The Raymer enterprise., 1919-12-11

! said to myself. must mean death.
1t came with sudden crunching pain. a
swift Tightening round my heart, as
though black ropes were being lashed
tightly about t, squeezing out my
breath; then entire blackness engulfed
me and l knew no more.
How long l lay there In the darkness
! cannot tell. All I remember Is
suddenly opening my eyes on intense
blackness and vaguely wondering
where was. Ny head seemed entire
" detached from my body. Of which
so far was unconscious. But pres.
entity the feallzation Of 1t returned,
md invol intarIly I tried to move
to find With n sort Of Indifferent mild
surprise that 1t was impossible.
So there lay, oddly content, In the
daxk-the pungent smell Of the earth
my only sensation, and my head use.
!essly clear.
The remembrance of what had hap.
pened began to grow In force and
keenness and, Of sudden. the thought
of Calypso smote me like sword
Spurred to desperate effort, l stood
up on the instant and leaned against
q rocky wall. Miracle of miracles
l could stand. l was not dead, after
all. l was not, indeed. SO far as
could tell. seriously hurt. Badly
bruised, Of course-but no bones bro.
ken. 1t seemed incredible. but It was
SO. The realization made me feel
weak again. and / sat down with my
back propped up against the rock, and
waited for more strength.
Slowly my thoughts fumbled around
the situation. Then. as by force OF
habit. my hand went to my pocket,
God be praised! had matches, and
| cried with thankfulness, out Of very
weakness. But l still sat on In the
dark for a while. felt very tired
After thinking about It for long time
! took out my precious matchbox
which uncOnsciously l had been hug
ging with my hand, and struck light
looking about me In a dazed fashion
The match burnt down to my fingers
and l threw 1t away, as the fame
stung me. l had seen something OF
my surroundings, enough to last my
tired brain for u minute or two. l was
at the bottom Of a sort Of creyasse
a narrow cleft In the rocks which con
tiaued on In slantlng downward
chasm into the darkness. II was d
natural corridor, with a floor Of white
sand. The sand had accounted fol-
my coming Off without any broken
bones.
After another minute or two
struck another match, and 10 another
miracle. There was my lantern lying
beside me. The glass Of 1t was bro
ken, but that was no matter. As Iii
the wick my hopes leapt up with the
flame. At the worst ! had light.
/ swung my lantern aloft, seeking
the possibilities of a climb, but every.
where 1t was sheer. without a ledge
or protuberance Of any kind to take
advantage Of, and 1t was utterly de-
void Of vegetation-not a sign of a
friendly shrub or root to hold by.
! had sense enough to know that
was too tired to think profitably. and
drowsiness coming over me told me
that an hour or tw0's sleep would give
me the strength ! needed to renew
with n will and more chances of sue
cess my efforts to escape.
Light was too precious to waste, so
| blew out my lantern. and. curling up
on the sand. almost instantly fell
asleep. But before l lapsed into un-
consciousness had clutched hold OF
one sustaining thought In the dark
ness-the assurance Of Calypsos safe
ty, so confidently announced by her
father: Don't be afraid for her.
know my daughter" Whatever hap
pened to me, she would come out all
right. As her brave shape flashed be-
fore my minds eye, down there under
the earth, l could have no doubt of
that.
My instinct had been right In giving
way to my drowsiness, for ! woke up
from my sleep a new man. How long
had been there, Of course. l had no
means Of knowing; but l fancy must
have slept a good while. for felt SO
refreshed and full of determination to
tackle my escape in good earnest.
had hardly relit my lantern when
Its rays revealed something which II
seemed impossible for anyone with
eyes, however weary. to have over.
looked.
In the right-hand corner Of the
little cavern. FIVE or six feet above my
head. was a dark hole. like the en-.
france to q tunnel. or, more properly
speaking a good-sized burrow-f0r II
was scarcely more than a yard in di.
ameter. 1t seemed to be something
more than mere cavity In the rock.
Tor, when ] flashed my lantern up to
Il ! could see no end. To climb up
to 1t at first seemed difficult: but