Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1907-06-13

was carried ike sack OF ueuI Oh
some ones shoulder and unhampered
before a gaunt specter in uniform in a
room SO dazzling with electric light
that could hardly see. That was a
few minutes ago. Now | am here and
starving. Where is this PRISON."
Like the mikado. as Kate would
say, the authorities are bent on max
ing the punishment fit the crime. You
are in the Rock in the Baltic, which
you fred at with that gun of yours. ]
told you those suaye officials at st.
Petersburg were playing with you"
But why have they put you here.
Jack?''
"Oh, | was like the good dog Tray,
who associated with questionable COM
pany. suppose. and thus got into
trouble"
"Pm sorry"
"You ought to be glad. I'm going to
get out of this place. and I don't be-
lieve you could break Jail unassisted
in twenty years. Here is where science
confronts brutality. ! say, Drum
mond, bring your table over to the cor
ner and mount it. then we can talk
without shouting. Not much chance of
any one outside hearing us even if we
do clamor, but this is a damp situation,
and loud talk is bad for the throat.
Cut a slice of that brown bread and
lunch with me. You'll find it not half
bad, as you say in England, especial
" when you are hungry. Now" con-
tinued Jack as his friend stood oppo-
site him and they found by experiment
that their combined reach was not long
enough to enable them to shake hands
through the bars, now, while you are
luxuriating in the menu of the Trogz-
mondoff I'll give you sketch of my
plan for escape"
'Do,n said Drummond.
81 happen to have with me pair of
bottles containing substance which
If dissolved in water and sprinkled on
this rock will disintegrate it. Improves
rather slow work, l must admit, but /
intend to float in to you one of the
bottles and the apparatus, so that you
may help me on your side, which plan
has the advantage of giving you use
ful occupation and allowing US to COM
plete our task in half the time, like the
engineers on each side of the Simplon
tunnel"
IF there are bars in the lower wa
tercourse,' objected Drummond, won't
you run risk of breaking your bottle
against them?'
"Not the slightest have just sent
that much thinner electric lamp
through, but in this case I'll just tie
up the bottle and squirt gun in my
stocking, attach that to the wire, and
the current will do the rest. You can
unload and I'll pull my stocking back
again. If / dared wrench off table
leg, | could perhaps shove bottle and
syringe through to you from here, but
the material would come to dead CEN
ter in the middle of this tunnel unless
had a stick to push it within your
reach.
every we'll; we'll work away until
our excavation connects and we have
made it of sufficient diameter for you
to squeeze through. You are then in
my cell We put out our lights, and
you conceal yourself behind the door.
Jailer and man with the lantern come
in. You must be very careful not to
close the door, because if you once
shove it shut we can't open it from this
side, even though it is unlocked and
the bolts drawn 1t fits like wax and
almost Theoretically seals the room.
You spring forward and deal the jailer
with your fist one Of your justly cele-
mediately after telling the man with
the lantern Knowing something of
the weight of your blow. take it that
neither of the two men will recover
consciousness until we have taken off
their outer garments, secured revolv-
ers and keys. Then we lock them in,
you and l on the outside"
"My dear Jack. we don't need any
tunnel to accomplish that. The first
time these two men come into my
room | can knock them down as easily
here as there"
II thought of that, and perhaps you
could, but you must remember we have
only one shot. If you made mistake,
If the lantern man bolted and fred his
pistol and once closed the door-he
would not need to pause to lock it
why, we are done for. should be
perfectly helpless in the next room,
and after the attempt they'd either
drown us or put us into worse cells as
far apart as possible"
81 don't think should miss fire.
said Drummond confidently. Still !
see the point and will obey orders"
"My official position on the rock ever
since arrived has been that Of cleo
trical tutor in chief to the governor.
have started his dynamo working and
have wired such portions of the place
as were not already wired before.
During these lessons | have kept my
eyes open. So far as the prison is con-
oop11od fhora a n fha OovarYlnT a sort