Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1924-12-04
CHAPTER XIV


JuCy himcHy Opcncu MS cyco 10
find himself In darkness utter and
complete except for q pinpoint of light
cleaning from far above. His head
was whirling and throbbing painfully.
Something warm and moist dropped
into his eyes, and when he put his
hand up to investigate the cause he
knew 1t must be blood from a wound.
Family the sound Of voices and of
harsh laughter drlfted down to him.
Presently this died away. The still
ness was almost uncanny.
Something laid me out. I reckon.
Must have been a bad whack." His
finger found ridge above the temple
which had been plowed through the
thick curly hair. Looks as though a
glancing bullet hit me. Golden luck
It didn't finish the job"
He moved. A sharp pain shot
through his lower right leg. Trying
to rise. he slipped down at once from
a badly sprained ankle. Every muscle
in his body ached. as II he had been
Jared by hard fall.
Better have a look around first"
he told himself.
Cropping in his pocket. he found a
match case and struck a light. What
he saw made him shudder. From the
ledge upon which he lay fell away a
gulf. the bottom Of which could only
be guessed. His eyes, becoming &C
customed to the darkness. made out
that he was In some sort of shaft,
thirty feet or more below the surface.
Rotten from age, the timberings had
slipped and become jammed. Upon
some Of these he was resting. The
sprained ankle. by preventing him
from moving. had saved him from
plunging down the well.
He held out a silver dollar and
dropped It. From the time the coin
took to strike Jack judged he was a
hundred feet from the bottom.
The flare of a second match showed
him a wall ladder leading down, but
unfortunately II did not extend above
him except In rotting fragments. What
had happened he could guess. Sup
posing him to be dead. his enemies
had dropped the body down this de-
serted shaft. Not for q moment did
he doubt who they were. The voices
had been Enthusiastically Cornish. and
even without that evidence he would
have guessed Peale and his partner as
the guilty ones.
Since he could not 20 up he went
down, moving warily so as not to jar
loose the timbers upon which he lay.
Every rung Of the ladder he tested
with great care before he put his
weight upon Il. Each step Of the jour-
ney down sent a throb of pain from
the ricked ankle. even though he rest
ed his weight on his hands while he
lowered himself. From the last rung
1t was by actual count the one hun
dred forty-third-he stepped to the
ground.
Another match showed him q drift
running from the foot Of the shaft.
Along this he dragged himself slowly,
uncertain Of direction but determined
TO find on, what possibility Of escape
his prison offered. For two hundred
yards the tunnel led forward and
brought him up sharply at an impasse.
A cave-in blocked further advance.
Check" Jack told himself aloud
grimly.
He knew now that his situation was
very serious one. for he had been
hung alive into a grave that offered
only a slight prospect Of escape. he
was without food. effectually cut of
from the surface Of the earth. and
none but those who had assaulted him
knew that he was buried.
The alternatives that lay before him
were plain He might climb the lad
der again to the timber ledge and
keep calling for help. or he might At
tempt to dig a way over the cavern
with his hands and his pocket-knife'
trusting that the tunnel led to an
other shaft. The former was q chance
pure and simple. and q slender one at
that II was not likely that anybody
would pass the mouth Of a deserted
SHAFT far up I'm the hills at this season
OF the year. But II was quite within
the probabilities that the tunnel led to
some OF the workings Of i've prop
erty. Many miles Of underground
drifts were connected By interceptins
Slopes Of adjoining mines II he could
force q way through the cavern there
, might be safety beyond To 90 moling
into such . place without timbertns
would be q dangerous business. but
the crisis was one that justified any
risk.
He took stock Of his assets For
tunatsiy he had bought at q lunch
counter q ham sandwich 70 stay his
appetite during the night trip. This
was stfll In his pocket. badly mashed
but stin edible. Five cigars were IN
the case he carried and upon his per-
son all told he found eleven matches
A little trickie Of water ran through
The tunnel and gave assurance that DC