The Cook County herald., 1905-07-08

dainty breakfast l have made ready
for u.s." said Helen, pointing gaily at
the viands on the rock table.
II am happy to see you so cheerful"
replied Clarence, drawing her to his
bosom and kissing her blushing cheek.
'But before we eat let me look upon
the sea and sky. I wish to see what
time of day it is. I shall not be gone
long. Here" he added, drawing
leather covered packet from his bosom
and giving it t6 Helen, "this will
amuse you while l am away. I took
the liberty to draw it from the coat of
Lord Genlis last night, while he slept.
Know you anything of him, or of his
SOM"
Nothing"
Every we'll; you may discover some
thing of their affairs by reading the
papers in this packet" said Clarence,
who then entered, upon his knees, the
narrow and winding passage by which
he had on the previous day discovered
this retreat.
The passage was exceedingly irreg-
ular, winding, and often difficult to
traverse, and though the direct dis
tance from the cave to the small ledge
on the face of the cliff was not more
than hundred feet, the winding pas
sage was four times as great.
Two or three similar passages cross
ed this in which Clarence was, but he
did not now turn aside into either of
them, for he had explored each to it's
end the day before, and discovered by
his sense of touch alone that each cha
ed in small and totally dark cave,
with no outlet nor opening save that
by which he had laboriously crawled
into it,
With the prudent foresight which
had been so useful to him since his
strange arrival at Dun Aengus, he had
placed a recognizable stone at each
spot where these side passages cross
ed that which led from the open air to
the cave in which Helen now was, and
so was able to continue his tedious
way to the face of the cliff, with no
more delay than was caused by the
irregularities Of the passage.
When he reached the cliff end of
this passage, which terminated in a
small cave not three times larger than
a barrel, the top ledge and the lower
edge of the cave jutting out like two
great lips of huge mouth, he sat
down to catch breath and to gaze at
the sea and sky.
He judged correctly that the hour
was near and little past midday,
for, though he could not see the sun
from where he sat, the direction of it's
rays told him that it was near it's ze-
NTH.
The air was fresh and calm, and the
surface of the Atlantic ocean gently
heaving. There was naught visible in
sky or on the sea to tell of that fierce
and shattered his boat on the rocks at
the base Of Dun Aengus cliff.
Far in the distance could be seen
single sail.
Clarence had scarcely had time to
make these observations when he was
above, and by seeing several leap off,
as it were, from the jutting rock or
ledge over his head into the air, and
go whirling down to the sea at the
base of the cliff.
The ledge, or upper part of the
caves mouth, prevented Clarence from
seeing what was going on above, and
to fully explain the cause of these
falling fragments of rock it is neces-
sary to return for short time to the
interior of Dun Aengus barracks.
Not long before the hour of noon Of
this day-the 4th of April, 1665-Neil
Bashfort was the first of Lord Genlis'
party to awake.
He had slumbered with the expecta-
ton that his wife, Martha, would be
astir soon after sunrise, and that she
would arouse him, if he should be still
sleeping at that hour.
But Martha, locked in that profound
lethargy caused by the drugged wine,
did not awake to rouse her husband.
The Osreds had slept with the ex-
pectation that Bashfort would arouse
them to breakfast about an hour after
sunrise, or even later. So all three
had slept on in that deep and long re-
pose which so often follows much ex-
citement and great exhaustion; nor
had the deep drinking in which the
three had INDUCED during the previous
night been without it's sporific effect.
Neil Bashfort awoke at last, and the
first of all, and stared drowsily about
him for time, with much yawning
and rubbing of his eyes, until, as he
sat up in his bed on the floor, his gaze
rested upon the two bullets in the
door.
"Oh!" he growled,, II remember now
II am at Dun Aengus! A curse take
the place! I wish 1 was aboard my
lugger off Dover. had a fit last night;
yes, and thought I saw the devil, or
the same thing to me, that phantom
face. There's where shot at what I
thought I saw. Bah! Now that it is
daylight, fear no ghosts. What's the
time of day?"