The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1912-10-05
CHAPTER XVI.
The Remains Of Tragedy

| 1t must have been the shock OF thus
realizing suddenly how short time
remained in which l should have light
which restored my senses. l know l
stared at the dim yellow flicker DULY
at first, and then with a swift return
ing consciousness which spurred my
brain into activity. In that instant l
hated. despised myself. rebelled at my
weakness. Faith in Claire Mortimer
came back to me in a flood of regret
II she had failed, 1t was through NO
fault Of hers, and l was no coward to
| lie there and rot without making a
stern fight for life. When l was found,
| those who came upon my body would
! know that died struggling. died as
| man should, facing fate with a smile,
with hands gripped in the contest
The resolution served-it was spur
to my pride. instantly driving away
| every haunting shadow Of evil. Yet
where should l turn? To what end
! should I devote my energies? 1t was
| useless to climb those stairs again.
| But there must be way out.
l gripped the old musket as the only
instrument at hand. and began testing
| the walls. Three sides l raped, re-
| ceiving the same dead, dull response.
/ was in the darkest corner now, be-
yond the stairs, still hopelessly beat
| ing the gun barrel against the stone.
The dim light revealed no change in
the wall formation, the same irregu-
lar expanse Of rubble set in solid NOR
tar, hardened by century Of exposure
| to the dry atmosphere. Then to an
idle. listless blow there came hollow.
| wooden sound. that caused the heart
| to leap into the throat. / tried again,
foot to the left. confident my ears
| had played me false, but this time
there could be no doubt-there was an
opehing here back of a wooden bar
rieh
t'falf crazed by this good fortune,
ca, ght up the inch Of candle, and held
it before the wall. The dim light
SO Fcely served as an aid. 80 inge-
nj jusly had the door been painted in
resemblance to the mortared stone. I
was compelled to sound again. inch by
inch, with the gun barrel before l
| could determine the exact dimensions
of the opening. Then l could trace the
slight crack where the wood was fit
ted. nor could have done this but for
the warping Of board. Wild with ap-
| prehension lest my light fail before
the necessary work could be accom-
plished, drew out the single-bladed
knife from my pocket. and began wild
ening this crack. Feverishly as l
worked, this was slow of accomplish
ment, yet silver by silver the slight
aperture grew, until l wedged in the
gun barrel, and pried. out the plank
| The rush of air extinguished the
candle, yet l cared nothing, for the air
was fresh and pure promising a clear
passage.
God, this was luck! With new cour-
age throbbing through my veins |
CROPPED my way back to the table after
| flint and steel, and relit the candle
| fragment, shadowing the flame with
both palms as l returned to where the
| plank had been pressed aside. How
ever, l found such precaution unnec-
| essary, as there was no perceptible
draft through the passage now the
opening was clear for the circulation
| of air There had been two planks-
thick and of hard wood-composing
the entrance to the tunnel, but found
it impossible to dislodge the second,
and was compelled to squeeze my
way through the narrow twelve-inch
opening This was difficult task. as
was a man of some weight, but once
accomplished found myself in a con-
tracted passageway, not to exceed
| oof In width and
from floor to roof. Here it was appar-
emily as well preserved as when first
constructed, probably hundred years
or more ago, the side walls faced with
stone, the roof supported by roughly
| hewn oak beams. l was convinced
there was no great weight of earth
resting upon these, and the tunnel.
! which followed without difficulty. or
the discovery Of any serious obstruc-
ton, for fifty feet, inclined steadily
upward, until, in my judgment, 1t must
have come within very few feet of
the surface. Here there occurred a
sharp turn to the right. and the exca-
walton advanced almost upon a level
Knowing nothing of the conforma-
ton above, or Of the location OF build
ings, 1 was obliged to press forward
blindly, conserving the faint light of
the candle, and praying for free pas
sage. 1t was an experience to test the
nerves, the intense stiffness. the bare,
gray walls, cold to the touch. the
beams grazing my head, and uphold
ing that mass of earth above. the in
tense darkness before and behind, with
only the Pickering radius Of yellow
light barely illuminating where trod.
Occasionally the wood creaked omi-