The herald., 1898-01-23

he took other sticks of all lengths
from two to four feet and gradually
overlaid the first pole, letting no two
! joints come together. and binding and
! winding every splice with the rope
strands. AS much as he could he twist
ed and wove the sticks together, but
, this was not much because they We're
so dry and BRITTLE so mostly they lay
parallel, like the stems of a bouquet of
flowers, all wound and bandaged with
! the rope strands. When the pole was
at last done it was three or four inches
through, and very like cable of
twigs.
While work on the pole was going on
Dauphin and 1 helped by gathering
sticks and picking out the best ones.
though the Captain rejected about ten
thousand that we thought would do
well enough. AT first when we slept we
went up the rope to the Star Chamber,
where 1 had so roughly disturbed Gil
Dauphin's slumber by falling down
over him. This we did because Dau-
phin did not think it safe to sleep where
London might so easily come at us; but
soon we had used so much of the rope
that 1T was not long enough to reach,
and. as we hated to spare the time to
go up the Gopher Hole, we came to
lying down and sleeping by our fire.
And no i'll came of it, either.
When the pole was almost done the
Captain thought it best that we should
visit Sink Hole Dome to see if it
might be that any one had come down
searching for us, in which case we
should not have to risk the passa ge
of the upper cave after all. While he
finished the pole, Dauphin and I went
on this errand; but we met with no
reward. We We're obliged to go and
come by way of the Gopher Hole, so
fdd not so through the Trap-Door nor
see the Star Chamber When we came
near to our first bedroom i heard the
throbbing, now much louder, and filing
all the ne;ghborhood. 1t was as if a
dull thump was struck on all the walls,
ceilings, and floors at once. Dauphin
| fell into great state of terror on hear
ing it. declaring it to be nothing less
than the Arch Ffend himself, beating
up from below to get into Frontenac
Cave and catch him and his former
, mates. But when we had got out of
the hearing of it he again became
cheerful enough, after his way, and set
| in to curse London and then his own
| ill-luck in breaking with the gang be-
| fore the division Of the plunder from
the bank robbery.
That's the way" he cried "there's
never no show for an honest man in
this here world. The others seen him
taking moren his share and what do
they say? They says nothing. Old Gil
| Dauphin pipes up for honesty and fair
| play or blood, and what does he get?
| He gets blood, and his own blood.
brought by throwing of him alive down
| a pit a hundred and fifty feet deep,
with his neck broke and the bats bunt-
there waiting for his neck to get right;
! and not a drop of liquor to drink"
But whatever Dauphin's luck had
been we soon had some bad luck of
our own; and a very ill kind of bad
luck it was, too. When we got back
to Fish Camp we found the Captain
standing proudly beside his pole.
tits all DONE" he cried, "and .thereW
never be better time to try 1t than
this. Here's plenty of torch-sticks
ready, and fish enough to last till we
can get out, L guess. Lay hold there,
both of you, and We'll carry it over"
| 1t was a half hours travel to the
place, which we had come to cali Dau-
phin's Pit; but the time did not seem
| long to me, I was excited. We went
down the Gun Barrel almost at a trot,
but still as mice; though 1t mattered
mot, and we might aus we'll have gone