The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-03-06
BY cUTcL1FFE HyNE.
tcopyright. lssg, by cutcliffe Hyne.)
PART II-coNcLUsIoN.

ably deep, and but for the fact that
the final blow Nom the flooring had
shot him against the opposite side of
the pit. and so broken his descent at
The expense Of his elbows and heels, he
might very we'll have landed awkward
~ ana broken a limb or his back in the
process. But Captain Owen Kettle was
not the man TO lose time over useless
lamentation or rubbing of bruises. He
was on fire with fury at the way he had
been tricked, and thirsting to get loose
and be revenged. He had his pistol still
IN its proper pocket, and unchanged,
and If the willy Rad had shown himself
anywhere within range just then, it is
q certain thing that he would have
peen shot dead to square the account
But Kettle was. as ! have said,
Wedged in with darkness, and for the
present revenge must wait till he could
see the man he wanted to shoot at. He
scrambled to his feet, and fumbled in
his. pocket for q itch. He found one,
Struck 1T on the sole of his trim white
Shoe, and reconnoitered quickly.
The place he was in was round and
bottle-shaped, measuring some ten feet
across its floor. and tapering to a small
square where the trap gave it entrance
above. 1t was a prison clearly, and
there was evidence that 1t had been re-
Gently used. 1t was clear, also, that
the only official way of releasing u
prisoner was to get him up by ladder
or rope through the small opening to
which the sides converged overhead.
Moreover. to all common seeming. the
place was simply unbreakable; at least,
to- any creature who had not either
wings or the power Of crawling up the
underside of n slant like fly.
But all these things flashed through
Kettles brain in far less time than it
takes to read them here. He had only
two matches in his possession, and he
wished to make all possible use of the
first so as to keep the second, for emer-
gencies. And so he made his survey
with the best Of his intelligence and
speed.
The walls of this bottle-shaped prison
were of brick, built without visible
mortar. and held together lit seemed
probable) by the weight of earth press
ing outside them. But just as the
match burned his fingers and dropped
to the floor, where it promptly expired
his eye fell upon an opening in the ma
sonry. 1t was mere slit, barely three
inches wide, running vertically up and
down for some six courses of the brick,
and it was about chin high above the
ground. He marked this when the
light went out, and promptly went to
it and explored it with his arm. The
slit >Widened at the other side, and
there was evidently a chamber be-
yond- He clapped his hand against the
lip of the slit, and set his feet against |
the wall. and pulled with the utmost of
his strength. If once he could widen !
the opening sufficiently to Chamber |
through, possibilities lay beyond. But |
from the weight of wall pressing down |
above, he could not bulge a single |
brick by SO much as a hand'S-bre2dth, |
and so he had to give up this idea, |
and, stewing with rage set about fur |
Their accommodating.
The darkness put his eyes out of ac- |
he had Ct h1 N
feet, and he went around with thase, |
exploring carefully.
Presently his search was rewarded. !
Opposite the opening he had discovered |
before was another slit in the over I
hanging wall of this Dottle-shaped pris- !
on, and this also he attacked, in the |
hope Of wrenchinS free some of the |
bricks. He strained and painted till !
1t seemed as though all the tendons of |
his body must break, but the wall re |
manned whole and the slit uBpaSSable; !
and then he gave way almost childish |
ly, to his passions Of rage, and shouted |
insults and threats at Rad el MOUSSE, |
in the vain hope that someone would |
hear and carry them.
And someone did hear, though not |
the persons he expected.
A voice mufiied and foggy, as though !
it came from a long distance, said in |
surprise: why captain, have they got !
you here, too?'
Under cover of the darkness, Kettle /
neblushed for shame al his cutlery. THAT |
You, Murray? l didn't know you We're
here. How did you guess 1t was me?"
The distant voice chuckled foggily. |
i've heard you giving your blessing /
TO the hands on board, sir, once or
twice and I recognized some of the (
words. What have they collared you
for2 You don't photograph. Have you !
been messing around with some girl?"
H.
member your position and mine. I'll
have respect for my officers, even if 1
am in a bit Of a fix
BEG pardon, sir. Sorry I forgot my
self. 1t shan't occur again
"Youn go to your room for three
days when we get back on board
Aye aye, sir
q decided that before left the ship.
can't have my officers staying away
from duty without leave on any ex-
cuse And if they have such low tastes
as to bring themselves on the level of
common, Taop-head portrait painters
and photographers, they must pay
for it,
AYE. aye. sir"
What were you run in for?"
"Oh. Photographic"
There you are, then! And did they
bring you straight along here?"
Yes, sir. And lowered me down in a
bovine TO his cellar"
"Ah,'' said Kettle, then you don't
want SO much change out of them.
They dropped me- and some one will
have heavy bill to square up over
that. Do you know whose house this
is?"
Haven't a notion. After I'd been here
an hour or so, some heather sneake1
round to a peep-hole in the wall and
offered to take off message to the
ship, on payment. / hadn't any money.
60 l had to give up>my watch, ana be-
fore I'd written half the letter he got
interrupted and had to clear off with
what there was. Did he bring off the
message, sir?'
He did. And I came ashore at once.
You remember Rad 81 Moussa?"
1.-The man that consigned all that par
eel of figs for London"
THAT man. / considered that as he'd
been doing business with the steamer.
he was the best person to make inqui-
ries of ashore. So l came to him and
asked where 1 could find the kady TO
bail you out. He shuffled a bit and
after some talk admitted he was the
kady and took palm oil from me in the
usual way, and then I'll not deny that
we had u trilie of a disagreement. But
he seemed to simmer down all right.
safd he'd send along for YOU and aftes.
Bit OF time said you'd come, and
wouldn't 1 walk through the house and
pee you myself. The crafty old fox had
got his booty trap rugged in the mean
lime and then walked straight into it,
Hike the softest specimen of blame fool
Tou can imagine
Rad el MOUSSE" came the foggy
comment. BY Joye, captain, I believe
we're in an awkward place. He's the
biggest man in this town Tar and away
~.