Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1906-03-22
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" stared at the blank stones. but
s they returned no sign from iheii
r. unavailing grayness, ile q senac
- began to speak in that 6 9sAy
place. Recovering my SELF, put & 1syn
the lantern and considered. First
put the key in my pocket, q definite
precaution which was to influence
strangely the history Of this narrative.
| It was not conceivable that any one
could have opened the heavy door
when it was locked, yet the prisoner
was gone. IF he is gone said
aloud in order to reassure myself, "he
must needs have gone by some hole"
That was incontrovertible. decided,
/ too. that the means of escape must lie
within the dungeon. Once more In
spected the huge oaken door and shook
my head. Was there any flaw In the
wood? Perchance there was a secret
spring in a panel. | went over the
surface carefully, but found nothing.
every we'll" said I, II viii unriddle
this or be hanged for a felon," and I
| set to work upon the walls. Inch by
inch passed the masonry under my
scrutiny, but made no discovery. Il
| will 60 over it again. declared des-
perately and resumed my work from
the beginning. / had not reached a
| point very far from the door on this
second round of investigation when
my glance slid of at a venture and al
most mechanically rested upon the
treasure chests. Something unfamiliar
| in their appearance vaguely persisted
| In my thoughts. / left of fumbling
with the wall and stood gazing at
them. They took my eyes with inter
est, and, crossing the room, shed the
| light upon the cases, lingering the gold
pieces under the broken lid. One, two,
three-they stood exactly as-no, that
| was the point. They had been moved!
| With new zest / examined the floor,
| and, sure enough one of these chests
had been pulled out from the wall as
| far as it's own width. I peeped over it,
| illuminating the space beyond The
| slab Of stone which the box had COW
cred was like the other flags that made
! the floor of the dungeon. leaned low
| err, and, sitting crossWays on the chest,
1 pushed the slab with my foot. It
! clanked duly to the kick Of my heel;
| but what was even more amazing to
me, it seemed to shudder and tremble
| beneath me. Fully aroused to action
| flung myself over and alighted with
| both feet hard upon the flooring. In:
another moment I was tipped forward
| and felt myself falling precipitately
upon my face. Catching at the chest
with one hand, saved myself, but in
| the effort the lantern fell from my
hand and went out.
Slowly ] CROPPED in the darkness and
struck a match, reIfghting the candle.
| Then turned to the slab Of stone.
It lay open, displaced, one end pro-
| truding upward, and, as / saw, had
| twisted on some kind of axle. Below
was disclosed great mouth of dark
ness
"Come.'' said I to myself Il think !
know where friend Hood is, and this
begins to get interesting"
l felt in my pocket where my re
volver lay safely, and, selling the can
die, plunged into the evil looking hole.
| a stairway of stone ran downward,
but very steeply, and had the utmost
difficulty in preventing myself from
pitching forward against the rough
masonry of the opposite wall. The
walls brushed me upon either side as
descended, so narrow was the funnel.
Down, down / went, until presently /
reached a sort Of landing, which broad
ened into little irregular chamber.
Here ray of light caught my eye, and
l followed it till | happened upon a
small door in the wall. A huge key
was in the lock, but the bolt was not
| turned, and by wrenching hard I
| forced the door open. / now looked
down upon the waters Of the moat, in
which my tiny fame danced in the
growing darkness.
After little consideration saw
where was. This must be sally
port, giving access to the fosse. In
deed, the water Tapped the lowermost
step, upon which stood. Was It by