West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1901-10-10

church door fully "a hundred feet
above the surface of the sea and d.
rectlN over the place where the schoou-
cr was stranded. IL was not until they
had exhausted every hope of finding
another that they turned their nttcn.
Ton To that and they would not seri.
ouSly have considered II even then had
IL not been for the land bird which had
called upon them the day after the
storm. That fact alone had convinced
IhorgcnScn that the island contained n
place OF refuge. The wreck was n pre-
carious resting place. for at any mo-
ment another storm might arise and
destroy IT, and IL was his inventive gen.
luS which solved the problem that con.
frontcd them.
The signal gun was stored I'm the hold
amidships. and 10y rigging tackle they
hoisted Il To the deck. There. after re.
peated trials. they succeeded In throw
Ing six pound shot with n line Mt.
tached through the aperture. At first
IL would not bear the weight OF a child.
but nj last the projcctile somehow be-
came wedgcd, and Craddocli. being the
lighter of the two. cssayed the task OF
climbing. Once within the cmbrasurc
OF that dark and forbidding place. he
disappeared. and when he returned the
two men set TO work with a will. SO
that they soon provided a sure and safe
means OF ascent and descent, and with
the carly morning of another day they
began their tour OF exploration.
The opening through which they pass
cd into the mountain was indeed n
crcvicc which extended from that point
upward TO the summit, although Il
pierced no farther down. and was 80
narrow above that IL could not be dis
ccrncd from the sea. But II became
wider as 1t pierced the mountain and.
leading downward on n gentle Incline,
at last broadcncd and opened upon n
wide cNpanse OF valley more beautiful
TO behold than words OF fancy can de-
pict. II was tropical Eden surrounded
ON every side by towering cliffs OF
smooth obsidian. hopclcssly unscalable.
Above them was the yawning crater
nearly n mile I'm diameter, through
which the sun gllntcd diagonally, re-
hected back upon the verdure which
surrounded them 10y the glasslllIc sub
stance OF the mountains shell. Always
In shade, yet ever In sunlight while the
sun shouc upon the world-such was
The condition, and the consequence was
a tropical climate without the intense
heat which accompanies H. There was
water I'm abundance. too, and near the
center Of the Edenllke valley, more
strange than ALL were the ruins of a
house OF stone. or rather OF obsidlnn,
whore somebody at some time long ago
had dwolt
Entering II. they discovered upon the
floor OF one of the two rooms which 10
contained the skeleton OF man. and
beside II n block OF smooth obsldlan.
upon which there was an inscription.
evidently made with the diamond fling
which they found near the ncshless
hand that had made use OF IT, The In
scrlpllon was In English and easily de-
ciphcraDlc. II read
August l7is doubt much u this be Read by
num'u eyes. II So be. then Know who Reads
that !. in Simonds. once of London, discovered
thia lsinnl 1910. and. being weary Of "a World
Returned alone i5li. Since then Have remained.
! am now above so Yonrs Too feeble To return
To The World which iain Would see again To
Him who Reads bequcsth This Isle. with All it
contains. Rcq'sting Only that lie bury Ny bones
Nih Prayer 60 God for my Salvation. There
be Gold here In Full abundance, and Precious
Foncs Iui here by the Hand Of God when tn
nounla'n Was alive with Gre. IL be ny Empire,
~ Empire Island Have named ". Have II So,
then II We Revere my Mcm'ry
JomS smoSDs
by the Grace Of God. Near Heaven. Ameni
More than century had passed since
that inscription was made. since John
Simonds ceased TO breathe. yet every
where the shipwrccked twain discover
ed eyldentts Of his habitatlon and his
Industry. There was no need to search
for gold or precious stones. John ST.
monds had performed that task for
them There were nuggets sufficient
for n kings ransom piled IN conellke
heaps around the house beneath the
royal palms which shaded Il from the
reflected rays Of the sun. and within
the adjoining room Of the ruin they
found diamonds and cmeralds I'm the
rough which even their uneducated
eyes were capable Of recognizing
The bones Of John Slmonds were
buried with due reverence. az be had
requested, and Craddock prayed most
earnestly for the rcpOso Of his soul
After that they returned TO the wreck
OF the Mascot aud by rigging tackle
succeeded I'm holsting through tho
strange aperture everything that might
be valuable TO them in their unbeard Of
retreat Even the small boat that they
had repaired was hoisted into the
mountain In the same manner. and
then. bit by bit they broke up the
schooner. saving the timbers and such
or the brass and iron work as they
deemed might prove available NJ ia.
ture time.
Aftcrward the stone house was re-
paired aud thus months passed almost
unheedcd by them For a time they
Eept watch Of the sea through their
doorway 10 the world. but they were
far out Of the beaten track Of vessels.
and at last they desisted. convinced
Tint the only way OF escape FOR them
was across the open sea lu the small
boat they had saved from the wreck or
in such n craft as they might be able 10
construct from the timbcrs they had
preserved
Oiich ihey contemplated such nn ut-
tcmpt but 90 was each time postponed.
for there was certain kind Of enjoy
mont in The llfc they led. and there
was drcar uncertainty 90 trusting thcm-
selves again To- the trcachorous sea in
craft SO frail as the ono 40 ihcir dis
posaL But the construction OF another
was begun at last out ON the solitary
reef where the Mascot had stranded.
one year passed AWAY and then an
other Twice the boat which thcy were
constructing was nearly swept away by
storms but tbc good fortune that had
preserved them through an their vicis-
fitudcs spared that also. and one day
nearly three years after they were cast