The pioneer press. (Miller, Hand County, S.D.) 1893-190?, 1895-07-04
CHAPTER yI-1Continucdo

will find il, and in any case | will
waste no more time now, for II stay
long | am sure to be missed"
So saving she knelt down on the
floor and pressed the hidden spring
with all her strength.
Slowly the boards moved back. dis
closing the large square aperture, from
whence the wind came rushing up
with damp. mouldy smell that made
her feel sick as it swept over her.
Fortunately her lantern was covered
or the light would have been extin-
guished with the sudden gust
She waited few seconds, and then
she took the lantern and carefully ex-
amined the sides of the dark, mys-
demonstrating well.
Her heart stood still as she discOv-
cred that not only were the sides of
the shaft formed of solid masonry,
which had scarcely been affected by
the hand of time. but that on one Of
the four perpendicular walls iron
clamps were fixed. forming a kind of
ladder let into the stone, and clearly
intended to be means of ascending
and descending the shaft.
For little while Grace sat on the
floor completely stunned by this dis
covery. not knowing what to make q.
it, but she soon reused herself; time
was precious, and the worst part of
her task was still to be accomplished.
Taking the lantern in her hand she
examined the cord attached to it to
see that IL was securely tied. then she
slowly lowered the light into the dark
ness below.
hn
iron ladder, but every bar of it was in
tact, and so intent was she on noticing
this that, though the lantern had been
swayed a good deal by the wind in its
descent. she was suddenly startled by
finding that 1t was resting upon some
thing and seemed to be able TO go no
further.
A glance at the remaining rope made
q tremor run through her frame as
she realized that what she had be-
lieved TO be deep and almost bot
tomless well was not in reality more
than twenty or thirty feet below the
false floor that covered ii.
Still it is deep enough for the fall to
have stunned Kate If il did not in
stantly kill her; and now. with burn
Ing anxiety and GREATNESS terror,
Grace leans over to look. as she hopes,
upon the corpse of her sister.
Can it be true? Do her eyes deceive
her? Or is she the victim of some
cunning delusion-some horrible night
mare?
She closes her eyes and keeps them
shut for minute, then she looks
again.
There is nothing TO brighten her,
save the absence of what she expected
to find.
No fostering corpse has here found
an unknown and unhallowed grave.
The crushed mass of satin and lace.
pearls and flowers that she had so
often pictured to herself as lying here
was not to be seen, and she might
have believed she had dreamed the
events of the last Christmas day but
for two things which the light of the
lantern on being moved about re-
yealed.
One was a pearl necklace, the other
a lace handkerchief. both of which
had belonged TO her Inflated sister.
The effect of this discovery upon
Grace Lilburne was to paralyze her
for the time.
She could not act or think: she sim
ply sat on the floor like creature
stunned, and il was only the sound of
voices in the corridor that ultimately
reused her.
Even now SHE could not move quick
ly. but she drew up the lantern slowly.
pressed the spring that made the floor
slide back into it's place, then she de-
liberately Invested herself of her III
ster, extinguished the light and walk
ed out into the corridor.
She did not observe Miriam Hind
man and Sir Victor Gayherd standing
only few PAGES from whence she
emerged, for she was like woman
walking in her sleep and though
stunned by the sudden discovery she
had made. she had not as yet begun
TO realize what it meant for her.
There was a strange look in her eyes
as she rejoined her father and their
guests. and Amy Gouldburne asked If
she was i'll, and somebody else sug-
gested that she was about TO faint.
But she smiled absently and de-
clared she was quite well and she gave
the signal that the dance was TO re-
commence, though she herself declined
to take part in il.
81 am a little tired and ] will look
on" she said TO gentleman who had
asked her to dance with him.
And there she sat, not really noticing
the figures that whirled before her
eyes, but with one fact becoming
clearer every moment to- her mind.
Some one besides herself knew what
had really happened TO Kate on last
Christmas day, for, whether she was
living or dead, some person must have
taken the hapless girl away from the
spot where she had been buried alive.
As she thus brooded, feeling that all
security was at an end for her. she
saw Miriam and Sir Victor come into
the hall together, and not seeming TO
notice her they ar once ininad tho