tilted up on one end and
to flow backward. This settled it. l sprang
into the canoe and Bellew followed. The
current was against us, but padded with
might and main. l had horrible sensa-
ton of being caught like a rat in trap aud
that the rocky roof above us was descend
Ing. When we reached the dip in the roof
Below lay down, but by means OF pushing
against the wall / sent the canoe flying
along. There was a constant pealing as OF
thunder in the air, and every now aud then
would come crash as of enormous rocks
being thrown down, but ia sheer despera-
ton l showed on.
LIGHT AT LAST.
"When at last we saw the blessed light
shining in at our entrance gave a shout of
Joy, and fairly hauled Bellew through it
into the welcome day. As for my poor
companion, he seemed crushed. Some
inklinR of the truth had come to him even
then, although | was 80 full OF escaping
that / gave no thought as to the probable
consequence of the earthquake. We spent
the night at the mining camp, and next
morning Bellew proposed our return to the
cavern. / was still too shaken to go, but
he insisted that he must go, so he did while
l waited for him at the entrance. In about
two hours he returned, and l saw at once
that he was nearly out of his mind.
Il can't find it, he said, 1 can't find 1t.
o, the gold, the pretty yellow goldi O, |
must find it | am rich, rich, richl
Do you heart am the richest
man in the worldr l tried to ges
out of him what he had seen,
but he could not compose himself suffi-
GENTLY to tell me. and l soon saw that he
was insane. After some days ventured
into the cavern, but as soon as | saw the
river that had borne US to the submerged
city 1 knew that we had set foot in 1t for
the last time. The river was completely
choked up by heaps of rocks, and from a
stream OF twenty feet wide had become
shallow lake, extending some dis
lance and with small rivulet max
ing its way at one end into the
bowels of the cd, tn by some I'm
psnetrable shaft. The entire aspect of that
sHbterranean country had been altered. and
by subsequent measurement | ascertained
that where the ruined city had been now
rested thousands of IONS of earth and rocks.
Perhaps the disappointment of losing 80 ia
bulous fortune would have sunk deeper
with me had it not been for the warning poor
Bellows despair was. He went quite mad
and took to lingering about the entrance to
his lost EldorAdo, guarding 1t as fiercely as a
starving dog bone, un til one day he disap-
peared. What his fate was l never learned,
but in ell probability he lost his life in some
mad endeavor to reach the buried gold"