Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 657 — page 7: what you’re looking at

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

wy VS RE iw = be ~~ > ‘““Sit down here and I will tell you,” said Ware, drawing him to a seat athisside. “I don’t feel strong enough to go on, yet, and it willdo me good to talk to you. Besides, you might as well know what I think, first as last. You’re a boy of sense and courage, and_to- gether we can perhaps determine whether [am right or wrong.” Vith wonder-filled eyes the boy knelt by him. ‘* Tt came upon me like an inspiration, Uarry! And for a canny devised scheme it goes ahead of anything ever dreamed of. hile we have been planning and working we have al- lowed ourselves to be made the tools and play- things of John Leonard and bis pals! ‘You remember when you found the letter in the ballway! That letter led me to visit Miss Malcolm; and out of it grew the chain of events which has placed us here, Miss Malcolm, like the bar-maid, is only one of Leonard’s decoys! That letter, seemingly in your brother’s hand- writing, led me to reveal everything to her, Like the poor fool I was I told her what had brought us here and what we hoped to accom- lish, a I am now satisfied that every word [ ut- tered was rehearsed to John Leonard within the hour. Then he began to plan to get us into his wer.” ‘‘But the handwriting!” Harry objected. “That was Lew’s—I know it was Lew’s!” ‘You thought it was, and so did I. But, we were deceived, Harry! Basely deceived! The letters, both of them, were forgeries. Leonard doubtless intercepted your brother’s mail and obtained specimens of his handwriting. The rest would be an easy matter toa skilled pen- man.” Harry shook his head; but the detective did not heed him and went on: ‘‘Then the alleged message from this mine was constructed, with hellish ends in view. I shall never forgive myself for not looking more closely into Miss Malcolm’s antecedents. I be- lieve, too, since this happened, that Shelby Tan- ner is another one of Leonard’s tools, All I knew of Miss Malcolm I gathered from him, It may be that Leonard suspected us from the verv first. If so, it shows how shrewd he really is; for the engagement of our services by Tanner would assist in putting us in Leonard’s power, ‘‘The entire plan: the allurement of your brother from Chicago, and his robbery in this wild region; the masterly way in which we have been led on into self-entanglement; and eur imprisonment here, all show that we have been contending with as cunning a knave as ever went unhung. ‘*You see, Harry, if we should meet our death here, no‘one could be legally charged with having conspired against us. We sneaked in here like thieves in the night and entered this chamber. No one knew we were in here, and a blast was fired—a very common thing in a coal mine. And so we were unwittingly shut in, and became victims of our own heedlessness., It’s a masterly plan, Harry; conceived by the very king of schemers.” Ware was so absorbed in working out this conception of the case that be almost forgot the Sg be effect it might have on the boy’s mind. e forgot, too, that he had set out to talk the matter over and gain the boy’s opinion, He was recalled to a consideration of what he was doing by Harry’s startled exclamation: “Oh, Mr. Ware, it surely can’t be so bad as that! I can’t think that we’re not to get out of here?” “Did I say that?’ and the detective started. “Tf I did, I wish to recallit. We will get out of here! We must ! There’s too much depending on us, to think of surrendering at this point.” He grasped the wall with one hand, and drew himself from his recumbent position, ‘Tf we'd shout together, as loud as we can, maybe we'd be heard,” Harry suggested, eThe plan seemed worth trying; and with united voices they made the low arches ring. But, not a sound came from the direction of the shaft, and only reverberating echoes from the gloomy aisles of the chamber. Then Ware fired shot after shot from bis revolver, with the same discouraging effect. “Tt’s no use trying further!” he declared. ‘“ We're only wasting time here. We must en- deavor to explore every cranny of this place while the lamps hold out, He started off in the direction they had gone before, Harry following close by at his heels. The chamber was not nearly so large as they had supposed, and they soon came upon 