Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1893-07-28

ya- now beyond the reach OF the current
~ mir. which s,egaD 10 sob and moan as il
wns driven to and fro through the unseen
passage by the rise and fall Of the waves
Frank now paused. sitting down upon
the rock floor and extending his hands IN
order 10 acpuaint himself with the nature
OF hi, Immediate surroundings.
His fingers in their search encountered
something. he knew not what, but 1t
seemed to be "A human foot incased in
shoe At the same time the horrible otlor
Of pntrefactiop greeted his nostrls II
took hut moment for the boy to assure
himself that his conjecture was true, and
an involuntary cry burst from his lips
Wrought up almost to madness he would
have fed but for the imprisoning dark
ness.
When with trembling fingers he sue
ceeded in relighting his candle he saw the
body Of man lying before him, his feet
extending toward the spot where he sat
The man was dead His head was pill
lowed upon stone Beside him were the
remains of a burned out candle, pick and
a shovel The face was swollen and dis
colored. and dark spot that spread over
the floor beside him indicated that he had
died from some injury which had been at
tended with profuse hemorrhage.
The dead man was well advanced In
years. His hair was gray, verging to white.
His thin but muscular body was clothed in
threadbare garments, covered with darns
and patches He presented every appear
ance Of extreme poverty.
Frank began to feel a sense of fellowship
with the unfortunate man who had to all
appearances entered the cave on an errand
similar to his own, and for the moment
failed to discern the sinister lesson taught
by his CHASTITY discovery.
Determined to know more of his silent
neighbor. he proceeded to examine his
pockets A well filed purse. pocket
knife, small quantity of tobacco and a
bunch of keys rewarded his search.
There was a growing impression in the
mind of the boy that he was about to I'M
ravel the mystery which had agitated and
perplexed the minds Of the good people Of
Rockport for the past two months
Thus far be had discovered no clew to
the identity of the dead man. Jasper
Karch he had never seen, for this was his
first visit to Rockport since his mothers
removal when he was an infant a few
months old A closer examination of the
bunch of keys brought to light small
brass check, which had engraved upon it
the name of Jasper Karch
So intense had been his interest In his
search that Frank had forgotten every
thing but the mystery which was being re
solved under his hands When the flicker
ing light of the candle revealed the name
of the man for whose murder Jack Hast
ings was that day held responsible at the
bar Of court of justice, he shouted aloud
his voice minging with the strange sounds
| that filled the cave:
81 have found himl have found him"
The sound of his own voice recalled the
boy to a sense of his isolation, and raised
the question with increased interest as to
how he should effect his escape with the
important information ne had SO strangely
acquired.
| He could not grasp the matter in all its
bearings, but he felt that he held the key
of Jack Hastings prison cell in his hands
| He looked down into the cave below
him 1t was filled with surging waters
He must wait until the tide fell But
when would that be3 He had been told
that the sea rarely receded sufficiently to
clear the mouth of the cave. Indeed, he
bered that it was a matter of com
mon report that for years the assure was
not seen at all. 1t was then the merest ac-
cident that enabled him and his unfortu
nate companion to enter at all. He knew
that, at best, the attempt was regarded as
SO hazardous that no living inhabitant OF
the village had ever undertaken to visit
| the cave.
| The horror of the situation, intensified
by the presence of the dead man, who lay
among the shadows like an effigy carved
out of the rock, burst upon the mind of the
young treasure hunter
| AS last resort he thought of the aper
ture through which the current of air flow
ed and had but little difficulty in finding
the place.
! His light was extinguished as he came
before the opening, but he was able to sat
isfy himself that it was sufficiently ca
pacious to admit the passage of two bodies
as large as his own.
Carefully placing in his pockets the arti-
Giles taken from the body of the dead man
he entered the opening and began his per
| ilous journey.
| The crevice through which he was crawl
ing Frank found to be a natural drain for
the surface above, leading up through the
strata in a most tortuous manner.
The boy had no means of judging the
| flight of time, but days seemed to pass
while he worked his way laboriously along.
His hands were torn and bleeding, his
knees were cut by the sharp edges of the
rocks and his clothes hung about him III
rags.
The wind howled and whistled around
him as it was drawn into the cave and ex
PEELED again by the waves
When hunger and thirst made themselves
| felt he remembered the remains of his
luncheon, and drawing it from his pocket
strove to eat.
Somewhat refreshed, Frank renewed his
snakelike course, feeling that flesh and
blood could bear but little more.
AT last, to his inexpressible Joy, faint
light appeared in the distance, which in
creased in volume and intensity us he adj
vanced, until he beheld the end of the
passage and the blue sky beyond
When the boy at length stood in the
upper world of light and liberty he knew
not where he was He was at the bottom
of a natural caldron inclosed by wall OF
! rock and overarched by the sky
As ne stood there vaguely wondering
ina; his next move would be, a loud shrek
followed by II groan and ending in peal Of
demoniacal laughter broke upon his ear
All, surely he recognized that soundl |,
was the rush of the wind through the
watercourse from which he had jus,
emerged
Yes, and heard from without he knew il
to be .he noise which had gwen spot moi
far from his uncle's cabin the name of the
DEVILS Patch.
Guided by his discovery the hoy clam
bered over the edge of the caldron and