Los Angeles herald., 1906-10-28

lie moved several yards III one dlrec-
ton and encountered nothing. Then
he turned to the right, and a few steps brought
him up against dead wall.
He turned sharply round and retraced his
steps, counting them as he walked When he
bad taken eight PAGES he encountered another
wall. Keeping one hand on the stone, he moved
along it. He resolved to explore the passage from
end to end, and continued in the same direction.
In an hours time he stepped into some water.
Ie thought at first that it might be mere pud.
die. but when he tried to skirt it, he found that
il reached to the opposite wall. lie placed his
hand against the rock aud splashed cautiously
forward. The cold water rose to his ankles, and
as he proceeded grew deeper and deeper till it
reached his knees
Then he stopped, felt once more in his pockets
for the matches which he always carried with
him, and searched every inch Of the lining care
fully for a single match, which is often to be
found about the clothes of confirmed smoker
But he was unsuccessful.
Matches are cheap enough in England, but at
that moment he would have given half ofyall his
worldly goods for a single box of them The
darkness was becoming heavy and suffocating like
the folds of a velvet pail.
He moved forward another few yards and the
water reached his coat. 1t had begun to deepen
his leeJ nO lOIiSer JOucueu thS hulu
rock but sank into a soft bed Of mud or sand.
An idea suddenly seized him. He gathered up
some of the water in his hands and Tapped few
drops with his tongue The water was salt He
turned round, and retracing his steps. came back
to the dry ground. Then he sat down in his
dripping clothes and reasoned things out.
1t was clear that this unknown tunnel was con.
nected in some way or other with one of the
creeks or even with the sea. 1t was possible
that the pool was merely an accumulation of salt
water which filtered through the rock and earth
above, but the other hand, it was conceiva-
BILE that the tunnel emerged in the sea. If SO,
there was a chance that the opeung was uncov-
cred at low tide
He went down to the pool, and placing shll-
ing on the very edge of the water, waited pa
tently for the information he required In
few minutes time he found that the\water had
receded from the coin. 1t was clear that the
pool was tidal and that the tide was running
out.
But it was just possible that the tide had
neared it's lowest point and that it would only
fall few inches more. In which case there was
no hope of an exit into the open air.
He carefully felt the ground running from the
waters edge into the tunnel behind him. For
three yards it was wet. and then his fingers en-
countered dry rock The distance represented,
as far as he could Judge, fall Of about six inches
in the water
1t was, therefore, evident that the tide had
only just turned. With twelve or fifteen feet
to fall it was possible that the mouth of the tun
mel might be completely uncovered.
When he had waited an hour, shivering, hun.
cry, and tormented with thirst it suddenly
Cured to him that there might be bend in the
tunnel, which would absorb the first weak rays
of the sun, filterng through mass of green
water.
He moved several yards forward to the waters
edge but still there was darkness. Then it oc-
CURED to him that, it might possibly be night,
and that there would be no light to guide him.
He debated with himself whether after all it
would not be better to take off his clothes,
plunge boldly into the water and swim as far
as the roof of the tunnel would permit.
When another hour had passed, and still no
glimmer of light came from the black wall of
darkness, he decided to take this somewhat des-
perate course He took off all his clothes and
walked into the icy water till it reached his
waist Then he struck out boldly.
Yet, as he started, the thought came to him
that Jordison had brought him to this place,
that Jordison had left him unfettered and free
to roam where he plea sed, aud that it was hard
" likely that Jordison had left him any loop
hole for escape
Holme was powerful swimmer and he had no
fears for his own safety so long nothing out
Of the way interrupted his progress. But it was
strange work swimming there in the darkness,
hearing the hollow splash of his steady strokes,
and humping against the wet rocks that closed
him in on either side. When The had gone
hundred yards he tried to touch the bottom, but
found that he was out of his depth
Raising his hand above his head, he touched
the roof, and the impact sent him under for a
few seconds. After another hundred yards he
again lifted his arm, but found that the roof
was no closer TO him At the end of another
hundred yards he could not touch it, and sinking
suddenly down reached the sand at the bottom.
Then all at once out of the darkness came o
far off CLEAN Of light, no more than patch of
dark bluish grey against an inky background but
still the first ray from the outer world
In few minutes time the patch became light
er and more definite in shape. In the joy of his
discovery he did not notice the fine network of
lines that crossed it. His head was half buried
in the water, and he drove his body forward with
long powerful strokes.
; Then. as he lifted his arm out of the water
to make stroke, his fingers raped hard against
something, slid past it to his elbow, and his
whole body came crash against framework of
iron.
He raised his other hand, and catching hold
of a stout bar, examined the obstacle which had
brought his progress to such an abrupt termi.
nation. As far as he could see in the darkness,
which could only have been regarded as twilight
ly one who had grown accustomed to the abso-
lutte blackness OF the tunnel, he was confronted
by great screen made Of thick bars of iron,
crossed at right angles, and resembling in some
measure an ancient portcullis.
He went over it carefully with his numbed
fingers and found that the horizontal and trans
verse bars were firmly riveted together. He also
discovered that il had hinges on one side, and
that on the other side II was fastened to the
rock by massive chain secured with paddock.
II was, in short, gate, and its presence seemed
to imply that the passage was used as means
of earess and ingress, and that for some reason
A. u A.