Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1905-03-07
in THE TRAP


I tilHr Nf NAN III lllN llVuNt par H..
at the Oaks and climbed tie steer
path that leads to the Trap.
THE mountain grew wilder ain,
|hu9fe PERCEPTIONS as we neared tn,
sunmit and finally we found our
solves standing at the foot of
sheer precipice, nearly 800 fee
high. From the top almost to th,
! bottom there extended a crevic,
reaching back into the heart Of the
lmountain-quite the gloomies
place / had ever seen. This wa,
the Trap.
Hetheringay, who was ahead
climbed up few feet and then dis
appeared into a long stone CORR
dor, dark and draughty, with high
walls reaching up over our heads
until they met a narrow strip of
blue sky.
The floor was rough and damp
and slippery and sometimes, as
we moved along, a deep abyss
would open out on one side of us.
Once when | kicked a stone off |
shuddered as | heard it fall, strik-
ing and reverberating for several
seconds before it stopped.
A cold, damp wind blew through
the place, as though from some
cavern where the sun never pene-
trated. | shivered in the cold of
that icy blast.
"Here we are" cried Hetherin-
gay, cheerfully, and plunged on
with a do or die sort of feeling.
Before us yawned black hole,
which seemed to lead right
through the middle of the noun
tain. Hetheringay was lighting
the candles he had brought, but
they only seemed to make the
darkness visible.
/ placed my candle in my hat
band, thinking it would leave ms
hands free, but Hetheringay de
cided to carry his. So, bearing il
above his head to light our danger
Gus path, we started to explore
the heart of the mountain.
There was a strange excitement
about the whole thing that APP
pealed to our fancy.
The path was rough, and we had
to climb over immense powders
sometimes letting ourselves down
by our hands and dropping, and in
other places pulling ourselves uI
until | was glad had kept up my
gymnastics.
At last we came to a yawning
chasm that our feeble candles
lighted but dimly. There was a
narrow ledge running along the
side of it which Hetheringay as
sured me was wide enough to lead
us safely by the abyss.
We felt our way step by step,
and had accomplished about half
of our perilOus journey when sud
denly, in turning a corner, the wall
bulged out more than I expected,
and my hat, in which / had placed
the candle, was knocked off.
In trying to catch it nearly lost
my balance, and turned cold and
faint as | saved myself in the nick
of time. The falling candle for a
momentlitupthe abyss, which was
apparently bOttOmless.
| uttered an exclamation of
horror, 1.-THE same instant Heth-
eringay turned hastily, and either
his sudden motion or a draught
blew out his candle, and we were
left in a darkness thatcould be felt.
There was an ominOus silence for
a moment, and then he said, in a
low voice that made my blood run
cold:
stuart, Stuart, I've dropped
the matches; they have gone
over
! felt desire to sob wildly, like
any coward, to throw myself over
Ia hundred wild thoughts tore
through my brain.
The horror and hopelessness of
that moment will haunt me
through my life. We were caught
in the Trap.
| rayed inwardly, | rebeIled at
being shut up in this prison, away
from all the joyous life out there in
the sunshine. InwardlyI stormed |
man-likQ / waS 81 |