The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1912-06-14
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constructed, probably hundred years
or more ago, the side walls faced with
stone, the roof supported by roughly
hewn oak beams, | 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 q very few feet Of
the surface. Here there occurred q
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, | was obliged TO press forward
blindly, conserving the faint light Of
the candle, and praying for free pas
sage. II 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-
nously. and bits of earth, Jared by
ny passage, fell upon me in clods Al
together il was an experience | have
no desire 10 repeat, although | was in
no actual danger for some distance.
Old Mortimer had built his tunnel well,
and through all The years it had held
safely, except where water had soaked
through, rotting the timbers, The
candle was suffering with a final eff.
fort 10 remain alight when | came to
the first serious obstruction. | had
barely time in which TO mark the ma
ture OF the obstacle before the flame
died in the socket, leaving me in a
bleckness so profound it was like
weight For the moment | was prac-
ically para!yzed by fear. my muscles
Imp, my limbs trembling. Yet to en-
deayor to push forward was no more
to be dreaded than to attempt retrac.
ing my steps. In one way there was
hope in the other none.
With cropping fingers I verified the
situation as that brief glance ere the
candle failed had revealed it. A beam
had fallen. letting down a mass of
earth, but was wedged in such a way
as to leave a small opening above the
floor. barely sufficient for a man to
wiegle through. How far even this
slight passage extended, or what worse
obstruction lay hidden beyond was all
conjecture 1t was a mere chance in
which l must risk life In hope Of say.
zig It'll might become helplessly
wedged beneath the timbers, or any
movement might preciptate upon me
o. mass of l0o3ened earth 1t was a
horrid thought, the death Of a burrow-
ing rat, and l dare not let my mind
dwell upon the dread possibility. Slow
IS, barely advancing an inch at time,
| began the venture, my hands blindly
cropping for the passage. the cold per-
SEPARATION bathing my body The far
Their penetrated amid the debris, the
greater became the terror dominating
me, yet to draw back was next to inn
possible The opening grew more con-
tracted: ! could scarcely force myself
forward, digging fingers and toes into
the hard earth floor, the obstructing
timber scraping my body. 1t was an
awful, heartrending struggle, stretched
out fiat Like a snake in the darkness,
3 vtI CHI -rF,tvt mn, tt.ft
each movement. There was more than
one support down; | had to double
about TO find opening; again and again
seemed to be against an unsurpas-
sable barrier; twice | dug through
mass OF fallen dirt, once for three sol
i'd feet, throwing the loosened earth
either side Of me, and pushing 1t back
with my feet, thus utterly blocking all
chance of retreat. Scarcely was this
accomplished when another fall from
above came, half burying head and
shoulders, and compelling me to do
the work over The air grew foul and !
sluggish, but was toilmg for life, and i
dog at the debris madly, reckless Of /,
what might fall from above. Better
to be crushed than to die Of suffoca.
ton. ana the very desperation with !
which | atrcye proved my salvation. !
For what remained Of the roof held, !,
and | struggled through into the flrmer
gallery beyond, faint frCm exhaustion, |
yet as quickly reviving in the fresher |
air. had reached the end Of the pas
sage before | comprehended the truth, !
1t opened in the side of a gplley, com I
Ing out between the roots OF q great
tree, gar
was a wreck in body and mind, my ,
face streaked with earth, my hair 1
filled with dirt, my clothing torn and 1
Laboring for breath, my \
fingers raw and bleeding, lay there,
with scarcely enough strength remain
ing to Keep from rolling to the bottom ,
of the rayine. For some moments 1 .
was incapable of either thought or ac-
tion, every ounce Of energy having
been expended in that last desperate
struggle. ! lay painting, with eyes .
closed, hardly realizing that was in
deed alive Slowly. throb by throb,
my heart came back into regularity OF |
beat, and my brain into command. My |
eyes opened, and shuddered with hor- |
ror. as | recognized that dismal open.
ing into the side Of the hill, Clingirg /