Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1921-04-29

spa n VI me-
Leaving the body where It lay on
the ledge crept into the cave to re-
connoiter. / found a large chamber,
possibly a hundred feet In diameter
and thirty or forty feet in height; a
smoo8 and well-worn floor. and many
other evidences that the cave had, at
some remote period, been inhabited.
AS l was continuing my examina-
ton / commenced to feel a pleasant
drowsiness creeping over me which
attributed to the fatigue of my long
and strenuous ride, and the reaction
from the excitement of the fight and
the pursuit.
soon became so drowsy that l
could scarcely resist the strong desire
0 throw myself on the floor of the
cave for a few moments rest, but /
knew that this would never do, as 1t
would mean certain death at the
hands of my red friends. who might
be upon me at any moment. With an
effort | started toward the opening Of
the cave only TO reel drunkenly
against a side wall, and from there
Slip pIuLe upon IuS MOOR.
A sense of delicious cleanliness
oN ercame me, my muscles relaxed, and
! was on the point of giving away to
my desire to sleep when the sound of
approaching horses reached my ears
| attempted to spring to my feet but
was Mortified to discover that my
muscles refused to respond to my
I a.. Il, l.,
but as unable e move q nrsce as
though tup1ed to stene. 1t was then.
for the first time, that / noticed
slight vapor filing the cave. There
also come to my nostrils a family
pungent odor. and / could only assume
that | had been overcome by some
| poisonous gas, but why should re-
tain my mental faculties and yet be
unable to move | could not fathom.
The noise of the approaching horses
| had ceased, and judged the Indians
were creeping steaithily upon me
along the little ledge which led to my
| living tomb
had no. long TO wait before
| steathy sound appraised me of their
nearness, and then war-bonneted
| paintstreaked face was thrust eau
tiously around the shoulder OF the
| cliff, and savage eyes looked into
mine
The fellow. instead Of approaching,
merely stood and stared; his eyes
bulgng and his jaw dropped And
then another savage face appeared,
and a third and fourth and fifth
craning their necks over the shoul.
ders of their fellows whom they could
not pass upon the narrow ledge. Each
face was the picture Of awe and fear,
but for what reason / did not know,
nor did learn until ten years later.
Suddenly a low hut distant moan
ing sound issued from the recesses Of
the cave behind me, and. as 1t reached
the ears of the Indians they turned
and fed In terror, panic stricken.
Their wild cries echoed in the cam
yon for a short time. and then all was
still once more.
The sound which had frightened
them was not repeated, but it had
been sufficient as 1t was to start me
Specializing on the possible horror
which lurked in the shadows at my
back.
Several times I thought I heard
faint sounds behind me as of some
body moving cautiously but eventual
~ even these ceased. and | was le!j
to the contemplation of my position
without interruntlOn.
Until possibly midnight all vas ST.
lence, the silence of the dead; then,
suddenly, the awful moan Of the morn
ing broke upon my startled ears, and
there came again from the black
shadows the sound of a moving thing,
and a faint rustling as of dead leaves.
The shock 10 my already overstrained
nervous system was terrible in the
extreme. and with a superhuman ef-
fort / strove to break my awful bonds.
Then something gave. there was a mo-
mentary feeling Of nausea. sharp
click as of the swapping Of steel
wire, and l stood with my back
Against the wall of the cave, facing
my unknown foe.
And then the moonlight flooded the
cave. and there before me lay my own
body as il had been lying all these
hours, with the eyes staring toward
the open ledge and the hands resting
Imply upon the ground | looked first
at my lifeless clay there upon the
floor of the cave and then down at
myself IN utter bewilderment; for
there / lay clothed, and yet here !
stood, but naked as at the minute of
my birth
Ny first thought, was, Is this then
DEATH Have / indeed passed over for
ever into that other lifel But ] could
not well believe this, as | could feel
my heart pounding against my ribs
from the exertion Of my efforts to re-
lease myself from the anesthesls
which had held me.
Again vas / suddenly recalled 70
my immediate surroundings by a repe-