The Springfield herald., 1912-11-29
COPYRIGHT ACM CLURG & CO. 1911

at first. and then with Il 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 flood OF regret.
II she had failed. 1t 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
man should. facing fate with 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 | 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 | 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 n hollow,
wooden sound. that caused the heart
TO leap into the throat l tried again.
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 n wooden bar
rier.
Half crazed by this good fortune.
caught up the inch of candle. and held
1t 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 l
was compelled to sound again. inch by
inch, with the gun barrel before l
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 a 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
worked. this was slow of accomplish.
ment. yet silver by silver the slight
aperture grew. until wedsed in the
gun barrel, and pried out the plank
The rush of air extingushed the
candle, yet l cared nothing, for the air
u
passage.
God, this was luck! With new cour-
age throbbing through my veins
groped 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
II impossible to dislodge the second.
and was compelled to squeeze my
way through the narrow twelve-inch
opening This was a difficult task. as
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 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. | 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, II must
have come within very few feet of
the surface Here there occurred n
sharp turn to the right, and the exca-
vation advanced almost upon a level.
knowing nothing of the conforma-
'tion above, or of the location of build
ings, was obliged to press forward
blindly, conserving the faint light of
the candle. and praying for a 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 flickering radius of yellow
light barely illuminating where / 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 l have
no desire to -epeat, although l was in
no actual danger for some distance.
Old Mortimer had built his tunnel well
and through all the years 1t had held
safely. except where water had soaked
through. rotting the timbers. The
candle was sputtering with a final ef-
fort to 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
blackness so profound 1t was like a
weight. For the moment ] was prac-
tically 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