Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1907-05-31
CHAPTER VII.

/ al DNicl $1,000
mouth. and then, from my inability &c
leave hold of the rope, / should be en-.
tireIy at the mercy Of the furious Ole
man. A blow with the knife would cut
nv fingers away and send me hurting tc
the bottom, or he might, holding the rope
with one hand, deliberately cut the
| strands with the other, which he could
well do before l raised myself another
foot. The only possible way by which
I could save my life was to let the cord
| slip through my hand, and by thus pre-
| venting him hacking it twice in the same
| place reach the bottom before he achiev-
ed his object. The next instlnt the cord
| was running through my hands as fast
| as I dared to pay It out, Looking up
I saw old Peter slashing ava vigorous
", the blade of his knife flashing at each
stroke as it was turned by the running
rope. A cry of delight and surprise from
Psyche showed me l was nearing the
bridge, and the next moment ! stood upon
the plank. Almost simultaneously the
rope was cut, and the two lengths swept
down. The one way OF escape was closed.
I was too agitated at the time to realize
the full significance of this Incident, or
the gravity of my position; indeed l had
reason to congratulate myself on my pres
emit escape from immediate destruction,
and in finding myself once more in eh"
cave, safe, I was hardly less lighthearted
than Psyche. But l was terribly shaken
by fright. I could scarcely steady my
hand to hold a match and strike it. The
candle in the bucket had fallen and gone
out In the descent, but I had still another
in my pocket, mad, having lit this, I
eagerly sought the pitcher Of water, for
besides the feeling Of faintness, my mouth
was gluey with the fever of excitement.
To my CONSERVATION, I discovered that a
fragment, shaken from the well, had fall
en- on the pitcher and broken it.
Psyche, seeing the trouble ii my face,
locked about eagerly, and with . cry of
Joy found about a cupful Of water in the
broken shoulder Of the crock, and this
she would have had me drink but 1
would not touch it until she had taken her
full share, for it occurred to me now
thht this might be the last sup of water
we might ever taste. If old Peter wished
to preserve his secret, a sure and GER
tain means was within his reach. He had
but to close the mouth of the we'll and
leave us here to starve. In a week
less than that, perhaps-one or both of
US must die, and with US would die the
knowledge of his v~illainy.
I could see no reason for his hesita
Ing to take this course. Certainly ~
consideration Of humanity or kin would
stop him; he had already proved that
by his murderous attempt upon my life.
This reflection made me marvel why the
two old rascals had risked discovery by
keeping Psyche alive SO many years, her
existence costing them a certain outlay,
and necessarily continual anxiety, with
no obvious return. l could hit upon no
clue to this mystery.
/ sat upon the block that served Psyche
for a table completely engrossed by these
thoughts till she reminded me CT her pres
ence by a light touch. I was greatly
moved by her mute appeal for r~ecogni-
ton, and made up my mind to think
aloud; for though she might not under
stand one word of what I said, the mere
sound of my voice and the necessity Of
turning to address her would preclude her
feeling excluded from my consideration.
Tou see, Psyche" I began, II am
down here for coed and all, and just as
much a prisoner as you are. I don't
think we may count on any mercy from
those two wicked old rascals above, and
our only hope lies in our own efforts
enabling US to escape from these terribI.
caverns. And a small hope that is; for as
to getting out the way we came in, that's
out of the question. If we do escape,
1t will be by the sea front. But how we
are to do it / don't know. There must
be thirty or forty feet of chalk to cut
our why through, even if we chance to
hit upon the best place to work at, and
say that we made ~ much as a foot a
day there's thirty or forty days work.
But we've got no food, Psyche. and UNI
der starvation we shall get weaker and
weaker each day, and I reckon that be-
fore a weeks out we shall have neither
strength nor courage to cut a single inch
In the day. Still it's no good despairing
before we begin, int if we are to do
anything we must look on the best side of
things and 60 about our work hopefully.
So now, first of all, let us see what re-
sources We have got"
I rose TO my feet. and 80 did she with
alacrity, and as I looked at the emnant
Of her dinner on the table she took up
the piece Of bread left BY the jackdaw and
offered It to me. I took It to the hole
where she kept her food. There was the
slice Of pork I had sent down and a few
dry crusts.
"Caw,' she explained, pointing to them.
mo, We can let cav have Them said
shaking e. head they are for Psyche
and me-" touching her and myself.
She seemed to understand, for when
I put the morsel of bread she had given
me int the hole she blocked it up firmly
with the stone, laughing, and then turned
to me for approval.
"And now, Psyche, we will look about