The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1909-07-29
CHAPTER vIrI-contlnued.

THAT man tried to hire me. He Of
fered me $500 I'm postage stamps IL I'd
let him go. He said 1t was hid In that
cave"
Gave" snapped the Squire. That
don't go. I've lived here all my life,
and I should have known IL there was
a cave"
but we can prove it two minutes.
Squire Hartswtck." broke In Jim,
eagerly. "It's only a few steps"
Nov that's fair" assented Amos.
Come n I'm Jest dyin' to see 1t"
"Nosuh, It's q trap"
1T amt no such thing. Squire. Now
you look ahere. That Teller there is
the one that's been dom these robber-
les. You car see that by the looks or
him. They have got a cave down there
that we don't know anything about. l
say it's nothing more'n right that we
take a look at tat the outside OF it.
IL nothing more. Come on. sheriff"
That's fair" assented the man.
There's no risk I'm doin' that. Come
on, Squire. Now, Farthing. no monkey
business. I've got q revolver here, n
I'll plug o the minute there's foul
play" The Squire hesitated a mo-
ment. then followed the trio into the
Run.
over Central Pennsylvania lies a
blanket Of limestone, 500 and more feet
1hASh. Alild6lhc LEOHl IilC tOP VA ~
a mighty layer lifted like a slice from
q loaf. and behold a chaotic landscape
OF winding caverns sparkling with stall
agmites, huge chambers frescoed in
myriad colors-a section OF a sponge,
a cut across an ant-hill.
Those born on the GRANTEES and the
schists never overcome their wonder
at the limestone. Its vagaries are ever
new and astounding. Great streams
..xG nN.k ~ L. - 80 .xxrNFaA
awhile through the alluvial. then are
sucked down suddenly by the NAV of
q sinkhole; again miles away they
burst into the daylight, boiling springs
with mighty rush OF water sufficient
to turn great mills. Farmers blowing
In the field sink out OF sight In q
twinkling, horses and all; a field as
smooth as q floor, suddenly In an u
tumin flood springs q leak; there 10 q
sink-hole in the center, and by night
there is a yawning gulf down which
a disappeared the fertility of many
square rods OF tillage; great towns
have no sewerage outlet, the whole tor
rent from countless sewers being dis
charged into some sink-hole. Some
times a whole field, acres In extent, be-
gins to settle. Down and down It goes
until 1t has become q gulf with pre-
cipitous sides. In the famous Sinking
Valley there Is a plot IL acres In
tent, which began to sink In 1864, and
today 1t Is a chasm a quarter OF q mile
In depth. And still 1t is pulling grad
ually down acre after acre Of the fer
tile land.
It is the country OF the weathered
soil, q mere crust over the rock mass
OF sink-holes. and ice caves. and blind
caverns-millions OF them unmeasured
and unsupported by man.
Here we are" said Jim at length.
The mouth OF the cav IL in that rock
heap" They threw the light OF their
into q jagged assure lying low
amid the tangle of juniper. See that
big stonef Give It a push on the left
side"
Amos bent over and pushed the
stone. It rolled back noiselessly, dis
closing a black void.
Il swanny now! That's mighty
neat. amt it?" He looked UP at the
ring Of faces. "A Teller might hunt a
week and not find that. Les go In"
"Nosuh! It's q trap. Don't you go
I'm there" The old man spoke deci-
sively.
TITS a cave all right" Amos flashed
the rays OF the lantern far into the
hole. And It's where them robbers
have made their headquarters Jest as
sure as o stand there. Come on,
sheriff, If you do your duty youth go
In
Now 1 oon't know" he said. hesi-
tatingly.
'Wai, I'm goin' in whether or 10, and
I'm goin' to run for sheriff next fall.
Here, give me your revolver"
All right, wen go in. Amos, you
ahead: Jim, you go next, and re-
member I've got my revolver right in
my fist. At the very first sign OF
monkey business TIL shoot yeh as quick
I would a RATHER. Squire. you come
on behind with your lantern"
"Nosuh. You don't catch me In
he snapped. but Amos was al
ready out of sight. Jim, impeded
by the manacles, was following
Then the sheriff crept into the
narrow opening and the Squire stood
alone. All was silent save for the
of the Run, which gibbered and
Missed at his feet. He stood q mo-
ment undecided; then he. too. crawled
in.
The place was damp and narrow at
first and so low In places hat they had
to bend almost double, but all at once
they emerged into a chamber as broad
and high. judging from what they could
see In the dim light. as a barn. The
roof seemed to be made up Of innu-
merable points Tx icicles, wet and
BichIullHy 6Oil0 . OAAAAAnAAt IOLtOWp ObAA-
ers dull and lustreless. The floor was
jagged and irregular. made up of blunt
ed stalagmites and broken fragments
from the roof. The walls near them
glistened under the light OF the Ian
terms as IL freshly smeared with paint.
Amos was the first to break the ST.
lence:
"Wal-Pn-be-dumbuzzledis
Iona took us to this room" ex-
planned Jim, ge~sticulating with his
head. See, there's the remains of our
lantern; she found 1t at the entrance
and took 1t in. We sat on those rocks
right there, and she seemed nervous
and excited. She made us keep is still
as death, and every little while she
would say, Hark!' and listen as IL she
expected to hear something awful.
She went to the entrance two
three times, and h would
come back saying we couldn't
go out just yet, but that we ~ st go
the very first minute we coulL After
q long while we heard a noise way off
In that direction. She jumped up as
IL the roof was coming down. and told