La Junta tribune., 1908-11-14
A HOLE N THE ROCK
The Story Of an Attempted Es-
cape From Gibraltar.
BuaRowlNe OUT OF PRISON.
The Wonderful Secret Work Tha. Con-
viot RealH Performed In the Teeth Of
Constant and Systematic Supervision
by His Jaiiers.

life septru,,' on the lowering rock os
o;irraiiar rar seuuing til, ship fot the
saGc NJ tho Insurance money The
=, ,'st'ar tuld lllr story OF HeaIGe at
tr,uid tu ,-s,;i,,r
THAT fellow led a rowing llfe-a
daredevil that ohcyed every impulse.
good or bad Aud yet for three whole
years found him Il model prisoner.
.Nt first he was employed as carpen-
ter. aud Il little later we put him on
the hurhor works. But suddenly To
this Wild nature came an unqucnchu-
blc thirst for freedom Al that time
Healff WIS in charge of MI the labor
ers' pick haudles and whecibarrows In
the Kusin quarry where lie was In
stalled in n little lcan-to shed against
hollow in the mighty cliff. Every
report put before me extolled the
mans good behavior.
Welt. every afternoon nj the work
ing party OF couvic,s would form up
aud return to the prison which. as
you know. contains some of the tough
est characters OF both east and west
| and an officer would 90 to Realff's
| shed to unlock him aud bring him
along with the rest
"But this afternoon the door was
opened in vain Realn was not there
Aud vet twenty minutes previously he
had been seen through the little win
dow when visited by the chief warder.
lie had even answered to his name as
lic stood planning at his bench In dark
recess. lie was gone. how or where
not soul knew. Unauestionnbly the
shed was locked on the outside. and
the lock had not been tnmpered With.
And there appeared no bthcr exit ex-
ccpt the door. nothing but solid rock.
The little shnnty was ransacked. emp
tied. bui without result.
Gould the man. | wondered. have
discovered some secret recesst You
know the whole rock is fairly honey
comlcd 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
sonully examined every nook and cram
ny nf the clifI against which the shed
was built ..'lhen my best officers went
over II all with hammer and crowbar.
hut no. nothing but solid rock. Now
for tho floor. II was level and fairly
smooth. Just covered In places with q
little loose shingle.
...Bring me bucket OF water
cried with sudden Inspiration. When II
rame. threw It carefully out. and we
all watched More and moref We
fniriy inundated the door and shouted
with excitement as We saw II ebb a.
most as swiftly us we poured.
Mere absorption was impossible.
The rock was not porous. There must
he cave or tunnel below. The man
hunt was growing hotter now. Relent'
lessly We traced the ebbing streams to
a dark and distant corner. where had
TO get down on all fours to crawl un-
der n massive rock shelf. Here the
last trickle disappeared.
Like flash our crowbars were at
work. and. To- II big block was pried
up. revealing n dark gulf below. | ap-
preached II cautiously. Now. Realff.
cried sterniy. IT'S all up! We've got
you.
There was no reply. My chief
wardcr pokcd pole down and found
q depth of eight feet He and two
giant subordnates 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
brcathlessiy Suddenly n faint shout
Travelled up to MS. followed by sounds
of desperate struggle In the cavern.
BY and by back they came, with Realfr
securely handcufred. Lowering ropes.
hat i,tyf cs.rft-
ing
He faced his disappointment with
rare pluck flashed II smile on me and
said. Better luck next time. colonel
''That was the end OF -four long and
patient years OF endeavor think he
discovered the pit shortly after he
was first put in the she'd. And he had
not only enlarged II with scrap Of
iron and the patience of another Baron
Trench but he had also extended 1t
literally. no doubt hoping for uitimate
escape to the sea by the subterranean
passage.
but even this In any event was only
the first stage Reaiff's provision went
much farther. lie had actually built
himself "A boat out Of nondescript
scraps OF canvas, old sacks and odds
and ends Of timber 1t was a marvel
| OF constructive skill, yet surely none
! but desperate man would think OF
| committing himself to the Mediter-
ranean or Atlantic In such a crazy
skifr-n mere tiny coracle barely capa-
bic OF keeping man afioat. OF course
he felt sure that once launched he
would soon he picked up by some
passing craft in the crowded strait ce
Gibraltar. and he had a story ready
for his saviors as well as pr0vfsions
for himself. or these last he had
fundamentally biscuit and salt
pork-iaid by bit by bit from his rs-