The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-10-20

opening through which I had entered
inVitingly ajar, my egress was blocked
by a solid opposing mass of tin, which
resisted all of my efforts to move it.
Before such stubborn massiveness felt
as futile as a flea. The movement
made by my body against it caused
the paddock and chain to rattle eN-
aSperatingly on the outside. Again L
kicked and pounded. L yelled at the
top of my lungs, in 1mpOtent rage /
banged with curtain pole against the
resOunding tin. but in vain. Finding at
last that only dull silence rewarded
my passionate appeals, 1 flung myself
down upon the cold stone pavement OF
my cell in a mt Of abject weeping.
How long L lay there sObbing I do
not know I returned, however. to a
vivid consciousness Of my ridiculous
position with a shock. A cold living
something had shifted at my ear.
Fancy being alone with rats in that
horrid cell ten stories in the air,
where none could hear ones criesi a
dreadful shrinking fear Of those petite
animals took possession Of me- Any
where. anywhere. to get out of their
clawing reach. Had they been sent
there 10 clutch me down 10 despair? L
jumped TO the divan and sought the
table land of an adjacent dining
table, and having mounted this van
tage ground. felt comparatively safe
stood up to my full height upon II, and
absolutely no response of any kind.
Just then a clock in a nearby tower
began to strike. but it only gave one
stroke. and this was like a knel to
hope. 1t was 1 O'clock-midnight and
past-the night watch had already
changed.
But hope revived If the eviI-eyed
one had gone home to his bed and
been replaced by man who had slept
and been refreshed the latter would
,Irr III nd
me. Therefore, / must continue the
racket. oh. for something to shoot,
that l might more sneedily attract his
notice. Thus by stamping vehemently
upon the table and by continuing the
curtain-pOle tattoo upon the tin door,
a full half-hour must have drifted by.
Noise appeared to be useless, and. be
sides. the rats were making enough of
that. I ceased my efforts and listened.
A vast company of them were now
dancing a wild tarantella and squeak
ing out their glee in fiddle-lilSe tones.
Tired of standing. silent on a peak of
Darien,' I squatted down, like Saint
Simeon Stylites on his pillar. and hug
ged my knees, listening.
All, was that the elevator at last2
Unfortunately, no; my ears had cruellx
deceived me. No watchman's footsteps
reveEerated along those empty corri-
doris. The black shadows which en-
veloped me were appalling.
OnSe AGAIN the tower CLOCK struck
the hour.
Now thought I. he must certainly
come. For. If he does not, the indi-
Gator downstairs will tell of his fatal
derelictiOn.
The fun of the rats had now reached
a crisis of wild hilarity. but I was
growing used TO them. They gave me
a sense Of cOmpanionship in exile which
was not ungrateful. How horrible
would have been that stiffness of dark
ness without them since 1 was safe
from their clawing reachi
Another slow hour dragged along
until 3 was struck
Was / not a prisoner in verify? Had
convict ever been more secretly locked
into his cell by a gruff turnkey? And,
by the way. why had I not awakened
when the door. was padlocked noisily
Gas it must have been) at o'clock?
Ordinarily, / am a light sleeper. Had
my fatigue from shopping made me fall
so deeply asleep as that2 How pro-
phetic now seemed Morris hippant re-
marks about Imprisonment, And his
failure TO return Gf he had nOD. could
any excuse explain such conduct?
Wild fantastic thoughts beset me.
Perhaps it was all plot. and he was
trying to throw me over, to marry
somebody else.
Absurd. was the answering
thought. No man does that, pnless he