Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1910-06-02

her, seen dimIy by the iltering light
of very early dawn which came
through the opening, partook of the
mad, fantastic motion. In another Sec
ond she realized that 1t was an earth
quake. The air seemed filled with a
peculiar ringing sound of storm.
Her bed, of course, was the soft
sand over which grass had been
strewn. She lay, therefore, on the
floor and could not be thrown down,
but she was rolled from side to side
in a way which paralyzed her senses.
Never in all her experience had she
known such a sick feeling of terror.
When the foundations of things are
shaken, when not merely the great
deep but the solid earth is broken up,
humanity stands as if in the presence
Of the power of God. She lay resist
less, staring, praying, wondering
whether the shaking rock over her
head would fall and crush her.
In a moment the instinct of life
~quickened her to action. She rose to
her knees, staggered to her feet and
tried to make her way to the en-.
trance. Walking was terrible. The
earth seemed to have shaken for
hours, and yet the duration of the
shock was really less than a minute.
Its violence was terrific. Just before
she reached the opening, it stopped
with one tremendous shock as sudden
ly as it had begun. The next second,
with a roar that sounded like a thou
sand pieces of artillery, the gray ha-
zy light In front of her was blotted
out by a falling a Of rock which
just escaped her. The face of the cliff
had given away. In deeper, ~intenser
terror than before she threw herself
against the barrier. 1t was as hard
and as unyielding as the other walls.
No light came to her even. She was
imprisoned alive in this rocky sepul-
cher. She sank down on her knees
and buried her face in her hands. She
murmured words of prayer.
Her mind flew to the other side of
the island, to the man. Was he, too,
entombed? Was this the end of her
labors? Outside she could hear the
wind roar and the waves laundering
with awful violence on the shore. Be.
fore the earthquake had come the
storm. There was still some connec.
ton between the cave and the outer
air, it seemed, for she was now con.
scious of lightning flashes. After the
storm, came the fire. Her mind went
back to what she had read from the
Bible a few days before of Elijah's
despair. Therefore in like case she
listened with all her heart for the still
voice of comfort to her awestruck
soul. 1t did not seem to come. She
was doomed; she would never see
him again, If indeed he were yet alive.
She knew her feeling for him now
She slipped forward and fell fainting
on the sandy floor of the cave. And
still the voice was there. Presently
it came to her, as the voice of God
usually comes to humanity, through
the lips Of man.
After a space, how long after she
could not tell, she was conscious OF
a human cry through the wild clamor
of the storm. A voice that she knew
and loved was calling her by name
Was it some wraithlike fancy of the
storm? She rose to her knees, sick
and faint, and listened. No, it was
a human voice, his voice, her name
The cry was fraught with frantic ap
peal. 1t thrilled and vibrated with
passion. 1t told her in that awful mo
ment a story which she had not read
1t revealed to her imaginations Of
which she had not dreamed. She was
fascinated with what she heard. She
forgot for the moment to answer. All
the woman In her, the eternal femi
nine in her, listened. Her bosom rose
and fell, her heart throbbed, hel
pulses beat. Alone with that wild
passionate, appealing, frantic cry, she
forgot the earthquake, she forgot the
prison, she forgot the storm, she for
got the world. She only realized that
there out in the dawn, a man, the mar
Of all the world, who loved her was
calling her name. The old call Of
manhood to womanhood, Of mate tc
mate.
She ros instantly to her feet. This
time It was the beating of her heart
that pitched and tossed her body. She
leaned against the rock wall and Their
she called his name.
Man." she cried, "are you safer"
EYES," was the answer. "And
you"
Entirely SO, save for this prison.
THANK God!" came family to hel
from beyond the wall. Thank God, ]
hear your voice. / shall have you out
never fear"
She pressed her ear close to the
heap Of huge loose stones which filled
the opening. She could hear him
working outside.
Don't be afraid" he said at last.
81 fear nothing" she answered, III
you are there"
In n instant the situations of life
had been reversed. He was the mas
ter now and she hung upon his words
and actions eve as he had done In
days gone by.
She had no knowledge of what tasl
was before him, but she could heal
the progress that he was making. Il
was evident that he was working furi
ously, and yet he stopped once II
every little while to reassure himseli
as to her presence.
woman" he cried, "are you still
there?"
Here and waiting" was the an
swer.