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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1920-04-08, Page 3• •1 • Out of Moonshiners' Cave. By Hugh F. Grinstead Lying face downward. Ben Froman peered into the gloom of a crevice in the rock. He dropped into it a small stone, which rolled down the rough in- cline and tinkled•fatatly on the rock below. Thrilled at his find, Ben lighted his lantern, tied it to one enol of the rope .that he carried, and lowered „it into rhe hole. The diw rays disclosed a marrow. passage sloplug dowa,into the h !lside. .kit summer ben had been searching f•�, Miionshiners' Cave. Years before, it was` said, a band of nioonshiners had tf a. arrieci on their illicit distilling in a .i v2 near the big bluff, whicli. they entered and 'lett by way of the. river. They were finally driven out of the egion, but no one had even been able lo find the entrance to' their cave. U iatric end again Ben lead paddled ;his boat along the foot of the towering seirf, but not so. much as a crack in the limestone had he -discovered. 'l'o-day he had been exploring since sawn. His uncle and aunt, whore he Is visiting, had gene to spend a few Mays with a cousin. Ben, left alone - -+t the little farm, had resolved to de- vote . his time • to a more extensive search for the cave than lie had yet been able to make.. In the late, atter- noon he had made his thrilling dis- . c•overy. He had been exploring a narrow ra- vine that ran into the river below the bluff. In one place, where heavy spring. rains had washed away the .foil and rotten leaves, he had spied hole and, on brushing away more of the debris, had uncovered a long tri- •iogular opening large enough to ad- mit the body of a Tuan. A sodden clay bink overhung the place. Ka„erly •lien now prepared to ex- t !tae the underground passage. A rues root protruded from the bank of ay over his head. and round it he surely tied one -e:nd, of the -rope. ;'lien, grasping the rope firmly with '.,i•tlt hands and .swinging the. lantern .t'•utu one arm, he lowered himself ,town the muddy slope. The air of the passage was c_tiU and damp, and it somehow .quieted his exuberant ,tit Its. As he shifted his entire 'weight 'to the rope, he suddenly felt it give. In panic of fear -he began to scramble Track up the•'alope; but when he was sit feet from the cleft in the rock 'r!ircugh which be "had entered,' the psreh of sky above was cut off by the liege bulk of the tunibling bank of ',lay! He saw it clearly as it leaned .,ver lain,=tons of it. The 'strain on cite dead root to which he had tied the rope had started it. and the avalanche a t.s sliding over the opening. '!'error -stricken, Ben leaped up and ref ward, but even as he did so he saw that he was'too late. To avoid being t,,iried under the mass of falling earth, 'l,; dodged back. Almost at the same (aslant the ground shook under the i•apart of the falling clay bank. and r , last vestige of 'daylight was blot - 1•'d out: The lant.?rn dropped from. tits arin and rolled d yarn the slope; a reott:^nt later it rattled on the rocks ..r + went out. `tterly unnerved by the sudden + attastrophe,_ Ben began, to dig frau- l(raffy at ilie .mu(•and rock that had sealed the entrance. The futile ef- fer; -soon exhausted hint, however, and he lay quiet, tryiaa to gather his ,-s uses. • fie realized that h,:. must recover •t!rc lantern, and preseut:y.1'e began to had caught securely in the jam above. After a moment or two his feet dang- led in space, and then' touched solid rock. Still holding to the rope,` he took two or tkree steps to assure hims self that he was either on the floor of the cave or on. a considerable ledge. He had matcl es iu his pocket, and after several attempts he found a dry spot on hie clothing where, tre could strike one of them. The tiny flare il- lumineii only a small circle of the floor,._ and he had to use more than half his supply before fie found his lantern.. With a glad cry ftp'pic•ke'd it up and found it unbroket}.' He inuuediately applied a nmatch.•to the wick, and as the light flickered• on the. jagged walls of the passage his "courage rose. Hopeful of finding- a way out,. Ben be, au at once to explore his prison. As he proc.eeded, the, floor' sloped' downward and at ono or two places dropped off in low steps; gradually the passage widened until then rays from '.the lantern no Toiler lighted both. sides. He kept close to the wall, which was almost smooth, and so ;high ,that he, could not see the top; he tiad.the im- pression of walking in an irregular curve. Presently the light glistened (met pool of -water. When he held the lantern above hiss head he saw that 'the wettest the cave cut into the pool. Passiug along the inside rini of the pool, he presertly rounded it and came to the wall again. He continued to follow it, and before he was aware found himself at the spot from which he had first started his explorations. He had made a complete circeit of the cavern. Reassured, he set out to make a -more thorough search. He thought the main chamber could he no more,than fifty feet acrose, and he started toward the centre of it. The floor was drier and much smoother than in the narrow passage. As the light flashed ahead it fell Upon a blackened • object.. Ben has- tened forward to find a stick of halt - burned wood, and