The Portland daily press., 1895-03-30

cape think l should nave aQVentured the
jump at any risk.
1 have said that the distance from the
window to the opposite roof was about
five feet. This, therefore, was the breadth
of what I have called the well. Its length
parallel with the window was, I should
think, nine or ten feet At either end
there was nothing but dead wall, rising
higher than the top of the window. The
bottom of the we'll, which could see but
indistinctly, was uneven, there being a
flight of stone stops descending from
doorway, which occupied half the space.
Perched on the edge Of these steps in the
corner-that is, the corner next my right
hand-was a large tub, ono side of it be-
ing supported by slight pile of bricks.
Will it be imagined-such was the ex-
tremity to which l had been reduced by
my fright-that actually fancied / saw a
way of escape by means of that tub? The
thought occurred to me that it was rain
tub; that it was probably well filed with
water; that if 1 could drop into it
should be all right, etc 1t was the notion
of a madman, but actually entertained
it, The only difficulty, as I thought, was
the fact that the tub was not directly I'M
der the window, but on one side of it.
This circumstance and the effort to find
out way of getting Immediately over the
tub, SO that I might drop perpendicularly
into it, discovered to me what seemed
better means of escape for looking into
the corner next the window on my right l
perceived spout there, and by leaning as
far out of the window as possible I could
just reach it. My first thought was to get
hold of that and then drop, but this soon
gave place to the idea that mig hit descend
by it.
tried the spout as well as I could and
found it rather shaky.
Above it had actually parted from one
of the nails that should have held it, and
a portion of it seemed ready to fall, but
below, although the nails were rusty, they
appeared still to hold.
The more l regarded the spout the mora
I was fascinated by it until at length I
found myself grasping it with both my
hands, and partly slipping along, partly
going hand over hand. slowly descending
it. The position was really too perilous
for me to grasp all the terrible peril of it.
Every movement I made shook the frail
support. The nails seemed ready to come
from the walls, and one actually did give
way and fall out. I thought then all was
over with me. dared not move another
inch. Then it occurred to me that now
was the time for me to drop into the tub.
/ looked down cautiously to make sure
that should fall all right when. to my
horror, saw that the tub was a deeayed
and shattered thing without bottom;
that it was SO frailly supported by bricks
and pieces Of wood that the slightest touch
+hof CHI aC
positive additional danger rather than a
help. 1 felt now that if I fell upon it
should loubtedly break my back.
Such was the horror of my situation
now that felt the only thing for me to
do was to try to swarm back again to the
window of my prison. One effort, how
ever made in that direction showed me
that the attempt was impossible. The
part of tho spout which the nail had left
gave way in my hands and all but fell.
Under the circumstances | perceived
that there was nothing for it hut to go on,
kick the cask away when got near enough
to do SO and take my chances of final
drop, so l descended inch by inch, foot bg
foot, tearing my hands every minute in
my efforts to get good hold Of the spout,
until new horror forced itself upon my
lulHu L uau CUlE6 IL lH0 Gnu vi Uuo spout
and was still 20 feet from the bottomI
There hung, grasping the treaenerous
spout with my hands, unable to return,
helpless to go forward, without any sup
port for my feet, and with my strength
gradually ebbing away. How long I re-
manned there / know not. The seconds
seemed minutes; tine minutes seemed
hours, At length I felt that death was SO
inevitable as the climax of my adventure
that it was only a question of minutes
when the end should come, for though I
cried out feebly no one heard my voice,
while beneath me were those hard, mar
row stone steps with the flimsy cask upon
it's frail supports Whichever fell upon
it meant instant death.
But, after all, I was not destined to die
then. Suddenly, when the muscles of my
hands were relaxing their hold, I heard
noise beneath me. I craned over my neck
and looked down. There was a man with
bucket. He threw out some rubbish and
re-entered the door, He had already dis.
appeared when my cry arrested his atten-
ton. He reappeared and looked round and
was about to depart again when another
shout caused him to look up shall never
forget his expression of establishment and
the exclamation he uttered on seeing me
hanging there at the end of that tottering
spout. The bucket dropped from his
hand, and he stood like one transfixed.
However, my cry, "Catch me, am fall.
ing" brought him to his senses. In an
instant he had tossed away the cask taken
a good foothold on the steps and hidden
me drop. He caught me expertly, and
was thus saved from as narrow squeak
for my life as ever experienced.
A few words sufficed to explain what
had happened. He looked surprised,
scratched his head, said be could not i'm
agine how l had got to that part of the
building; that the conference had been
over long ago, finally adding:
By all the saints in hivin, if hadn't
come out the minute did, you d have bin
dead crature by now! You only escaped
by the skin of your hl'-Alfred J.
Story in Million.