The Holly chieftain., 1908-03-13
A HOLE N THE ROCK
The Story Of an Attempted Es.
cape From Gibraltar.
suRRowlne OUT OF PRISON.

BuRR0WlhG OUT Of PRISON.
The Wonderful Secret Work rhst Cen
viet RsaIH Performed In the Teeth ei
Constant and Systematic Supervision
by His Jailsrs.
Ambrose Realn was undergoing a
life sentence on the towering rock Of
Gibraltar for scuttling his ship for the
sake of the insurance money. The
governor told the story Of RealTs at
tempt to escape:
THAT fellow led q rowing hfe-a
daredevil that obeyed every impulse.
good or bad And yet for three whole
years l found him a model prisoner.
At first he was employed ~ carpen-
ter, and little later we put him oh
the harbor works. But suddenly to
this wild nature came an unquencha-
BILE thirst for freedom. At that time
Realf was In charge Of all the labor
ers' pick handles and wheelbarrows tn
the Rosia quarry. where he was In
stalled in a little lean-to shed against
a hollow in the mighty clif. Every
report put before me extolled the
mans good behavior.
"Well, every afternoon at 4 the work
ing party of convicts would form up
and return to the prison-which. as
you know, contains some Of the tough
est characters of both east and west
and an officer would go to Realh's
shed to unlock him and bring him
along with the rest
But this afternoon the door was
opened in vain. Realn was mot there.
And yet twenty minutes previously he
had been seen through the little win
dow when visited by the chief warder.
He had even answered to his name as
he stood planning at his bench in dark
recess. He was gone, how or where
not soul knew. Unquestionably the
shed was locked on the outside, and
the lock had not been tampered with.
And there appeared no other exit ex-
cept the door. nothing but solid rock.
The little shanty was ransacked, emp
tied. but without result
Gould the man. wondered, have
discovered some secret recessf You
know the whole rock d fairly honey
combed with holes. both natural and
artificial. like Gruyere cheese. Alarmed
at the results such an escape would
have on the morale Of my dangerous
gangs. had torches brought and per
sonally examined every nook and cram
ny Of the cliff against which the shed
was built. Then my best oficers went
over 1t all with hammer and crowbar.
But no, nothing but solid rock. Now
for the floor. 1t was level and fairly
smooth, just covered in places with 4
little loose shingle.
"'Bring me a bucket Of water /
cried with sudden inspiration. When 1t
came, threw it carefully out, and we
all watched. More and morer We
fairly inundated the floor and shouted
with excitement as we saw 1t ebb al
most as swiftly as we poured.
"Mere absorption was impossible.
The rock was not porous. There must
be a cave or tunnel below. The man
hunt was growing hotter now. Relent-
lessly we traced the ebbing streams to
dark and distant corner. where had
to get down on all fours to crawl un-
der massive rock shelf. Here the
last trickle disappeared.
Like flash our crowbars were at
work. and, 10. big block was pried
uE revealing dark gulf below. ap-
preached 1t cautiously. Now, Realff,'
l cried sternly. it's all up! We've got
you!
There was no reply. My chief
: warder poked a pole down and found
a depth Of eight feet. He and two
giant subordinates got out their re-
volvers, seized lanterns and swung
themselves in - as ticklish job as
routing out wounded tiger from his
lair. We above waited long and
breathlessly. Suddenly faint shout
Travelled up to us. followed by sounds
of desperate struggle In the cavern.
BY and by back they came, with ReaIff
securely handcuHed. Lowering ropes,
we hauled him up, battered, but smil-
ing.
he faced his disappointment with
rare pluck, hashsd a smile ON me and
said, Better luck next time, colonel
THAT was the end Of -four long and
patient years Of endeavor. I think he
discovered the pit shortly after he
was first put in the shed. And he had
not only enlarged 1t with a scrap Of
iron and the patience Of another Baron
Trench, but he had also extended it
laterally. no doubt hoping for ultimate
escape to the sea by the subterranean
passage.