Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-03-07


NCrS $tOrChOuSC
climb the smooth sides of their prison.
My own futile efforts to climb the slope
suggested n ludiCIUuS resemblance to the
frustrated energies of those insects.
Again and again l addressed myself to
different parts of the smooth slope, but
nowhere could secure purchase for
hands or knees. AT revocaIp gradum
superasque evadere adj awras. Hic la
Dor. hoe opus. | murmurcd. | was
not Vet alarmed; vet. as if far down in
the depths of my NATURE WAS conscious
of dim fOrInless emotion which never
experienced hp fore.
Still certain that l would in some
way escape, sought the point where
the incline ahuttcd ON the wall of
the cave. sure that l could get up in
the angle 50 formed by the support
of the craggy sides there. | tried first
on the left Here, however, the incline
seemed to break off sharp. l found this
ont of cuulSe Ivy my sense of touch.
Then, creeping over huge smooth bowl
ders and the aforesaid heaps of scaweed,
l reached the other wall and found it
ragged indeed and ahutting on the in
cline. but at this point the incline was
almost sheer. In short. | could not
ascend. The faroff emotion, scarcely
perceptible when l quoted those hack
neyed lines from Virgil. was now fast
getting the upper hand in my mind.
Nevertheless l made frantic efforts to
ascend. but all i'll vain. Again | thought
of the Cockl oach in the glass trap-the
wretched insects clambering and slid
ing on the smooth walls of their prison.
But | did not laugh this time. l was,
too. like them. Yet | did not in the
least despair of getting out-if not to-
night. which was improbable, then to-
morrow. l knew that there were many
devices TO he tried yet. For one thing
l thanked God sincerely-the place
where l fell WAS carpetcd thick with
seaweed. On each side there was none.
Whatever the gales or the Crests of
great waves in winter had thrown in
had been washed down through the in
tersticCs of the great powders and prob
ably escaped at some lower point in the
cliffs sides. | sat down on this provi-
Dental seawced to collect my thoughts.
| filled my pipe and then searched all
my pockets. hoping somewhere to dis
cover match, for l used to keep loose
matches inditfcrcntly in all my pockets
and often had found one hidden some
where in the lining. My search was
bOotless. l had not match left.
1t was growing dark rapidly. l had
no time TO lose. Tor even if We're to eff
feet my escape from this internal cave
l would require daylight for the return
journey along that dangerous cliff road
l proceeded at once to gather together
all the scawecd that l could lay my
hands on and piled it up in a heap
against the incline. AS the heap rose
my heart rose with it. There seemed
an abundance of seaweed. could feel
it thick under my feet. Its cracking
sounded pleasantly, for it was very dry.
Still had to go farther and farther into
the cave for each armful or barth, to use
local word, for it did not lie every
where, but, as it were, in line running
inward from the middle of the incline
Here, then. lay a road of seaweed few
feet wide, but on either hand only bare
stones. 1t was now getting SO dark that
l at last determined to give over this la
Dor, for it would be sheer madness to at
tempt the return journey in the dark.
A sinister suspicion, too, was growing
Ill my mind that the supply of seaweed
was giving out. My last armfuls repre-
scented good deal of cropping. The sea-
weed only seemed to be really abundant
close under the window. l did not wish
to make my suspicion a certainty by
putting the facts to too close test. The
thought of the anxiety and alarm of my
parents and family. as may be imagined,
attributed good deal to my unhappi-
ness. When | ceased working, | began
10 grow cold, and soon very cold. The
seaweed was quite dry and crisp. Ipiled
a great deal of this over me by way OF
bed clothes, and, thanks to youth and
health, ere long fell sound asleep in
spite of my troubles. When l awoke,
it was broad daylight, and the level
rays of the sun streamed far into the
interior of the cave, which seemed of
vast extent. Indeed guessed as much
on the previous night as l listened to
the reverberations of my voice in its
abysmal holfows. Starting up, at once
renewed my task of collecting seaweed
with the object of ascending the incline
by its aid.