The true Democrat. [volume] (Bayou Sara [La.]) 1892-1928, 1897-10-09
y w. J. HAMPTON.

trap she owned, leaving the bank just
after closing time, 4 o'clock, and driv
ing for q couple Of hours, to end OF her
house, where took supper with her.
On the days when she would telegraph
down that she was coming, would
lock up the money and valuable papers
in the inside safe and leave the outer
doors of the big vault open, so the
last man out of the bank could put the
books away and lock them up against
fire. The man who did this nearly al
ways was an old fellow, partly deaf,
and janitor rather than clerk. One
day, when I had shut up the inside
safe and gone out to join Kate in her
trap at the door. she sent me back to
wait until she went up town to see q
friend about a church supper they
were interested in. Old Jock, as we
called him, was not at his desk when I
came back, though I had said goodbye
to him as ! went out, nor was there
anyone in the bank, and as I sat mo-
ment at my own desk I noticed pa
per that that had been left there by
mistake. I got up at once to put it
where it belonged in the safe, and as I
went into the vault I did not observe
that all the books had been put away,
though I could hear old Jock, in the
little room back, telling his boy about
sweeping out.
"The paper belonged in pigeon
hole far back in til" vault and high up,
so that I was compelled to go up q
stepladder we kept there, and about
the time I had got myself hid away in
the shadow the big outer door swung
to and I could hear old Jock turn tho
combination out Of joint. I yelled
out, but it was too late, even if the old
mans ears had been sharp, and I
found myself in the disagreeable pre-
dicament of being shut up in my own
safe and no visible means of escape.
At first it struck me as ludicrous;
then it became serious, and in q few
moments had gone to thinking as
those people think who are confronted
with tremendous moments in their
lives. [ soon decided that my only
hope Of getting out was through Miss
Vernon, who, When she returned,
would naturally inquire for me and in
this way old Jock would in time dis
cover that he had shut me up in the
vault. How long it would be until
Miss Vernon returned, or what chance
Of the old man still being there when
she came now began to demand dis
cussion in my brain, aud for q minute
or two I stood still in the thick dark
ness and listened to my heart beating.
Then I remembered that we always
kept hammer in pigeonhole near
the door, and cropping around I
found it and at once began to pound
on the door. Immediately response
came. but, Of course, did not know
who was giving it, though evidently
the boy, as the old man could scarce
ly have. heard. This gave me hope,
at once, and I set up regular tattoo
on the door with my hammer, to all of
which came the responses from the
outside. But it was not getting out
Of my prison, and confinement was be.
coming irksome.
'For the first time now I heard
family the sound of human voices call
ing to me, but it were as if they were
miles away, and I could not distin-
guish whose they were, though 1
thought I knew Hates. answered
back, but the place was so thick and
heavy that my voice frightened me,
and used the hammer instead of call"
ing. Up to this time had not thor
oughly realized what my entombment
meant, but now it came upon me that
the only man in town except myself
who knew the combination had gone
away for a vacation to the seashore.
and that with the door air-tight, or
practically so, I could not live a very
great while in the vault. Certainly
not long enough to hear from either
the clerk on vacation or from the peo-
pie from whom we had bought the safe
in st. Louis. Indeed, if I stood it for
two hours, I felt I would be doing
we'll, for my pounding had filled the
little air I had with dust, and it was
nearly suffocating me. The pounding
from the outside increased the dust,
too, and while I could prevent myself
from doing it, and did stop, the very
fact Of my stopping made those on the
outside pound harder as if to encour-
age me, when, as they thought, was
losing hope.
"This thought came to me with a
shock so great that I almost collapsed.
I caught at the sides of the vault in
the inky darkness and for minute
became deathly sick. Following this
came almost frenzy to yell and howl
and claw at the door and scratch at nv
face and tear at my hair. had heard
Of people doing that way and going
mad when lost in caves and such places,
and T felt II coming on mo in 4hot