River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1912-10-10
COpYpIGHT ACmCLURa G. co. 1911

stared at the dim yellow flicker duly
| at first, and then with swift return
! ing consciousness which spurred my
! brain into activity. In that instant
hated, despised myself, rebelled at my
weakness. Faith in Claire Mortimer
came back to me in a flood of regret.
/ If she had failed, it was through no
fault Of hers, and / was no coward to
| lie there and rot without making a
stern fight for life. When was found,
those who came upon my body would
know that died struggling, died as a
man should, facing fate with smile,
with hands gripped in the contest.
The resolution served-it was a spur
to my pride, instantly driving away
every haunting shadow of evil. Yet
where should / turn? TO what end
should | devote my energies? 1t was
useless to climb those stairs again.
But there must be way out.
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 a hollow,
wooden sound, that caused the heart
to leap into the throat / tried again,
a foot to the left, confident my ears
had played me false, but this time
there could be no doubt-there was an
opening here back of a wooden bar
rier.
Half crazed by this good fortune, l
caught up the inch of candle, and held
it before the wall. The dim light
scarcely served as an aid, so inge-
niously had the door been painted in
resemblance to the mortared stone. /
was compelled to sound again, inch by
inch, with the gun barrel before /
could determine the exact dimensions
of the opening. Then / 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 oul the single-bladed
knife from my pockAt. and began wild
ening this crack. Feverishly as I
worked, this was slow Of accomplish
ment, yet silver by silver the slight
aperture grew, until | wedged in the
gun barrel, and pried out the plank.
The rush of air extinguished the
candle, yet | cared nothing, for the air
was fresh and pure, promisc2g a clear
passage.
God, this was luck! With new cour-
age throbbing through my veins l
CROPPED my way back to the table after
flint and steel, and relit the candle
fragment, shadowing the flame with
both palms as / returned to where the
plank had been pressed aside. How
ever, | 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
and was compelled to squeeze my
way through the narrow twelve-inch
opening. This was a difficult task, as
l was a man of some weight, but once
accomplished / found myself in a con-
tracted passageway, not to exceed
three feet in width, and perhaps five
from floor to roof. Here it was appar-
emily as we'll 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, it must
have come within a 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, l 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 l trod.
Occasionally the wood creaked omi-
nously, and bits of earth, Jared by
my passage, fell upon me in clods. Al
| together it was an experience I have
no desire to repeat, although l 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 final eff
! fort TO remain alight when l came to
/ the first serious obstruction. l had
barely time in which to mark the ma
! ture of the obstacle before the flame
/ died in the socket, leaving me in a
| blackness so profound it was like a
weight. For the moment l was prac-
ideally paralyzed by fear. my muscles
limp, my limbs trembling. Yet to en-
deavor 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 / verified the
situation. as that brief glance ere the