The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1911-02-09
LOST IN THE
CATACOMBS
BY GROVER ]. GRIFFIN
Copyright by American Press Asso-
citation, 1871.


the great desire OF my life was 10 visit
the Eternal City and the localities
az which the incidents | read about
occurred. | wished to so over the
seven hills on which the city had been
built; wished to see the Forum, the
home OF the vestal virgins, the spot
where Castor and Pol.uX appeared,
marked now by the ruins OF their
the triumphal arches the Pantheon.
Above all. l desired to so down into
the catacombs where the early Chris.
tians secretly deposited their dead.
The time finally came when | reach
ed the Object Of my desires. / visited
Rome. On the steamer crossing the
Atlantic and later steaming over the
| Mediterranean | met Marian Cham
bers, and, sitting on deck moonlight
nights with her, | caught from her n
fever-the fever Of love. by the time
we reached Gibraltar | was down, and
during the whole voyage from there
TO Naples was very i'll with this irTi-
tating 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 n
normal condition.
BY the time we reached Rome was
ready TO enjoy the sights l had count |
ed on seeing ever since | began to /
study Latin. And now / had loved |
companion TO visit them with me. The
catacombs that had Interested me
most | reserved till the last. Marian
and l had fancy for slipping
away from those we Travelled with
and going sightseeing together One
morning we took a carriage, drove out
on the Appian way and stopped at the
entrance of those subterrgnean pas
sages had long wished to explore.
We were in time to join a party
about TO descend, We're each given a
wax taper, and Il monk in white
cowl, who was to pilot us, led us
down n stone staircase at the bottom
of which were the catacombs.
We followed the taper light process
sion for awhile, but fnally-at the
time l would not tell how it happened.
but now l am an old married man |
will admit that ! was never happy for
half an hour ut time without kiss
from my Marian. and / led her away
from the others for the purpose of q
taking one. As soon as this object
had been accomplished we started on
after the others. Immediately we
came 10 n split in the passage, and the
party had gone so far that we could I
not tell which OF the two avenues they {
had taken. Milking choice Of the left =
hand passage. we ran rs fast as we {
could, only to find new splits and
turns and corners. but not the party.
We were lest.
People have been lost before in these
bu"iFl places and have
their experiences. In our
case there is something different from
my of them. had box of matches ;
In my pocket that carried for cigar
lighters. We also had two tapcrs. As
soon as | realized that we were lost
put out both the tapers, and, being in t
n small open space where was a 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 10y the party we had {
Joined, for we knew not one of them.
Parties were going through the cata- c
combs every day, but would they hap u
pen 10 come our way? Besides, we G
might starve before we were discov- q
cred. There was nothing whatever
for us to subsist on. We might try to :
find our way out. but there were many I
miles Of these subterranean passages, a
and we were liable to wander farther c
from the entrance. The result of our
deliberations was TO remain where we
we're
/ will pass over some twenty hours
Of our captivity without attempting
to describe our feelings. The most r
hopeless part Of II was that our .
friends did not know where we were. :
We passed most OF the time in the
dark, for l wished to save our tapers =
and matches for any opportunity that
might occur. While sitting on the sar-
cophagus something ran on my foot.
scratched match, and its flame re-
vealed the two glistening eyes of a
rat. 6
/ ut once lighted taper, and while I
Marian held it tried TO catch the rat.
II he would serve no other purpose we
might need 10 eat him. l didn't have {
much trouble getting my hands on 7
him. / think he knew we were lost 9
here and was willing to help us out.
Then an idea occurred to me. Serb ]
bling a note on letter / had in my
pocket, stating that we were lost in the I
held the rat while Mar
an tied the note with strip torn from 8
her handkerchief around the little fell n
ow's neck, Then we put him down. lie n
gave us the most knowing look III the n
world and ran away. 9
Half an hour later felt the rat run 4
ming over my feet. lit taper md n
saw that he was without either g.,
note or the strip by which 1t had been
TO him. This gave us hope \
hat it had been removed by human i
being. Ten minutes later / heard r
lallOO I rpplipd and after n number