The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-09-15

up. MY son has returned"
The sound of muffled blows penetrat
ed from a distance to the chamber and
when Dan and the girl ran out to the
passage they could hear the quick hard
raps of numerous weapons against the
wall. The worst had come they knew,
and as they stood there helpless with
fright, the great block of stone swung
inward on it's secret hinge. Framed in
the doorway, with the light of torches
flashing upon him, appeared Ii Sheng;
and over his shoulders peered the dew
ilish, eXultant faces of half a dozen
ruftians in Boxer uniform.
We must go back for time to Alec
whose situation, though quite bad
enough, was not so desperate as his
companions believed it to be; for while
there is life there is hope, and the lad
was not dead yet. He was the first to
drop into the chasm that opened inn
mediately after the explosion in the
Su-Wang- Flu, and as he slid down for
several yards before he came to stop,
he lacked the opportunity by which
Cocket and Kilemoff saved themselves.
He saw the two men struggling rnadly
above him, saw them squeeze through
into the trench, and then, with a 1un-
bling noise and a shower of earth, the
gap closed tight and he was plunged
in total darkness.
Try to imagine being suddenly buried
alive, and you will have some idea of
Alec's feelings. The sensation was hor-
rible, and his tortured mind at once
began to picture the agonieS of a SLOW
death by suffocation. But when he
found that he could breathe with COM
parative ease, and that the supply of
air was not likely to be exhausted for
some little time, he plucked up courage
wonderfully. What was to be done? He
lay in crouching attitude, afraid to
stir for fear of bringing down the
quaking soil overhead this was close
enough now to be touched, and it was
the same to right and left. The silence
of the grave was about him. He could
hear nothing though he knew that the
grounds of the Su-WangFu must be
ringing with noisy clamor, and by that
he judged how compact and deep was
the mass of earth that separated him
from the outer world. Harking back
to what had preceded the disaster, he
was satisfied that the enemy had
blown up mine; and as he remember
ed where the explosion occurred his
thoughts ran in lucid channel.
Its clear enough" he told himself
1.-THE tunnel was not far in front of
where we were digging, and it caved
in at one side. next to the trench, when
the mine went off. 1 can't expect to
be rescued by our fellows, for even If
it was possible to dig down to me
which ! don't believe-they'l be too
busy fighting to bother about that now.
The Chinese will either try to rush the
barbados or they will swarm out
through the hole they have blown-if
there is an opening for them. So 1
must look after myself II want to see
soI,k ax,Ixy
chance of that. l didn't slide entirely
to the bottom of this cleft, or whatever
it is, and if it hasn't closed up yet it
ought to lead me to the floor of the
tunnel. Anyway, here goes"
That his position would be little less
precarious if he succeeded in reaching
the shaft of the mine, was a fact to
which Alec was not blind, but the per-
lis to be encountered there seemed
trifling when weighed against the dan
ger of suffocation.
Il would rather fight a dozen Box
ers than stick here any longer, in this
living tomb he reflected. When I get
clear Of tiff l ever dot will be time
enough then to plan the next step"
The pick with which the lad had been
working was still clenched in one hand,
and was likely to be of future service.
So he kept tight hold of it, and having
space at his disposal, with much trep-
idation he began the descent. Inch
by inch, feet first, he cautiously slid
along. Loose earth rained necessarily
upon him, and he dreaded a crushing
avalanche at any moment But all went
well until he had advanced three or
four yards along the sloping assure,
which he fancied was growing wider
instead of narrower. Then, of a sud
dan was cd nv Of
soil.
Was this to be the end of II all? A
CHASTITY fear gripped the young Ameri-
can and brought a choking cry to his
lips. He dashed wildly out with all his
limbs, struggled to his knees, and then,
rising higher and shaking off the crush
ing weight, his head and shoulders
emerged in empty space. He released
his arms, and gulped air into his lungs
He was trembling like a leaf. and the
perspiration was trickling down his
cheeks. 4
Thank Cod" he murmured.
But what next? Could he go on any
farther, or was he completely entomb-
ed? He must learn his fate quickly,
and he dreaded the worst as he lifted
the pick overhead. 1t came in con-
tact with nothing, and his hopes re-
vived He foundered through and
now supported on it's irregular surface,
now sinking waist deep. A crumbling,
sloping wall rose before him, but il
was soft to the touch, and 1t easily |
yielded when he cut into it with his |
tool. For a yard or more he hewed |
a way forward, raining hard blows. |
Then a horrible thought occurred to |
him. Was he bearing in the proper |
or had he lost his course.
"As likely as not I've got turned |
round" he admitted to himself, "and |
am working back towards the trench. |
What shall l do?
He was finding it difficult to breathe.
and he knew that he must either
promptly escape from his living tomb
or be suffocated. The latter seemed
and his remnant of hone
ebbed to the bitterness of DESPAIR. Hut
as he hesitated, still loath to be recon
ciled to the prospect of such a terrible
death, he suddenly felt the ground set
ting and quiverlng beneath him. The
next instant he was dropping slowly
downward, slipping and sliding while
ne tried to keep an upright position
amid the avalanche of clods that pelt-
I'd every part of his body and roared in
ais ears. He stopped with a Jar that
nearly threw him over. Dazed and
bruised, his brain in dizzy whirl he
Kicked himself free of the loose earth
hat was still falling and made three
IT -FOUR staggering steps. He stood on a
solid foundation, and space was on all
'ldes of him. AS he felt the current
u damp air cooling his fevered tenn
= 90