4 wall ef solid rock blocking further progress in that way. At this they turned about and for a long time wandered aimlessly under the low arches. Warbling William. “T thought I heard water!” Harry asserted, stopping and clutching the detective’s arm. “There it is agai. It sounds like a running stream!” Plainly now to their ears came the low gurg- ling of a flowing current chafing over a rocky bed; and they burried forward with excited cries. Ina little while the earth beneath them became moist and slippery, and the gleam of their lanterns revealed a rapid stream. It was ten or twelve feet wide, and flowed with a strong motion that indicated considerable depth. « Where this comes in we may be able to get out,” said Ware, looking earnestly at the water. ‘‘There must bearift in the wall, We'll go back and see,” The suggestion was full of hope; and with quickened steps and throbbing bearts they hurried up the little stream. But their hopes were dashed in pieces when they reacned the point whence it emerged into the chamber, With a sullen and subdued roar it rushed with great speed out of a circular opening in the rock, which it almost completely filled. ‘‘Looks like an aqueduct?” Harry averred, striving to conceal his disappointment. ‘‘ That would be a great thing for some cities I know of,” ‘‘- Yes, it would!” giving him an approving glance. ‘‘ We'll try the other end of the chamber. Perhaps we'll have better luck there. There’s surely another opening into this place besides the one by which we entered.” Yet, though his words were somewhat buoyant his heart was far otherwise. He could not think that Leonard would entrap them in a place frém which there was the slightest chance of escape. They had now been a number of hours ip the chamber, and had explored a large portion of if. Almost hopelessly he began to retrace his way down the stream. Their gait was a slippery scramble and their progress .slow, but they reached the other end in a comparatively short time. Here they were again doomed to disappoint- ment. With a bollow roar the stream flowed under the wall and disappeared, fretted and chafed by the rocks until its surface at the point of contact was a swirling mass of foam. Evi- dently the voluine of water was so great at times that it could not escape fast enough through the orifice, This was attested by the deposit of drift and silt high on the walls, and the extensive sur- face covered by glutinous slime. ‘*We can’t get out bere!” Ware observed, dubiously. ‘‘ We'll have to cross the stream and see if there is anything beyond.” ‘* Sounds like the water is going straight down into the earth!” asserted Harry, who was climb- ing over the muddy rocks to get a better view of the opening. Just then he gave asharp cry. He had lost his balance. The next moment he fell headlong into the yeasty current and was swept from sight, CHAPTER [X, FREEDOM REGAINED. THE detective shouted warningly as he saw Harry topple; but the warning was given too late, and he could only stare blankly and despair- ing'y at the spot where he had last seen his boy pard. ‘** He is gone!” he whispered, hoarsely. ‘‘ Gone! Gone |!” For the moment it seemed he contemplated a mad leap into the stream, He took one quick step forward; then restrained himself with an ef- fort. . ‘* Perhaps it’s better sol Better a quick death by drowning than hours of torture and starva- tion. The end would have been the same, We could never have escaped from here,” He sunk dejectedly upon a stone, heedless of the sline which coated it, and stared moodily into the somber current. Suddenly he was aroused by a tapping on the wall, and a muffled shout. He looked at the place from whence the sounds came, feeling almost that his brain was turning and his irresponsible fancy had com- menced to play him tricks, But the sounds came again. A sbarp tapping as if with a stone or some other bard substance, and then apparently far-away calls: ‘*Oh, Mr. Ware! Oh, Mr. Ware!” The detective started to his feet and bent eagerly forward. | ‘Surely, surely, that was Harry’s voice! Can it be he escaped in some strange way?” The calls continued; and he answered them with a shont that thrilled and rung like a trum- pet blast. ‘‘I’'m in here!” came the response,’ ‘* There’s EO ee ee ee eeeeeeeeeeeeEEEEUEEEeEEEEeEEEEEEEEEEEEEeEeEeEeEeEeEeEeEeEeEeEeEeEeEeEeEeEeEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee