The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1898-04-01

only long enough to get a drink of water
from the pool, he carried the pieces to
the point determined by the measure
ment with the rope, and began to fit
one of them brcast-high between the
vertical walls as the first round of his
ladder.
"By Jove! talk about special provi-
dence-what chance would l have if
this bit of timber hadn't tumbled down
here?" 1t was a comfort to think aloud
i'll the dea2 silence of the place. "Now,
if / can wedge this SO it will hold me"
A half-dozen trials went for nothing,
and he sat down to worry it out in
theory. cts too long-that's what's
the matter with it; but if l cut it off it
may be 100 short for the next place, and
that won't do. Let me see; wonder if
couldn't Gig little step for the lower
end"
He was on his feet again in moment,
picking shallow hole in the soft sand
stone. The expedient answered the
purpose, and when the log was adjusted
ne tried it, first by Titles and then by
climbing up and jumping upon it. 1t
held, and he forgot his aches and pains
in the exultant joy of success.
THAT demonstrates it: if can fit one,
can fit the others. And I'll get the
hang of it presently, SO l can work
faster. 1t oughtn't to take more than
six of these to carry me to the top; six,
Or possibly seven"-scanning the cleft
above him-"and I've got five hours or
such matter to do it in. At that rate
it'll be dark when I get back to Lud-
lows; but that won't matter. An hour
will give me all the time 1 want at Toms
and we can figure safely up to ten
o'clock" Then the folly of planning
SO far ahead while he was still in a
prison that for two days and n half had
resisted all his efforts to break it
struck him like the rebuke of task
master, and he slid down from the log
| with mild imprecation pointed at
his own vagaries. ''That's just like
me-" he muttered, sending my imagin-
alton across the river before the bridge
is even Planned. Work is the word, you
speculative idiot! Do you hear that?
Work."
70 his great astonishment, the word
seemed to bring an answer from the
upper world, and he ran to the other
end of the cavern to listen. The halloo
was repeated, and he answered it with
all the strength of his lungs; once again
he heard the cry, but this time it was
fainter, and after that the silence was
undisturbed. Alive to the Importance
of utilizing every moment of time, Ring
brand returned to his work; but the eX-
piring glinmer of the hope raised by
the answering shout left a feeling of
depression which would have un.
manned him had he known that one of
the searching miners had actually
looked down into the cavern at the
moment when he was climbing down
from the first step of his problematical
stair.
Fitting the first round of the ladder
from the solid standing ground offered
by the bottom of the cave was much
easier than the adjustment of the Sec
ond, but Ringbrand had his plans well
thought out now, and he worked care
fully and methodically, saving the pre-
cious moments in every possible way.
Climbing to a seat upon the round al
ready placed, he hoisted the other
piece of wood after him by means of
the rope; and, balancing upon the pre-
carious footing, he succeeded after
many cautious trials in hewing out
resting place for the second step in
his stairway. With the fixing of this
round, however, the difficulties immedi-
ately doubled, because the subsequent
steps must be fitted each from the slight
scaffolding afforded by the other, Max
ing final trip to the floor of the cavern,
Ringbrand tied one end of the rope to
the pick, and, carrying the other end
with him, he ascended and fastened
it to the first piece of wood. Then,
climbing to the second, he repeated
the former operation, dislodging the
lower round by gentle upward blows
with the swinging pick and drawing
it up until he could grasp and raise it
to point still higher in the cavern.
The plan was completely successful,
but its slow progress consumed the
time remorselessly, and the strain of
work and anxiety began to tell upon him.
He fought desperately against the ris-
ing fever of impatience, knowing well
enough that everything now depended
upon his ability to go on with persist
ent determination and with steady
hands. AS he neared the roof of the
cavern, where the shadows were deeper,
the difficulty of placing the cross-pieces
increased so greatly that he grew faint
and dizzy with lifting and reaching;
and while he was raising the last step
in the stair to its place between the
walls, he suddenly became blind and
tremulous, the heavy log slipped from
his hands and went crashing to the bot
tom of the chasm, and a second after
+ ward he lost his balance and followed
it, catching frantically at the uneven
walls as he slid back to the sandy floor.
The sharpest encouragement is
sometimes a blessing in disguise. The
shock of the fall and the apparent fail
ure of his carefully laid plan seemed
to inspire Ringbrand with an energy
born of despair. Struggling to his
feet, and gathering new courage from
the thought that the other end of the
rope was still fastened to the remain
ing round in the upper shadows, he
lashed the stick that had fallen to the
end to which the pick was attached,
and climDed once more to the perch
in the twilight under the roof. Fired
with an enthusiasm which banished