El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-08-26

Every minute of these hours-every
second of every minute-passed
slowly, like a pang of agony in my
heart; and every feature of that nat
ural vault, through which the dying
daylight stole-wlth the faces and
voices of the men whose victims we
were, and more than all, the ceaseless
and eternal buzz in the dark chasm
that yawned close blythe ventana, or
nostril of the Piton-are yet wildly
impressed upon my memory.
At last the darkness was so great
that a lantern was lighted, and it's
wavering CLEANS, as they fell on the
crystals, the spar, quartz, and CLASSY
blocks of black obsidian and ruddy
lava, which formed the walls and arch
of the cavern, on the dark ferocious
visages, the gaudy sashes, the naked
arms and feet, the scrubby black
boards, and brass-mounted knives and
muskets Of the taciturn Spaniards,
who sat in sullen group smoking pa
per cigaritos-all added to the gloomy
but picturesque horror of the place
and of the incident.
Antonio, que bora esp, heard one
say, inquiring the time.
LAS neuve media, companero
milo" (half-past nine), replied the pos
SCISSOR of my gold watch, which he
consulted with considerable compla-
cency.
"Maldita!' growled the others, knit
ting their brows, for the dusk was
rapidly becoming darkness, and they
had no desire for killing us, if we
could be made profitable. 1 have often
thought since that had Tom actually
procured and returned with the requir-
ed ransom of $500, they would have
pocketed it and then killed us both
me most certainly, as they seemed to
have other views for poor Tom in the
Southern States.
1--WE have had long spell of this"
said he, in a low voice. ct am going
to escape, if I can"
Escape! but how"
81 don't know exactly how yet; but
we must first have our lashings cast
off,"
would to heaven they were, Tom
My hands are so swollen and my
wrists so cut and benumbed that my
arms are well-nigh powerless," I
whispered in a low voice, like a groan.
"Sit with me here, in the shadow of
this angle of rock; and now, as the
darkness is fairly set in, shall soon
make you Free
By rapid and skillful application
of his strong teeth to the cord, which
bound my wrists, he UNFINISHED the
knot and freed my hands; and then in
the suddenly-given luxury of being
able to stretch my arms, I almost for
~ f6o Co.
fact that I was now unbound.
1 soon found an opportunity for I'M
tying Toms letters. Then we kept
our hands clasped before us, waited
and hOped-we scarcely knew for what
while in the further end of this in
ner cave, our detainerS sat sullenly
smoking, and, by the dim lantern light,
making up cigaritos from their tobacco
pouches and those little rice-paper
books which are now procurable nearly
everywhere.
From the conversation of our captors
I could gather that our brig, the Eu-
genie, was visible at anchor in the
roadstead of Santa Cruz. a mile or so
distant.
Three of these Spaniards had placed
their muskets against the wall OF rock
and seemed disposed to doze off to
sleep.
Close by us lay the plank which
crossed that dread ventana, like the in
fernal bridge of Poulsherro, which the
Mahommedans believe crosses the sea
of fire that on the day of doom shall
separate Good from Evil. Tom and 1
looked at it and exchanged glances OF
intelligence from time to time, but
the attempt to rush across might prove
doubly fatal to one or both. A slip
of the foot would hurl us into eternity;
and if the passage were achieved we
would be exposed to the fire of those
we fed from and met by that of the
armed man at the mouth of the
grotto.
Thus our position and its perils were
somewhat complicated.
Suddenly the distant report of a
piece of ordnance, coming from the
seward, made us look up and list
en-.
eel ruido que hace ell canon" (the
crack of a gum, exclaimed a Spaniard,
scrambling up to the lower end of
the fissure in the arch of the grotto,
and looking out.
I'VE all know that well enough; but
what does it mean?" asked the other.
The English brig at the anchorage
has fired it. 1 see light glittering on
her deck; and now away it goes up to
the foremost head"
''It is the Eugene, Master Rodney"
whispered Tom.
Can the captain be about to sail to-
without us?" said I, with
growing dismay.
mo; but he is impatient for us to
come off. He knows well what tar