The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1912-10-05

and through all the years 1t had held
safely. except where water had soaked
through, rotting the timbers. the
candle was sputtering with final ef-
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-
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 l verified the
situation, as that brief glance ere the
candle failed had revealed 1t. A beam
had fallen, letting down d mass OF
earth, but was wedged in such way
as to leave a small opening above the
I floor, barely sufficient for man to
wiggle 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 must risk life in hope of saw
ing it might become helplessly
wedged beneath the timbers, or any
movement might precipitate upon me
mass Of loosened earth. 1t was
horrid thought, the death Of q burrow-
ing rat; and l dare not let my mind
dwell upon the dread possibility. Slow
ly, barely advancing an inch at time.
l began the venture, my hands blindly
cropping for the passage, the cold per-
spiration bathing my body. The far
ther l penetrated amid the debris, the
greater became the terror dominating
me, yet to draw back was next to i'm
possible. The opening grew more con-
tracted; l 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 snake in the darkness,
the loose earth showering me with
i each movement. There was more than
one support down; l had to double
about to find opening; again and again
| l seemed to be against an unsurpas-
sable barrier; twice l dug through
mass of fallen dirt, once for three sol
i'd feet. throwing the loosened earth
either side of me, anI 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 l was toiling for life, and
dug at the debris madly, reckless of
what might fall from above. Better
to be crushed than to die of suffoca-
tion, and the very desperation with
which l strove proved my salvation.
For what remained of the roof held,
and I struggled through into the firmer
gallery beyond, faint from exhaustion.
yet as quickly reviving in the fresher
air. | had reached the end of the pas
sage before l comprehended the truth.
1t opened in the side of a gulley, com
| ing out between the roots of great
tree,
l was a wreck in body and mind my
face streaked with earth, my hair
| flied with dirt, my clothing torn and
disreputable. 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 ravine. For some moments |
was incapable Of either thought or ac-
/ ton. every ounce Of energy having
| been expended In that last desperate
struggle. / lay painting, with eyes
closed, hardly realizing that l 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 l recognized that dismal open
ing into the side of the hill Clinging
to the tree trunk l attained my feet,
still swaying from weakness, and was
thus able to glance about over the
edge OF the bank, and gain some con
ception Of my imm ediate surroundings.
| 1t was early dawn, the eastern sky
that shade Of pale gray which pre-
cedes the sun. few, white, fleecy
clouds sailing high above, already
tinged with red reflection. l must
have been In that earth prison since
the morning of the previous day: it
seemed longer, yet even that expira-
ton Of time proved that those who
had imprisoned me there had left me
to die. God! ] couldn't believe that
not OF her! Clear as the evidence ap-
peared, yet fought down the thought
bitterly. creeping on hands and knees
over the edge Of the bank, to where
l could sit on the grass, and gaze
about in the growing light. The house
was to the left, an apple orchard be-
tween. and a low fence enclosing
garden. ! could gain but glimpses of
the mansion through the intervening
trees, but it was large. imposing, a
square. old-fashioned house, painted
white, with green shutters. It ap-
peared deserted. and DO spirals of
smoke ascended from the kitchen