Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1904-03-04
A NIGHT IN
The.
IRON CHAMBER.
From the German.


the last visitors to the door and began
to put everything in order for the
night. He passed through the cells of
the prison vault, arranged the rusty
chains and thumb-screws, tongs, and
been left in his care by the fathers of
the town.
e He was a slender young man, with a
grave face and clear but restless eyes,
He lived in his books so entirely that
the doctor had warned his father
against the sons exaggerated bent
for study. But, the boy earned $500
crowns by taking charge of the old
castle, and the money was welcome,
for his father was not rich, and besides
he had a cousin in the army who need
ed assistance s#
!. Three days before the opening of
this story Martin had lived through an
experience more grewsome than usual.
He had suddenly had the hallucination
that the sinister room was full of vic
Tins. He saw agonized faces and heard
the death groans of the prisons. Sud
denly, however, his fear changed into
devilish joy He imagined that he
was himself the executioner and was
torturing the victims with his own
hands. Then he suddenly came to and
found himself alone with his books.
He told nobody of this experience,
but while still under the impression OF
it he vowed to give up his study of
the Middle Ages. When morning came,
however, he laughed at his terror and
continued his work and his studies, as
before. For three days he hardly left
the dungeons.
!. The evening on which this story OPP
ems, his cousin, Paul INLAND, who was
at home on a furlougn, became anx-
ious over Martins prolonged absence;
and when, late in the evening, his
cousin had not come home, Paul went
to the prison The guard at the gates
let him in, and he raped on Martins
door several times sbefore it was
opened, and Martin beckoned to him to
come in.
my dear Martin, what is the mat
ter?" he cried, startled by the CLEAN
in his cousins eyes. ''Why do you
look at me in this way? Are you i'll?
Wait, while | go for a doctor" s'
Martins only answer was TO shut
the heavy door and lock it. Paul was
not surprised; he was used to his
cousins silence, and followed him un-
suspectingly through the hall into the
vault, where in the middle ages UNI
thinkable horrors were practiced. Here
he again asked, what is the matter,
Martin? You want to say something
to me?"
The answer was a long, wailing cry.
1t seemed to Paul like the howl of a
wild beast and he knew at once that
his cousin had gone raying mad. Paul
INLAND, however, was not afraid.
Though the scene was grewsome-the
dark prison lighted by single lantern.
far from. any living being-it did not
occur to the young soldier that he was
in danger. you are i'll Martin" he re-
peated; come home with me-"
His cousin did not answer, but paced
up and down like Gagged beast, NUT
tering the long forgotten names of
prisoners who had been tortured to
Leath in the chamber centuries ago.
Once he stopped at the rack, bending
over it. and a fearful howl of joy ech-
oed through the vaults.
Then Paul made fatal mistake. He
tried to take Martin by force and carry
him home in his strong arms. But the
mailman sprang upon him with super
human strength and they rolled over
on the stone floor.
Paul was dragged over the floor
toward the iron chamber and then the
intention of his cousin began to dawn
upon him. The awful thought para
lyzed him; he tainted where he lay and
Martin could do with him what he
pleased When Paul INLAND regaine1
consciousness he was bound hand and
foot so firmly that .he could not even
move his head. A faint strip of light
coming through a door showed him
where he was-locked up in the iron
chamber. He still hoped, however,
that Martin only wished to frighten
him and tried to wheedle his cousin
into letting him out. But he received
no reply and the full horror of the sit
uation was soon clear to him. He knew
the secret of the iron chamber-that
the door would close inch by inch in
the course of an hour, or 20 hours, ac-
cording to the regulation of the mech
anism. He heard his cousin breathing
heavily and understood that Martin
was lying in an apop1ectic fit outside
the door of the chamber. Giving loud
schriek of terror Paul began to cry
like a child, for he was young and in
the town was a girl waiting for him..
If no <one heard his cry, and Martin
should recover consciousness, the hour
was not far off when the iron door
would close in upon him and spear
him on the long daggers which would
enter his brain, heart and eyes.
He shouted again and again, but the
cries died away in the vault, unheard.
He had never lived through minutes SO
long He saw that the sharp steel
points had drawn nearer, and with a
shrek of agony he again tainted, and
knew nothing for several hours.
When he came to ray Of daylight
was creeping in between the boards of
the trapdoor in the floor of the cham
Der, and through the cracks he could
see the river glittering far beneath
him. The big door was almost shut.
The steel points we're approaching
pitilessly, so slowly that the eye could
not follow their movements.
If the daggers could have bored
themselves into his heart and brain at
once he would not have lifted hand
against them, but the long, terrible
wait crazed him SO that he tore at his
letters with the strength Of mailman,
and at last broke them from their
rusty hinges. But when he had tried
with all his strength to burst open tho
door he understood how little he had
gained.
When Paul realized the situation he
-.