The Washington times., 1911-10-21
CHAPTER VII.


TT ID cheerful. mirth-provoking son.
sation to perch helplessly at the
i bottom Of q night Of steps, dab
ling ones feet in an oozy. stagnant
stream. q mile or % underground, with
no possible mode Of getting out; and
with a erinning, torch-bearing bandit
with humanity and light.
Yet. oddly, 1t was not Of myself nor
my abominable plight that I was think
ing at the moment. In fact. was so
that somewhere else in the bowels Of
the earth. unprotected, IN American
girl was in similar helpless case. a hun
dred times worse OF than could pos
/ remembered Doris Todd's sensitive,
high bred face-the face tina: always
goes with q nervous finely strung tenn
permanent. I thought what this black.
wet horror Of captivity must mean to
faces Of the two bearers.
My rege got the better Of my rood
sense and hurled yolley Of not
Anslo-Saxon wrath st the toreh-car. al
Nor did / stop at that. Idiotically ]
leapsd from the steps into the water
well above my knees-and with a
clinched fist splashed my furious way
Quick as / was. he was far quicker
For. though it was evident he had
contemplated no such act on my part
for the Cicilian peasant san, ,,,nI can neye. ",
and without pay bring himself into
contact with water). there was sud-
den move, kissing sound, and / was
In total darkness. knee-deep In water
with no general sense Of direction and
no knowledge OF my enemy's where.
abouts.
1t was as though had been sud.
denly stricken blind. The descent ol
blow across the eyes. and I realized
that at my leap from the ledge OF
steps the guide had simply thrust his
torch into the water.
had left him: or he might have slipped
into one Of the by passiges. In any
case he knew the surroundings and
did not.
The darkness seemed to crowd In or
me from every side. pressing my eye.
balls inward. suffocating my lungs like
a thick pail Of velvet.
could not go forward. Once past the
low arch. l should be irretrievably lost
in the tortuous winding of the tunnel
or Of finding Doris Todd?
l understood at once how easy Il
had been to spirit her away from me
, Several times in the course of oul
ings where. for a moment or two. thos,
behind me were out OF sight of the
light my guard carried.
What easier. at such a time. thar
for Doris bearers to slip to one sid,
into cross tunnel or alcove and le
| my guide carry me forward out o.
earshot? The acoustics Of the plac,
might readily. at a little distance ant
| around one or two curves, shut of al
| sound.
Yet I resolved now TO test thos,
same acoustics. gathered all my
breath and energy. and shouted, cali
ing on the name II the girl to who-r
mischance.
The room re-echoed deafeningly te
my shouts. and the sound returned t,
me. uncannily distorted, from along
the watery passage. But no reply. nt
call had been heard.
THE signore is exhausting himself
needlessly, came the slurring Stellar
accents of the guide from somewher,
in the dark-ahead Of me. behind me
to right or lcft--I could not tell which
THE sfgnore may shout till hi,
lungs burst" went on tho fellow. blu
Three steps behind you. four at mos.
Return to them. I beg. for 1t is no
we'll for foreigners to stand in thi'
water. The Naples fever is insidious
Return to the steps and I will lign
the torch again. There is much to b,
| said. and time passes
Instinctively I followed his direction
A Continuation of This story VII
BE Found In Tomorrow
| NJ