Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1911-02-02
LOST IN THE
CATACOMBS
By GROVER J. GRIFFIN
Upright by American Press Asso-
citation, 1911

When l was a boy reading stories Of
Rome in connection with nay studies
tie =reat desire of my life was TO visit
the Eternal City and the localities
at which the incidents I read about
o-s-rred. I wished TO 90 over the
even hills on which the city had been
LgLr, I wished to see the Forum. the
hone Of the vestal virgins, the spot
where Castor and P5l,ux appeared.
marked now by the ruins Of their
temple: I wished to see tie Coliseum,
51e --iumphal arches. the Pantheon.
Above all, I desired to 60 down into
the eatacombs where the early Chris
ttals secretly deposited their dead.
The time finally came when I reach
ed the object of my desires. visited
Rome On the steamer crossing the
Atlantic and later steaming over the
Mediterranean l met Marian Cham
bers and, sitting on deck moonlight
nights with her, I caught from her a
fcver-the fever of love. BY the time
We reached Gibraltar I was down, and
during the whole voyage from there
to Naples I was very i'll with this irri-
tatiuG disease. I was cured on the
homeopathic principal that like cures
like. The love of the girl given in
gradually increased doses put me in a
normal condition.
By the time We reached Rome I was
ready to enjoy the sights I had count
ed on seeing ever since | began TO
study Latin. And now I had a loved
companion TO visit them with me The
catacombs that had interested me
most I reserved till the last Marian
and 7 had fancy for slipping
away from those We Travelled with
and going sightseeing together. One
morning we took carriage, drove out
on the Appian way and stopped at the
entrance Of those subteTranean pas
sages I had long wished to explore.
We We're in time to join a party
about to descend, We're each given a
wax taper. and 4 monk in a white
cowI. who was to pilot US, led US
down a stone staircase at the bottom
of which were the catacOmbs.
We followed the taper light process
sion for awhile, but fuaiIy-at the
time I would not tell how it happened.
but now I an an old married man I
will admit that l was never happy for
half an hour at a time without a kiss
from my Marian, and I led her away
from the others for the purpose Of
taking one. As soon as this object
had been accomplished we started on
after the others. Immediately we
came to a split in the passage, and the
party had gone so far that we could
not tell which Of the two avenues they
had taken. Making choice Of the left
hand passage. we ran as fast as we
could. only to find new splits and
turns and corners, but not the party.
We were lost.
People have been lost before in these
underground burial places and have
narrated their experiences. In our
. case there is something different from
any of them. l had box of matches
in my pocket that I carried for cigar
lighters. We also had two tapers. As
soon as l realized that we We're lost I
put out both the tapers, and, being in
a small open space where was Il Chris
tian's skeleton in a sarcophagus, we
sat down on the latter to think.
What would be the result Of our thus
being lost underground? We would
not be missed by the party we had
joined, for we knew not one of them
Parties were going through the cata-
combs every day. but would they hap
pen to come our way? Besides, we
might starve before we We're discov-
cred. There was nothing whatever
for us to subsist on. We might try to
find our way out, but there were many
miles Of these subterranean passages
and we We're liable to wander farther
from the entrance. The result of our
deliberations was to remain where we
were
l will pass over some twenty hours
of our captivity without attempting
to describe our feelings. The most
hopeless part of it was that our
friends did not know where we were.
We passed most Of the time in the
dark, for 1 wished to save our tapers
and matches for any opportunity that
might occur While sitting on the sar-
cophagus something ran on my foot
1 scratched a match, and its fame re-
vealed the two glistening eyes of a
rat.
l at once lighted taper, and while
Marian held it I tried to catch the rat.
If he would serve no other purpose we
might need to eat him l didn't have
much trouble getting my hands on
him. l think he knew we We're lost
there and was willing to help us out.
Then an idea occurred to me. Serb.
bling a note on a letter had in my
pocket, stating that we were lost in the
CatacOmbs, held the rat while Mar
ian tied the note with q strip torn from
her handkerchief around the little fell
lows neck. Then we put him down. He
gave us the most knowing look in the
world and ran away.
Half an hour later I felt the rat run
ming over my feet. I lit a taper and
saw that he was without either the
note or the strip by which it had been
fastened to him. This gave us hope
that it had been removed by a human
being. Ten minutes later l heard a
halloo. l replied, and after a number
Of calls we could see the dim light Of
tapers, then a party coming to search