The Southern herald., 1912-11-08
CHAPTER XVI.
Ia RemaIns d TraaedY.

/ l+SA-46 oaNucAAI 4uM huOEl LlIu
remained inFwhich I should have lgh
which restored my senses. know
stared at the dim yellow flicker duh,
at nrst, and then with a swift return
Ing consciousness which spurred m.
brain into activity. In that instant
hated, despised myself. rebelled at m!
weakness. Faith In Claire Mortimel
came back to me In a food Of regret
If she had failed. It was through nj
fault Of hers. and ! was no coward t
lie there and rot without making I
stern fight for life. When was found
those who came upon my body woulC
know that | died struggling. died as Z
man should, facing fate with a 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 I turn? To what end
should ! devote my energies3 1t was
useless to climb those stairs again
But there must be a 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, hstless 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
opening here back of a 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 |
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 flt-
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 Feverlshly as |
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, promising a clear
passage.
God, this was luckl 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, ! 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
1t impossible to dislodge the second.
and was compelled to squeeze my
way through the narrow twelve-inch
opening. This was difficult task. as
! was man Of some weight, but once
accomplished ! found myself in CON
tracted passageway, not to exceed
three feet in width, and perhaps five
from floor to roof, Here 1t 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, it must
have come within very few feet Of
the surface. Here there occurred
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
bllndly, conserving the faint light Of
the candle, and praying for free pas-
sage. It 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 fiickering radius Of yellow
Light barely Illuminating where / krod.
Occasionally the wood cEeaked dtni-