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

we had gone 80 feet.
No one would ever think of ex-
ploring such a place to look for us =;
in fact, very few people knew Of
the existence Of the cave, and, as
we had started out with the inten-
ton Of going shooting they would
search for us in an opposite direc.
ton
1t was like being blind. want
ed to tear away this impenetrable
darkness that surrounded me, as
though it were a veil before my
/ eyes. 1t was q darkness such as !
had never known before, the dark
ness of a place that had never in
a thousand years felt a single ray
of warm sunlight.
could hear the water dripping
down the stone sides of our prison,
and the ledge was damp and slip
perry.
Once a cold Shiny thing dragged
its long, sinuous length over my
hand. Even the snakes were SO
unused to man that they were not
afraid. The hours dragged slowly
by. Time grew confused after
awhile. felt as if had been there
for days.
l was stiff and cold, and so
cramped that / ached all over.
Then Hetheringay said: at
must be about sunset out there in
the world. They are probably just
coming home from the golf links,
and"
But l cried out fercely: "FOr
heavens sake don't! It's bad
enough without thatp
After awhile | grew calm. / de-
termined that come what might ]
would face death like a man. l
would far rather have walked up
to the mouth Of a cannon than to
sit there and wait for death to ar
rive so cruelty slow.
"Hetheringayw l shouted, and
ten thousand echoes took up the
cry, throwing it backward and
forward like children playing at
catch-ball, 81 can't stand this place
any longer. l shall go mad if we
stay here. Besides, it is better to
risk being dashed down the abyss
than to stand here and starve to
death"
"It's madness to move" he an
swered, bluntly.
But ten thousand times more
madness to wait death without
making some effort to escape" |
replied, my own words inspiring
me with courage. cat all events,
l am going to try to find the en-
trance"
"All right" he replied, "but for
heavens sake take care! / think
it would be safer for us to crawl on
all-fOurs. I'll lead the way"
Acting on this advice we both
dropped on our hands and knees,
and cautiously, hand by hand, and
knee by knee, crept along the mar
row ledge.
Time passed on; it seemed to be
anage while we had remained still.
but now felt that we had been
moving for an eternity. My fingers
ached from the intense cOldness of
the clammy rock, and | verify be
lieved there was not a shred of
skin left on my hands or knees.
Once my numbed fingers alight-
ed on something living. / felt a
writhing substance, and an ON
nous kissing warned me of an I'M
seen reptile. With a cry of horror
/ sprang back In doing so l must
have moved a little to the left, for |
] felt myself slipping. With ahor- |
rible sensation of terror l shrieked |
out and clutched blindly in the
darkness. My hands closed round
jutting mound of rock.
For the time, at least, / was
saved.
During those awful moments,
with my body hanging over the
abyss, l lived my whole
life over again in a few seconds.
Event after event followed with
yividness-even the
most insignificant details came
back to me.
Those old, old days of youth;
those days of hopes and high