The Holly chieftain., 1916-03-10

| space IN Wnlcn 10 eAploIS-
l could see nothing, and was com
PEELED to rely entirely upon the sense
of touch. Iron bars had been left on
one side the chimney, forming an
irregular ladder. My cropping hanos
located these. and by their aid began
to climb slowly upward. At the level
of the first story / came upon pro
lection OF rock. possibly six or eight
inches wide. on which found secure
foothold, and was thus able to regain
breath and strength for renewal OF
the struggle. l was crouched opposite
The oldtime fireplace, and the Dand'
playing noisily, was within very few
feet of where l hid However, not
CLEAN of light was visible, and it was
some time before located the open
ing which had been left for stove
pipe. Even then / could feel no pipe,
but, as l extended my arm, finger
burst through the paper which had
been pasted across the entrance, and
a glow of radiance illumined the black
walls about me.
l waited. motionless. holding my
breath in fear that some eye might
have witnessed the tearing of the pa.
per; but there was no cessation Of
noise, no evidence of discovery. As
sailed by a temptation to view the
scene. l found foothold little higher
up. and, clinging to the edge of the
hole, brought my eyes to level with
the rent in the paper. The vista was
not wide one and dare not enlarge
the space, yet saw sufficient to yield
me full knowledge of the party and
its occasion. The floor was crowded.
the men almost without exception in
Federal uniform.
The couples whirled past. circling
the room. watched the faces ca
gerly, but they were all strange No
doubt some OF those young women I
had known as girls, but they had
grown out Of my recollection. None
among the officers present, SO far as
could tell, had l ever come in con.
tact with-ah! yes! there was Whit
lock sitting disconsolately alone below
the judges bench. clung to my
perch determining to assure myself.
but my eyes encountered no other
familiar countenance. OF course No
reen would not attend, but there must
be some special cause to account for
Raymond's absence. He was the sort
to whom such an occasion as this
would naturally appeal
Satisfied by my scrutiny, explored
the opposite wall in vain for any simi.
lar opening. AS remembered there
were offices there, where in days Of
peace the county officers held sway,
and the floor above was an unfur-
nished attic, extending the full length
of the building, having low, unceiled
roof. In the old days 1t had been
used for storage purposes and there
was narrow stairway leading down
into the sheriff's office. Ay and there
was contrivance there once in which
they used to burn waste papers. re-
| membered certain house cleaning in
which assisted, and was assigned to
the job of stirring the papers fire.
quently with an iron poker. thought
it fun, and the chimney funnel was
big one. Possibly 1t was there still,
but could succeed in getting up that
| far? The light shining through the
| broken paper permitted faint glimpse
Of my immediate surroundings, yet re-
| vealed little to encourage me. The
chimney was barely large enough to
admit the upward passage of my body.
and was black mystery. However.
the irregularity of the stones promised
finger and foot hold. 1t offered a
chance, hope-and could ask NO
more.
was climbing before the music
ceased, clinging desperately to every
slight projection, and bracing myself
against the walls. Progress was slow.
and occasionally painful; the con-
tracted space gave me feeling of suf-
location, and dislodged enough SCOT
SO l was compelled to struggle con-
stantly to refrain from coughing. My
only relief was to bind handkerchief
across mouth and nostrils.
While the music remained silent,
rested, fearful lest my struggles would
be overheard, taking such meager
comfort as i could. The first blare
of the horns started me off once more,
careless in the midst of SO much noise
as to whether l ratified the loosened
plaster, or even dislodged an i'll
secured stone. But at the best the
passage was made by inches, and l
took more than one desperate chance
of slipping; twice chung breathless
as the music ceased, but the secord