Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1893-05-05

rocks in wator We tore; but hurry as
we would, the muddy, angry waters
still preceded ms, swelling and surging
between its narrow banks. Now we
came to an unusually low point and
found the water about our necks az we
stopped 20 pas along. 1 was ia the
Iced, and though / set a telling pace
bud in his fright managed to keep up.
Those few hundred yards seemed in
Vulnerable miles, with tho floods swell
ing behind ms and the ominous roar
overhead gathering volume. Now and
then Il OF or candles would 20 out,
and we were forced to stop and relight
1t from the n that still burned, as our
matches were all wet and useless. Al
last ] stood in the chamber next the
fatal barrier.
What n moment of suspense, Of dread,
suffered whilo waiting for bud to
come upl 1 hastily scanned tho walls Of
this the highest ceiling available, and
my heart sank as | saw the unmistak
able signs of overflow on every side and
overhead. bud soon joined me, mud
begrimed and painting. He looked the
hend incarnato dragging himself forth
from his home of ooze and filth. But
did not laugh as my terrified gaze rested
Pm his pale and troubled face, you may
be sure. l remember feeling a great
pity for him, however.
T~relnblingly we advanced q few rods
and came upon the wall, but, 10, no exit
was yisiblel Now it was concealed by
a small pool with a swift maelstrom that
swallowed, with evident gusto, those bits
Of wood and leaf which came near lis
hungry gullet. Weak and overcome
with excitement, we eat down on o little
knoll, and with the %protruding eyes Of
doomed men watched the steady up
crawling of the stream, SO different from
the song whispering brook of an hour AGO.
The awful silence was oppressive, while
the heavy darkness gathered on every
side as If to %eStinguish our feeble lights.
Both of our heads were hatless. and a
small stream of crimson trickled from
buds forehead-a wound that he had
received from a jutting rock or some
obstacle overhead.
The situation was terrifying.
l vas almost certain that death was
inevitable, but ~singularly enough my
whole attention was centered on my
miserable companion. l gazed steadily
at him, wondering what his thoughts
must be, and if all his past life was hur-
rying before him in review, as l had
often heard it said mems lives would do
when death seemed inevitable. Silently
and steadily, like some great yellow SER
pent, the brook crawled into the mar
row chamber and coiled fold on fold.
We had already moved back TO higher
ground once, and now it was inching up
about u feet again, Our heads were
against the highest part of the rock
roof, so it would be better to keep our
places than to move back to a more
trying position which would be no safer.
To my dying day l shall never forget
the feelings that crept oven me at tho
water stole up along my body cold and
Shiny. 1t seemed that / was being grad.
ually swallowed by some foul mon
ster. The submerged portions of my
body seemed severed from the trunk
while sure death onvGloped me. A sen
sation Of insufferable closeness almost
choked me, while the very helplessness
Of the situation added thousand t@errors,
Dudley sat as one in a profound stu
por, n hand grasping the two inches
of tallow yet left, his other scraping pit.
eously along the rough wall, as though
seeking an exit for its petrifed owner.
For my part | became strangely quiet
after a time, while a sense of indiher-
ence possessed me-. A sort Of resigna.
ton to the inevitable, l suppose, for tho
floods continued to press upward. Our
shoulders We're now just above the
waters, while my hand grew 30 weary
Of holding the candle that it seemed a,
if about to sink below the surface de-
spite my every EFFORT.
Neither of us had spoken for soma
time, when Dudley suddenly turned t.
me-. 81 can't stand it any longer" he
said simply. "Tell them goodby at homo
for me if you ever get out, and he rose
as if to launch himself forward. saw
his object at once and reached out to
grasp him. "Hold on, bud" l said; 81
don't believe it is going to get any high
er." "lt doesn't make any difference
he repeated. eve both can't live lone
in this small space anyhow" and he
sank from view. I felt him touch me
as he rolled over, and | clutched at his
body to lift him to the surface, but it
escaped my grasp and q succession of
bubbles told me that further effort was
useless-he was drowned. His candle
had Of course gone with him, and /
questioned whether it would not be best
for me to extinguish my own, since it
was fast exhausting the oxygen that
was an absolute necessity to my life.
But l could not decide 10 snuff ont that
feeble light. 1t was almost like life itself.
l cannot describe to you my feelings
as | sat a hundred feet underground.
with only q breathing space Of five or
six feet about my head, the water at my
chin and the cold form Of my dead
companion at my feet. 1t seemed as if
this mental torture lasted for hours,
when, 10, agreat joy seized me-the flood
had ceased 10 rise. But its abatement
must be far swifter or l would perish mis-
erably from mere exhaustion. In half
an hour the water sank so low that l
managed to get under the rock, and
with loudly beating heart saw once
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