Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1904-06-17

4 ing cries when tue DOA sllppeu lioth
under him. and he rolled over back
ward upon the cellar 1oor. uncertain
+ whether or not he had been seen or
+ heard.
lie replaced the box beneath the
window with the idea of making an
+ other attempt 10 attract notice. but
/ the smoke, finding a vent through the
broken panes. was pouring out so
| thlckly that he abandoned his inlen.
/ ton. From the floors above came
succession of explosions, the fire wis
! gaining fast. Soon 1t would reach the
basement. Martin knew that the IN
slant brand fell into his prison The
whole place would burst into blaze.
and that he could not live thirty SEE
onds.
There was but one resort left. Be-
meath the left side of the basement
and adjoining the wall was a subcear
In which were stored the most inialn-
mable and dangerous goods. 1t was
the last place the young man would
willingly have chosen as a refuge, but
no other WAS open TO him. Cropping
bllndly along the floor on his hands
and knees, he felt for the ring of the
trap door. Would he never find ltf
A dense smoke now filled the base
ment. The floor above was growing
hot, and he could hear the continual
cracking and swapping of the fiercely
burning paints and oils
Suddenly his fingers ran along
seam. second later they closed
about the ring of the trap. which was
hinged on one side. Lifting 1t only
high enough to allow his body to pass,
so that as little smoke as possible
might penetrate the space below, he
wormed through the narrow opening
and dropped to the bottom Above
him the door fell heavily, deadening
all sounds.
The place In which the bookkeeper
found himself was unfamiliar to him.
His duties had rarely led him into the
basement, and although he knew of the
existence OF this vault, he had only
the barest idea of its shape and size
He stood up and found that 1t WAS
about five feet from floor TO ceiling
Then he undertook an exploring tour
In which touch took the place of sight,
feeling his way about until satisfied
that he had a tolerably accurate idea
of the dimensions of his dungeon II
was long and narrow. being about fifty
feet by fifteen. On one side were piled
boxes containing carboys. while on the
other stood row of barrels, their
faucets dripping with some sticky
liquid.
The air, though close and damp,
seemed fairly pure. This relieved Mar
tins mind, for he had feared that some
noxious vapor might have collected in
so confined a space.
A fierce cracking broke out above.
The fire had reached the cellar. The
prisoner shuddered as he realized what
his fate would have been had he not
found this haven below But soon this.
too, would become untenable. Was he
not simply delaying an Inevitable
death?
A furnace-like heat struck down
through the floor overhead and he
knew that 1t must be burning. Sud
denly the fierce kissing of steam fell
upon his ears. The water poured on
the flames by the fremen had pene-
trated the cellar, and was battling with
the blaze there.
And now an unforeseen peril threat
ened him. The basement floor had be-
come 80 thickly coated with oil aud
other viscid substances through years
OF use that 1t was practically water
tight; but there were. of course. mar
row cracks between the edges of the
trap door and Its frame.
There was sound of water flowing
over the planks above Martins head,
and a rapid scattering on the bricks
beside him. He knew that thousands
of gallons would be poured into the
| building TO extinguish The eonfiagra-
ton. and that he would be drowned II
his refuge filled.
Feeling his way along the seams.
he discovered several Jets squirting
! through: there were three places in
particular from which good sized
streams were pouring.
In his previous explorations his
hands had encountered mass of coz
ton waste. evidently used TO Cleanse
the faucets after oil had been drawn.
| This he used like oakum to ealk the
seams. pressing 1t in with the large
blade of his poeketknlfe. Soon he had
made the cracks so tight that only
occasional drops spattered down.
Dull, heavy explosions detonated
above. Earring the very bricks beneath
his feet. All at once there came a
| terrific shock right overhead. and he
knew that some heavy box or barrel
had fallen ON the roof of his retreat.
This first shock was followed by
others. As the upper floors burned
through the debris fell into the cellar
Now and then a looSened beam crashed
| "A