The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1905-03-29

E0me strong ana lOLty, .otneES quAte Aur
mature
More bushes gathered at the foot Of.
the cliff. Behind them he could see
the mouth Of cave. The six months
old growth Of vegetation about the en-
trance gave clear Indication as to- the
time which had elapsed since human
foot last disturbed the solitude.
A few vigorous blows with the, stick
cleared away obsructing plants and.
leafy branches. The sailor stopped, and.
looked into the cavern, for the. opening.
was barely five feet high. He per-
ceived Instantly that the excavation.
was mans handiwork applied to- a
fault In the hard rock. a sort OF nat
ural shaft existed, and this had been'
extended by manual labor. Beyond.
the entrance the cave became. more.
lofty. Owing to its position with ref
erence to the sun at that hour. jerks:
]; imagined that sufficient light would
he obtalnable when the tropical lnxIae7
-saace OF foliage outside was Dispenser
with.
At present the interior was. da9k-
with the stick he tapped the walls; and
roof. A startled cluck and the, rush OF
wings heralded the fight Of two birds
alarmed by the noise. Soon. his eyes
more accustomed to. the. gloom. made
out that the place was about thirty
feet deep, ten feet wide in the center
and seven or eight feet high.
AT the farther end was colteetnn'o
objects inviting prompS attention Each
moment he could see with greater dis
tinctness. Kneeling on one side of the
little pile, he discerned that on aslarge
stone serving as a rude, bench We're
seme,tin utensils. some knives, a sex
tant.and a quantity Of eERpty cartridge
cases. Between the stoRe and what a
uiner terms the. face Of the rock was
four foot space. Here, half imbeflded
| IN the sand which covered the floor.
| were two .pickaxes, shovel, a, sledge
| hammer, a fine timber fellingIax and
| three crowbars,
! In the darkest corner of the caves
extremity the sswall'' appeared to be
yery smooth. He prodded With the
stick. and there was sharp elang OF
tin. He discovered six square kerosene
oil eases carefully stacked up. Three
| were empty, one seemed to be half full
and the contents Of two We're un
/ touched. With almost fever1sh haste
| he ascertained that the half filed tir
did really contain oil
"What fndv' he calculated aloud.
So far as he could Judge. the cave
harbored no further surprises. Return
ing toward the exit his boots dislodge6
more empty cartridges from the sand
They were shells adapted to q revolver
Of heavy caliber. At short distance
from the doorway they were present II
dozens. ~
!, sThe remnants Of fight" h
thought. The man was attacked ant
Il defended himself here. Not expectin,
the arrival Of enemies. he provided NJ
store of food or water. He was killed
, while trying to reach the well, proba
bly, at night"
g He yiyidly pictured the scene
. brave hardy European keeping at ba!
!. a boat load Of Dyak savages, enduring
= manfrlly the agonies Of hunger. thirst
perhaps wounds; then the siege. fol
1 lowed by wild effort to gain the lif
e giving well, the hiss Of Malay paran!
J, welded by lurking foe and the las
J. despairing struggle before death came
He might be mistaken. Perchanc
there was less dramatic explanation
But he could not shake of his first i'm
pressions.
!. What was the poor devil doin:
n here??" he asked. why did he bur.
. himself in this rock, with mining uten
a sils ard a few rough stores? He coul'
!. not be castaway. There is the indi
4 cation Of purpose, Of preparation, o
= method combined with ignorance, TO
none who knew the ways Of Dyaks an
Chinese pirates would Venture to llv
:, here alone if he could help it, and If b
. really were alone"
Il There was relief in hearing big oW.