Mower County transcript., 1896-05-20
IlX.
THE EAR OF THE MOUNTAIN.

then walked Lne lens5Cn OF tue citVcIu W
get a glimpse of the sky. Just beneath
the well-like opening he stumbled upon
a small package wrapped in piece Of
dirty paper. Opening it eagerly, as
message from the outer world, he felt
like shouting upon finding that it con-
tained substantial meal of corn pones
and fried bacon. Hunger knows no
ceremony, and, SO it be sharp enough,
has little regard for the quality and no |
curiosity as to the source of that which |
nppeases it's cravings. Ringbrand ate |
and with the keen relish of |
one who has labored fasting. but he was
thoughtful enough to save portion of
the bread and meat for greater necessi-
ties, wrapping it carefully in the paper
and concealing it in n niche in the rock.
Goodness knows where that came
FROM" he said. land goodness knows
when I'll get any more; therefore 1t
BELTS me to hoard it. I'll never be
afraid of making things too opportune
in story after this; nothing short of
a miracle could have been more timely
than this unaccountable breakfast.
And it asks for more guessing. Who
brought it? Who knows I'm here?
Clearly, no one but these murderous
Bynums. And why should they feed a
dead man? All. have it! it's the wom-
an-she knows I'm in here, and she
doesn't know the rest. And if that's
the explanation, I must have been
wrong in my reckoning; the hammer
ing yesterday was in the McNabb tun-
mel. and that crack is the place where
lost the pick; I'll take another look
and see if can't find il"
"Looking" for the implement in ques-
ton was mere figure of speech, since
the critical search was prosecuted
wholly through the sense of touch, pro-
iected into the end of divining rod
made of bits of twigs spliced together
by threads taken from the rope. 1t
was trial of patience, but patience
was rewarded in the end, as it usually
is; and when he had succeeded in locat-
ing the coveted object he set about de-
| vising some means of securing it. The
| rope solved this problem, but no wild
horse of the prairies was ever harder
| to lasso than was the inanimate COM
bination of wood and steel lying quietly
at the bottom of the fissure. AS in the
former case, however, patient effort
finally conquered, though the after
noon shadows were filling the cavern
with warnings of the approach of night
before Ringbrand had added the pick
to his available resources. He had
thought of no definite plan for using it
in the struggle for freedom, but the
first suggestion was that he might now
be able to cut series of steps up the
wall like those in the adjoining cham
Der. A short half hour of arduous toi
convinced him of the futility of this
/ hope, and he stopped to rest his weary
arms.
"That's no co." he said, examining
the rude notch hewn out with such in
finite labor; 'I'm not a stonecutter
whatever else may be; and dull picl
isn't mallet and chisel, by long odds
J If that's the best I can do with goot
foothold and both hands to work with
it says itself that couldn't dig out o
| here in a week. Iwonder if couldn'
) tie the rope to the pick and fling it VI
through that hole?"
? There was still daylight enough TO-
l the experiment, and he tried it withou
, loss of time. A single attempt to throw
! the cumbersome anchor up through tn
; hole in the roof answered the question
/ The short-headed pick used by tn
miners is much lighter than the common
i implement of that name, but even witt
3 this advantage he could not throw it t.
: the required height, and, in addition, h
D saw at once that, even II he had tn
v strength, it would take hours of prae
r tice to bring the skill necessary to en-
:. able him to hurl the thing through tn
I narrow gap in the rocks. Not to wear
l. himself needlessly, he desisted after tn
n first trial, and sat down to eat his scant
s supper by the last rays of fading ligh
-? After it had been washed down by az
l. other drink from the pool, he made hi
T. simple arrangements to pass anothe
n night in the cavern, and tried to 60 t
Il sleep; but his brain was too actively 9
IL work trying to devise new expedient
d and after tossing and rolling upon hi
r sandy couch for awhile he sat up to tr
| TO Cl1nk = OuC. OluCc Uuc u1S uO Wt
I clear and calm, the silence in the cav
20 was profound, and, knowing that tf
y ordinary noises of the upper worl
,e could not reach him, he was startle
v, from his revery by a sound like tt
1e ehuff1ipg of cautious footsteps, followe
t. Immediately by the appearance of a du
10 glow of light in the chamber beyond tt
I'd crevice. His first thought was that h
II captors had come to make another a
d tempt to kill him, and it brought wit
~ it q fit of terror similar to that whit
had attacked him on the previous nigf
be but he set his teeth and overcame
Y; Aattening himself against the wall 81
s- waiting breathlessly for what shou
i'd follow. It was Q trying moment, O.
I'D he was surprised to find himself gro
be ing calmer and more collected with t
passing Of the tagging seconds; tn