The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1907-03-02
CHAPTER Xxx.

I awoke with a start to conscious
ness, the horrible scenes repeating
themselves in my slumber had at last
brought back my senses. My brain
was whirling with thousand mad
dening visions of the midnight hor-
rors through which we had passed.
the terrible spectacle of subterran-
can fires, the intoerabe splendor of
the vaulted roofs. afame and kissing
with the fires of the underworld, the
spectral shadows as they Ieaped from
rock to rock. and from Granny to cram
ny. the horrible and appalling scintel-
lations which burst from the crystal
chamber, where countless millions of
prisms blazed forth in numberless re-
| Elections, to burn out the eyes of the
wretched conspirators. the appalling
detonations of the, thunders in the
| gaping abysses that yawned hungrily
| for their prey, and the crashing pillars,
| dashed from their foundations and
shattered into fragments against the
| walls by the resiStless foundations.
| The catacombs were wrapped in
| darkness. but | could hear the breath
! ing of a man near by. l arose and
| cried out, for the waters still roared
below us:
| you are Gideon, the COURIER"
Eyes. l am Gideon. but no longer
the courier groaned the giant, as he
also arose. | could hear his heavy
| tread as he drew near.
Thunder of He'll" he beloved, as
he stumbled against some object and
| fell sprawling upon the hard stone
| floor; whom have we here" and
feeling around him he lifted the form
of man in his powerful arms, have
you a match?' I searched the pock-
cts of my rubber suit, and found a
chsafe, which | always carr. cd
in the caverns, and soon its feeble
| Pickering rays revealed a sickenne
sight The hair of the giant had be-
come as white as snow, his beard was
scorched and singed. giving his coun-
| tenance a fiercer look The long hair
| of Valdermere was burned from his
| brow, and his face was covered with
cinders and ashes. At last he recov-
| cred consciousness and stood starin.
upon US, his eyes filed with horror,
as he seized the hand of Gideon, cry
ing:
"Ah, my brother your countenance
| is wretchedly changed Are you i'll?
Your hair is as white as marble?"
| And yours said the giant, 'is
burned away from your brow, and, by
all the storms OF hell. would never
have known you, but for your voice"
| The match aickered and died into
a red coal, then all was dark again.
Save your Matches said the
giant, for we must find a way out of
this cavern, or we will slowly starve
to death 1t would have been as well
to have died with our brothers
There is no passage from this
tomb, save one," said Valdermere.
"and that is filled with water"
will not this river find an outlet?"
asked Gideon.
Possibly, but we cannot take such
chances. and we must either brave the
starvation"
"Did you feel that draught of air?
Where can it have come FROM" and
|. at this moment a light breeze extin-
guished the second match l held in
my hand.
THAT breeze certainly does not
come from the tunnel" said Valdez
mere. but from whence? cannot
account for it."
We now walked hurriedly forward
until we came near the end OF the
passage.
"vrhat does this mean!" shouted
To- 49, To-,
the floor.
A close examination was made. and
we diss oyered to our surprise that