Beadle's Dime Novels No. 119: Blackeyes — page 60: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

62 BLACKEYES. compose yourself, and to prepare,to meet the fate which surely awaits. you. You willhaye good. provisions, and.must.eat heartily, for it-is requsite. that, you look well and in, good con- dition.” So saying, the padre went out, and closed and. locked the door, leaving Bent biting his lips with impotent rage. | When he was freed from the. presence..of: his. unwelcome visitor, the young man sat down, buried his face in his hands, and thug remained for some time, absorbed in his. meditations. It was bad enough to be a prisoner, and to be in expecta- tion of death; but the fate that was before him was suchas he had. never thought of, and he could not contemplate it without horror and shuddering.. He had never feared death, and he did not fear it now, but it was the manner of the death that he regarded with invincible repugnance. To perish honorably on the field of battle, amid the cheers of his friends and the excitement of the cunflict, was one thing; to be slaughtered in cold blood, in a ,secret;.chamber of a subter- ranean temple, surrounded. by half-ciyilized pagans, and await- ing, bound and helpless, the descent of the sacrificial knife, was quite another thing. To be offered. up_as, a,sacrifice. by idolators, for the purpose of insuring.them sugcess in their schemes against his own country, was,,a fate to which. the young officer.was quite unwilling to submit, and which must be avoided if possible. But what was to be done? Certain that he could not avoid it by sitting still, he sprang to his feet, took the lamp in his hand, and again proceeded =~ to carefully examine the walls, floor, and ceiling of his cell. In one corner »was a cylindrical pillar, about three feet in diameter, formed of several stones set upon each other, This pillar, apparently, had formed part of the original edifice within which the cell was constructed, and it. had been built into the wall, so as to form a part of it, There had been some carved work at the top, but it had crumbled. and fallen down, leaving a small opening, through which struggled a portion of the dim light of the outer apartment, Perceiving a ray of hope in these rays of light, Bent mounted on_ his table, and tried to move the upper stone, hoping that it might be loose; but he found it firm.and solid, and was obliged to abandon the attempt, after bruising his fingers severely, connicloooks.com