The Washington times., 1913-10-06

noise OF their fall Several times had
to pause for breath and. to allow tbt
clouds 81 q SCOT d, to ,sttls had ccuEhhi,n, g,
across my mouth and nose a. q sort o.
air faltef. II helped. but could no,
keep all Of the dry, pOwderv stun oul
OF my throat. 1t sffted into my eyee
too. making them smart cruelty.
like climb. Cutting steps with an ice
axe on the slope. OF some treacheroui
mountain, thought, must be chtlds
play to the task was essayfnG IN the
hlackness Of that brick-wailed funnel
aose ssqse.tS ha oiS SaGs is t leched tSs
top. The fear OF exhaustion put eau.
ton In me. Yet was also becoming
somewhat accustomed to working thus
in the, dark, and my feet, almost me
chanfcally. found the inches which
had cut for them.
breath, became conscious Of p Hftie
light in the chimney. ] looked upward
and saw that was within half q dozen
feet of the top. I also saw something
which caused me to utter an involun-
tary exclamation Of despair
This, Of course, was the explanation
of the reflected, rather than direct
light that I had observed when I mrs
peered upward through 1t The stone
was set upon brick piers some esanar Yen ncno, :,
draft, but efHectually blocking the chin
new against the entrance or exit OF any
thing 30 large as mans body.
For several minutes clung 10 my
inches between the bricks, staring up
ward at this bar to freedoa, snd Won.
derir1e IL all my struggles mad been y
vain. 1t was sickening to think OF socn
possibility.
Having gone thus far, however, ther'
WAS nothing to do but complete the Le-
mainder OF the journey and examine .ne
prisoniike door at the end. 50. settne
with the chisel and slowly neared the
stone cap. The Hight that came tMouGn
the apertures assisted me materlaiiy
now. and il was not many minutes De
fore l could touch the stone Win my
hand. ] glanced Out through one .. =.
the little openings between the oricS
piers. and saw that it was nearly dark.
although the contrast to the utter black.
ness Of the chimney was 80 great as
to make the light from without seem
almost binding at first.
1 ran my hand out and fen OF tne
stone cap. It was about two inches IN
thickness, as nearly as I could judge; 2
stone that could easily have iifted II
il were lying loose on the ground; pu!
whether 1 could do anything with u
from my present cramped position olo
not know.
The first thing to do was to see
whether 1 could loosen u. l oue away
pier, continually testing the stone: WIN
my chisei' as q lever. until at last ]
felt 1t give slightly.
But 1 was in no position to exert my
strength against 1t, for my footing In
the chimney was too slight for that.
STOPPING. began to dig deeper steps IN
the brickwork, little higher than those
In which my feet were now placed. This
was an awkward job. and l was aware
of the swift passage Of valuable time.
But the thought Of Mary In the study
below me. waiting helplessly and anx-
iously for the signal l had promised
,Roaded me to work desperately.
when I had finished what / thought
were sufficiently sure steps / slipped
my feet into them, raised my body up
ward, bent my head downward and
placed my shoulders under the stone
cap. I heaved' cautiously and slowly.
Tho stone moved. For an instant l
/ let it settle back on the piers again.
what should 1 do with it? II tilted
i, over on the roof which waS SOME
three feet below, it might cause noise
that would arouse the men below. IL l
let it fall the other way. 1t might pc
window. although It would land upon
the soft turf Of the vacant lot at the
side of the house and make little noise
Inasmuch as 1t was rapidly growing
dark I resolved to chance the latter
course. 1 put my shoulders to the stone
then with a quick motion Of my body
inclined It TO one side. For an instant
II hung suspended at an angle. then slid
OF and disappeared. second later l
heard a soft impact from below:
And then l was out on the ROOF draw
ing deep breaths Of pure air and eXult-
ing in what seemed complete freedom
after the narrow. gloomy prison of the
chimney.
Now for the fist time I had a chance
to examine the rope that Mary had con-
structed. The curtain-cords were heavy
and strong. easily sunicient TO bear her
weight IL she had made knots secure.
One of these knots was within my
reach, and il looked to be adequate to
the burden I intended IL to bear. fne
others were at intervals down the chim-
ny; had to take them on faith.
I gave two sharp pulls al 'ne rope. A
few second later there was an answer
ing signal. Bending my head over the
chimney, / called as loudly as dared:
Are you ready?
Yes" The answer came family from
below me.
can" / called down. Then I'm going
to pull you up"
IAN ready" size answered.
T climbed to the top OF the chimney.
braced my feet on either edge. and
heaved slowly at the rope. Foot by foot
/, came in to me. This was the easiest
part of the whole task. The burden of
Mary Donaldson seemed light compared
to the grinding work of the last hour.
once / heard q faint call from her. and
I stopped and listened.
ITS all right, Go ahead-but hurry.
There was rote Of terror in her
voice. Poor little woman! / could we'll
her sensations as she hung
by that single strand in the
pitch-black funnel below me.
A minute later l had her where |
rould reach her hand. And then Mary
Donaldson was out on the roof with me
her hair. her face. her clothing grimed
with the SCOT of the chimney, just as l
Vas covered with Il. My arms were