Waterbury evening Democrat., 1893-10-16
CHAPTER ".
THE ESCAPE.

than was known to Putty. Years before he took the house l earned my living there, doing q drudEe's work and running on CT rands when l was a mere child. Fly digger had it then; that was before improvements ruined the ncighborhood. The houses in Sweet Apple lane. now mostly uutenant- ed, were crowded with tenants, and the Joy was a favoritc house of call' for all sorts of bad characters who lived there, and for the men employed in BaNter's wharf, which was then one of the busiest stores for dry saltinG on this side of the river.
 Fly digger did well by legitimate trade, but he made still more money by dishonest means and principally by plundering BaX- ter's wharf For this purpose he and his crew had made n passage under the fore shore, opening at one end into the cellar of the Joy and at the other end into the cellar of the wharf. This passage was called the tub run, because, to prevent the sides falling in, it was lined with casks with their heads removed and set end to end. As soon as the house was closed at night Fly digger and his mates would set 10 work, going through the tub run into Baxter's wharf and returning with goods from the storeroOms. 1 have seen them bring out as many as 90 hams in a night. The secret was never found out, but when ;he trade went from Baxter and the wharf was cleared out and closed the run was no longer of any service. The wharf watch man. who had been part to these robber- ics, took care to close and conceal the cellar opening, and Fly digger masked the open ing on his side with a fiagstuuc and bar row load of rubbish, which, trodden down, presented no difference from the rest of the unpavcd floor. Previous to that, to keep the brewers out of the cellar he had re | moved the beer barrels, which thenceforth | ne kept set up behind the bar, saying that | < was more fair and squarelike for the GUS | toners to see their beer drawn from the wood than through the engine from the | Ceuce knows where.
 The closing of Baxter's wharf was q sad | blow to him. but a worse came soon after, | !or being of a too active disposition he took to smuggling tobacco and rum from incom ing ships, ard being discove d by the cx- | else was sent to prison, and the Joy lost 1 it's license. The brewers obtained n fresh | license to sell beer and put Putty in to | manage the house When he came, the l spring tides had flooded the cellar, and see l ing that it was of no use he had the trap screwed down to save the expense of put | ting new hinges omit. Since then. as have 1 Said, no one had ever gone down into the | cellar.
 With these recollcctions Crowding my
 
 | livering Taras filling my heart with wild delight, hurried down Ferryboat alley, | and after looking about carefully to make | sure that no one was observing me wedgcd | myself through the ventilating hole and | dropped into the wharf cellar. I knew eX- | actly where the opening existed, having | taken part myself in some of the old ma ! rauding expeditions. and dropping down upon my hands and knees l brushed the | ri inc Sf fpO that covered the hole. There was not enough light to see | it, but I could trace the outline plainly enough with my fingers.
 But how was l to raise the heavy flag; There was no ring or anything to catch hold of, and knew that if worked away the rubbish sufficiently to get my hands underneath I should still be unable to lift it. l must have something to pry it uT with. A bar of iron would do. It struck me that I might find what needed among i the old iron in JohnsOn's yard. If l had ! thought of that bcforehand, I might have l brought it in with me, but l was too i'm 1 patient of delay, too eager to begin, tc 1 waste time in regrets.
 Clambering up to the VentilntOr, lOOkcI out. Some boys were playing on the shore I dared not show myself while they wer' there. It seemed to me that they would , never weary of throwing stones into tht
 
 went away. Then slipped out, and pre- tending to be looking for odds and ends or { the shore made my way up to Johnson yard and got in through gap in the pal ing. It didn't take long to find what
 wantcd-a broken stoking iron looked tC me just the thing Asking myself if thcr,
 was anything else l should need, it oc cured to me that a candle would be nee
 essary, the cellar of the Joy being ever I y1o,, l. hurf 'ha rrat.
 of the yard opened into Sweet Apple lane
 and as they closed impcrfectly 1 was jus
 able to squeeze through-thauks to being
 Ripper.
 and box of matches out of the mone!
 given me by Putty, the trembling of m!
 knees and feeling of faintness remindet
 me that l had eaten nothing all day, so
 bought small loaf and some cold fish anC
 treated myself to a cup of coffee with m!
 last halfpenny. The hot coffee set me ul
 wonderfully, and with revived energy re
 turned to the yard and hiding the ba
 under my dress sneaked back to the stairs
 Then after another cautious look around
 finding the coast clear, slipped the stok
 ing iron through the ventilator and fol
 lowed it almost as swiftly.
 It was harder job than l expected t
 move the flagstone and get it out of tn
 
 tion running down my face, until, the sen
 sation of sickness seizing me again, has
 to give over for n time till had eaten m,
 loaf and regained strength At length i having worked the stone aside, about foo
 out of its place, knelt down to feel if tn
 opening was large enough for me to pas
 through for had not lit the candle to d.
 this work). and then to my dismay I dis
 covered that the too careful watchman hat
 aI vrif TJ1oh fnly ;p,
 down on the ground, could have erie,
 with the mingled feelings of rage and dis
 appointment, but thinking of Taras deS
 peration overcame these sentiments, ant
 springing up on my knees tore at the rut bish with my hands vehemently, like do
 in a warren, determined to reach Taras , though had to dig my way to him throug , the solid earth.
 , Happily the rubbish was loose and yield ed readily to my hands, and still morc haI oily there were not above four or five fee , of it, or might never have got down to tn , tub run with all my determination. A , empty box thrown down had got jamme . in the hole about third of the way dowr
 and below that the space was empty. Ney ertheless 1t took me many hours to get tn
 rubbish out, having nothing to dig wit but my hands and nothing but my apro to carry it up in when got down a certail , distance, ard then the box, which at frs
 sight seemed to have been set there by tn hand of Providence, appeared after awhil to have been wedged in by my worst enc
 my, for it defied all my efforts to loosen it
 until my patience and strength were wei nigh exhausted, and then had to get t the top and drag it out, which was eve
 more difficult. Ten o'clock struck befor
 this task was accomplished.
 had been compelled to light the candl to get the box out, and thers was now no
 mqEA than an ineh lefe