South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1913-12-08
Continued From Saturday.
CHAPTER XXI.
The Peasant Guide.


He flashed out the saber and des-
about the great stone, trying to find
a crack. something TO loosen. some
thing that would give. And while ne
worked in a fever. in a chill he
remembered PletrOs letter.
Then, ne set down the candle end
on a shelf ana with trembling fin
gers drew off his coat and drew out
the hidden papers. The wet from
his bath in the water-butt had stain
I'd them little, but only little, for
they were carefully wrapped in the
bit of oilskin in which they had
come He 9nfolded the letter
If you will press the lower cor
ner on the left-hand side" Pietro
said-"the lower cornerl"
And he had been concentrating
all his efforts, all his despair, on the
upper corner. When il is a ques-
ton of life and death a man is su-
perhumanly strong and quick some
times, but he is also sometimes for
getful. 1t is an exciting and con-
fusing thing likely, to be working
of Imprisonment. Francois pushed
the lower left-hand corner and like
magic the great block above swung
out With his lighted candle end in
his hand he slipped through and
turned and swung back the door into
place and turned again and faced
blackness. Narrow, low, cold black
ness Quickly enough, however, with
good courage, with his heart
humping out a song Of hope, which
ne had kept down sternly till now,
ne walked, at times STOPPING low as
he must because Of the descent,
down the secret road of the old Zap
pis. His candle held forward, he
could see a few feet ahead, but all
he could see was huge blocks of
rough stone. green with mold, water
dripping between them. The air he
breathed was heavy and thick;
through his wet clothes he felt a
chill as of the grave. But what mat
tered the road, when the road led
to freedom?
Suddenly it came to him that the
passage might be blocked. 1t was
years since Pietro had been through
it: some of the stones might have
fallen-it would take very little to
close so narrow a way. With an anX-
iety which was physical pain, with
breathless eagerness now, he hurried
on. He had to stop to light mis- sec
ond candle; again he hurried on.
Would the end never come? Was
! any mistake possible? With that he
/ stumbled against something and Tell
and the candle flew from his hand
/ and was put out: with hoarse groan
/ he threw out an arm to steady him
/ self, TO rise; his hand went through
a yielding. prickly mass; a glimmeI
| came in past it-light-the end
Pushing. crashing. staggering
! through, he came into a strange
place. 1t was as if a giant had
4 taken a huge spoon and scooped Out
the top of the earth deep, very deep
All of this great hollow was tilleC
! with trees and tangled underground. i
/ was full or vague shadows In tht
\ glimmer of earliest dawn. Francois
! standing there sObbing, CHASTITY witt
n paleness. with matted hair and wild
\ staring eyes and gasping mouth anC
wet torn clothes, was a fit demon FOL
n the haunted spot. He saw nothing
no one; with that there was a sOf
swapping of twigs and a movemen
in the darkness farthest from him
a movement toward him. TOtterinl
he crawled to meet it; in another sec
Ond the shadows had shaped int
II figures-a peasant boy on horse
leading another horse. .
Then he stood close TO them. anC
the boy, leaning over without a wore
put something into his hand, anC
Francois, swaying with exhaustion
saw that il was a flask. He took ;
long swallow OF cognac and his chill
ed blood leaped, and with that h