American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1912-09-12

~. IS sent on a perilous mission
a& Valley Forge. 'ne win
WAPTER H-Disguised in a Rr,t,..
'Ves "lthin the enemy's lines
mAPTER II1-The Major attend, g..
|sod. az Ro sSe f saxs1 m ths FL rha,d q Of II.
- s1ri at q brilliant ball. "e
CHAPTER Iv-Trouble "a .tar.os $500
kattz. and Lawrence IL urged hv oyer
sq4Sr. 4istress Mortimer, (the Iadv nj
, BLENDED Rose). to make his escan.'
CaAPTER v-Lawrencs IL detect.d q.
spy II Captain Grant Of the Brit,sSS
U9T. who agrees to a duel.
-mAPTER vIyrhe duel ia slammed ~
9HEs friends and the SPY makes . dasI
nDsrty: swimming q river following a
'vII-The Major arrive. A.
'I Inpoc Q. q niafksmith who is friendly,
0ssa. "' BLENDED
Rnsers arrive and search the blacksm rtS
, o In vain for the spy.
CHAPTER K-Lawrencs ,o,ns ~. ~,
men who capture Grant and his
CHAPTER x-Ma1or Lawrence is made
PRISONER by In Indian and two white
w.
mAPTER xI-Lawrence's captors lock
1sSsr the jaiisr. 'e "n'f' no "eea
CHAPTER XII-Peter adv,ses 1.u.
sss s not to attempt. escape as some
CHAPTER XIII-Grant.s annearanc.
S0os mystery to the combination Of cir
CHAPIER XIV-Lawrence again meets
JIG lazy OF the Blended Rose, who in
ttSSea14s MN that he is in her house and
tnat attacked and captured him.
CHAPTER XV-The captive is thrust
INTO a dark UNDERGROUND chamber when
captain Grant begins a search of the
premises. INC
CHAPTER XVT-After digging his wav
out, Lawrence finds the place deserted
across the threshold. ~
God, this was luck! With new cour-
age t~hrobbing through my veins I
CROPPED my way back to the table after
flint and steel, and relit the candle
fragment, s~hadowing 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 d~islodge the second,
and was compelled to squeeze my
way through the narrow twelve-inch
opening. This was a difficult task, as
I was a man of some weight, but once
accomplished I 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 a hundred years
or more ago, the side walls faced with
stone, the roof supported by roughly
hewn oak beams. 1 was convinced
there was no great weight of earth
resting upon these, and the tunnel,
which I 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 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 I
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
my passage, fell upon m in clods. Al
together it was an experience / have
no desire to 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 hal soaked
through, rotting the timbers. The
candle was suffering with a final eff
fort to remain alight when I 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 it was ike a
weight. For the moment | was prac-
tcally 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
nope; in the other none.
With cropping fingers l verified the
situation, as that brief glance ere the
candle failed had revealed it. A beam
mad fallen, letting down a mass OF
earth, but was wedged in such a way
as to leave a small opening above the
moor, barely sufficient for a man TO
pa- ha1