ae another chamber here. The water carried me under the wall, and then I crawled eut. I am sound asatop. The wall isn’t very thick, and the water rises again on this side of it.” This certain knowledge that Harry had es- caped death so inspirited Ware that be laughed avd shouted by turns, and seemed as enthusias- tic as if all their troubles had found an easy so- lution. Without a moment’s hesitation he leaped blindly into the stream, feeling sure that as it had borne Harry safely into the chamber be- yond he could trust himself within tbe grasp of its whirling waters, The plunge carried him to the rocky bottom; but he wasa strong. buoy- ant swimmer and came again to the surface without much difficulty. As he did se ke heard a cheery shout and the words: ‘“‘Got through all right, eh? I was ’most afraid you wouldn’t try it.” It was so pitchy dark he could see nothing, for of course they now had no lights, But he turned energetically toward the voice, and by a few sturdy strokes reached the bank. Harry’s hand was on his shoulder as he landed. *“*T can’t see you very well, but l heard you snort like a sea-horse when you came up, and knew you shad made it, [am getting a little used to the dark, though, and can distinguish objects better than at first. This is a poy place in here, but finding it makes me thin there isa way out, Anything is better than wandering around the way we've been doing.” He was chattering like a magpie, though his teeth were knocking together like castanets, **Cool asthe rivers that flow ‘from Green- land’s icy mountains!’ ” Ware shivered, scram- bling to bis feet and giving himself a dog-like shake. ‘“‘ We'll have to squeeze the water out of these wet clotbes or we'll freeze,” Harry grasped him by the band and led the way to where the floor was comparatively dry and warm. Here they managea te wring most of the water out of their garments and felt much better therefor. ‘*Tt seems almost a miracle, the way you were preserved!” Ware said, reverently. ‘‘ When you tumbled into that stream I thought I had seen the last ofyou.” ‘*T wasn’t feeling extra good about that time, myself!” and the boy attempted a laugh. ‘‘ But we're both of us sound as new dollars, yet. I fancy we are at least as well off as we were in the otherchamber. If wecan’t doanything else we can follow on down the stream and take an- other header, The water’s bound to come out somewhere.” He had no sucb reckless intentions, but cheery talk made him feel more hopeful. ‘* Now, we'll see what we can do!” and Ware laid his band against the wall. ‘* We’ll follow this wall until we can go no further, Like you, I feel that your little misadventure is te prove our salvation, lll go first; and be careful how you mer He then advanced atas brisk a pace as was possible under the circumstances. When they bad gone a few hundred yards he halted and bent forward in a listening attitude. ‘* Did you hear anything?” he questioned. For a moment they stood breathless and with ears strained to catch the slightest sound. Then there came a subdued and metallic ** chink, chink!” like the noise made by a miner’s pick striking against stone, ‘‘ Hurrah!” Harry shouted, ‘*‘ We're saved! We're saved! 1do believe we’re saved!” and he ran forward almost dragging the detective from his feet. “Be careful!” the latter cautioned. ‘‘ You may stumble into a hole.” Notwithstanding this warning he hurried after with a haste that was as feverishly eager as the boy’s. This reckless dash brought the sounds nearer, and they continued on until it seemed that only a thin partition must separate them from the miner who was wielding the pick, Then they shouted together with all the power of their vig- orous lungs. The clinking of the pick stopped. ‘‘ He hears us!” the detective exclaimed. “ if these cartridges aren’t too wet I'll give him a serenade with the revolver.” The weapon was whipped out and a succession of shots quickly fired, ‘** What ye doin’? drawled the miner, bis voice sounding feeble and indistinct. ‘‘ Firin’ blasts ina new tunnel? You want to be keerful er ou’ll tumble this hull bizness down onto me, , hereair ye, anyway?” ‘“‘Here!” shouted Ware, ‘‘ We're not firing blasts. That was my revolver. We’re lost in here and can’t get out. Can’t you get tous ~—-comicbooks.co ¢ AS day tet 424 te ee OU ete 6a "at wanes! bagex 7. tx Bid) Ce sty