The herald., 1898-01-16
FRONTENAC CAVE.
AS TOLD BY ONE WHO WAS THERE, AND EDITED BY
HAYDEN CARRUTH,
Author of Tracks End" etc.

as fast as 1 could without flirting out
the little flame of my candle, though as
we had come down 1 could only drag
along as if made of lead 1 passed the
bedroom, and the ledge on which rested
the coil of rope, found the gun readily
enough and hurried back. The Captain
pried under the end of the stone with
the barrel while 1 pushed on the top.
IL rolled over and we crawled through.
we crept for perhaps a hundred feet,
all the way downward; then we came
out in high and vaulted room, with
| great glistening stalactites at one
side, and realized that we were where
We had never been before. We forgot
our munger and weakness and went
along faster than for days.
we've got down into the main part
OF the cave" cried the Captain. See
how much bigger the rooms are. We
won't have to crawl here. We're all
rght now, Harry" and the old fire
came back into his eyes, as he faced
me and held UP the candle
L hope So" 1 answered. But the
candle won't last four hours"
You can do a good deal in four
hours, my boy. Hello, what's this?"
He was looking up at the roof three
or four feet over our heads on which
thls was smoked in rude letters:
Gill DAUPHiN WAS HEAR
"Gil Dauphin was here" I read
who is Gil Dauphin?"
He used to be one of the London
gang" answered the Captain, excited
ly. We're all right-we're in From
tenac Cave sure enough. 1 knew Gill
bert Dauphin on the river as an hon
est boy. Then he took to drink. and
lots of it, and robbed a man to get
more and went to states prison, and
got in with London since that. Wen
soon find them now, Harry"
But If so, what can we do?" asked.
Slip around them and get out, of
course. That's all we came in to do,
you know-find them and get out"
we kept pressing on, though as it
was all new to us and our poor candle
seemed to give no light at all in the
large rooms, we often went wrong and
found ourselves stopped at the end of
a passage by a wall or pit and had
to go back. So we got on slow and 1
felt my enthusiasm dying and the old
faintness and weakness coming over
me. Twice more we saw Gill DAUPHiN
WAS HEAR and once this:
GIL DAUPHiN
His CAVE.
Il wonder why we don't see the
names of any of the others,' I said.
An, they're not the men that would
bother with writing their names. It's
very like Gil, though. He was ever sim
plew1tted, and some said he was half
foolish; but that was not so. l sup
pose he was bad enough for it. but
still 1 was surprised when 1 heard that
ne had Joined the London gang. /
thought he seemed more cut out for
1uieter kinds of crime I never thought
Gil Dauphin was so bad at heart. but
he was drunkard and fell into bad
company, of course, when he took to
drink"
We went on and on, myself growing
fainter all the time. but the Captain
never losing his new hope We saw
dimly many monster stalactites and
stalactites, and twice heard water
falls. though muff1ed as if far off
Once I was like to stumble over the I
'dge of great hole, but the Captain |
'aught my arm and pulled me back. |
soon after We came to a passage which |
ed to the right, and as it seemed large
We followed it. 1t soon grew lower, and
We could scarce stand upright, then it
urned sharply to the left, grew high
r and broader and went up hill for a
ew yards The Captain was ahead
arrying the light. Suddenly he stopped
md, reaching back, drew me up and
,Xclaimed
''See there, Harry"
I looked down into a great pit and
nut the other side of it and, the lower
oart being eaten away, saw a fire be-
ween two rocks. 1t was just beyond a
luiet stream of water, and seemed we'll |
covered with ashes, as if to keep it, but |
he GOALS glowed through in the pitchy !
darkness, and a little blaze danced !
around the top and lit up the pit and |
;hone in the water. The top of the |
side of the pit shut off |
)ur view so that we could not see four