a little farther he came upon a bed of charcoal. Glanc- ing upward, he saw, far. above flim, a faint twinkle of daylight. No doubt, he thought, it' came f`ronr the smoke - blackened crevice on top of the bluff, which old Tont Warner had said was the chimney tap of the moonshiners. I"orgatting his plight for a mcment, Ben lain to scan eagerly every foot of th.e floor. He came upon a rude stone fireplace and more charcoal and ashes, and he found, half buried in . the .debris, a rusted tin bucket" and a keg fallen ,to stavet, For two hours he searched without finding anything else, to show that the place had been occupied before or any sign of an en- trance other than the one "that was now blocked. Utterly tired and- de- jected. he threw himself upon the rock near the water hole. He thought It must be nearly night. He shook the lantern .and. listening to the faint splash, realized that there was very little oil left. When he had drunk 'from the pool and had bathed his face, he blew out the light and lay upon the bare rock floor, hoping that he could sleep. For a long 'time -hours, it"seemed--he lay awake trj-- ing to think of everything except his - present difficulty. Finally lie drowsed —and slept. . 'When he awoke the sudden reali- zation of his nearly hopeless plight made him feel faint and sick. Ile knew that it was unlikely that anyone _would .have a clue.act his whe •, They 'would look for him, of course. but wood never succeed in• finding the covered entrance to the cave. He would die of hunger, and his body- would odywould lie unfound in that dark and silent tomb. Suddenly be became aware of a sound—the first he had --1444sylvseentiousty demin6eiro.rtmergthitiri,1t rd- Brother vs k rt 'ttrest- tl•,af Dogs of the North it is commonly, believeal that the typical. Eskimo dog. tha husky, is at - r 'ttOst'ldenttcai -with the wolf, but this is not tho case. The Eskimo dog is .Bort and stocky, with broad head and hcoin.cd muzzle. Ger.era!ly it is gray le color, says 111r. Diamond Jennes.s. oat the flair Ls close: ani long, while tint furry tail curl., round fiver its b.:4; ; tho legs ar;! very stout. and covered with fur Tho shortnese of it;. legs and .t.lie es -at natural streng'L that the ani- ru•i:• possesses inakos it Of excctlent� ice on the hard sel,ice but almost ti,Ytess'In the soft sooadrifta of the interior of the continent.,. (The In- dian _dog is taller 'and less stoi;tly it'+.t.ilt, with longer Iegs :ma .8 shorter (.eat of hair). The arctic wolf, on the t • 'afar hand, is a dirty yel:owish white. larger and_ heavier than, the dog, and furnished with a jaw of tremendous s zs and power. Even our largest St. i Bernard's would find themsolves over- ruatched by the wolf of that region. t44.doubt the husky is .of from c►lt. or at least front it, first sous- ' ata but "the difference between them o..4 i, very great. • Nor does the Es - ken,) dog possess tbi savagery of the weir Starved and f+bu•sed. it can he itcrage, enough, but t pder ttite most 4•r►ituaryaro and handling it Is as doctio and faithful as any dog: It requires but a short acquaintance with dogs to discover that they vary • dividually in eharactei and tempera. Qtstit. just as muck as human beings 44 --"a wild,, arum-ecarurn 'kip of dol, altnost always settles down into d steady worker, whereas the quiet, afdot.tonate. variety is usually An tn. t et rato shirker. One dog will dia. . pi4 remarkable cunning. Ho knows sal the tricks of his trade; he wilt 1 ru1l hard. as lcm ; as his driver Is ••• • watching an.il slacken as Moon as his attention is diverted elsewhere; at. mealtimes he stays about the sled. hoping to get his portion first and sneak back for a second meal, or at the worsCto steal part of another dog's rations. Then again. you have your big, easy-going "wheel". dog! steady' and unexcitable, but always ready TO. lend an .ounce or two :of his weight whenever the sled., seems • likely to hang on a hummock of ice. It takes all kinds of men to piaike a football or a baseball team, and all kinds of dogs to make a, sled teani; find the right combination in neither case and every-I./yang goes well. . Even 'strange dogs recognize and respect a leader. An Eskimo vc•'I,iom 1 often visitett,possessed five large dogs that. its usual among these people, lived ie the entrance td his hut and kept away. all intruders of his kind' Jumbo's first introduction to there was rather dramatic. No soon- er was the old fangless leader seen approaching than all five dogs rushed furiousle upon him with savage growls. An ordinary dog would have turned tail and• fled; not so Junibo. He stiffened id every limb, hared his teeth while emitting a .low growl, and with tail and head erect Marched proudly and calmly through their midst: turning neither to right nor to lett. It was a new experience for the huskies; they stood irresolute for a moment, then followed quietly in fisc wake. Jumbo oftt+ti enterAd this hut afterwards, rotary pushing by or walk- ing over the dogs in the passage. Sometimes they would growl a Little; usually the'- took no notice. Never did they at.►cruptt to dispute his p.•tst ago, though other dogs, even those from neighboring huts, were relent• lessly driven away. he himself had made. Helistened intently; again came the sound front the direction of the pool --a faint gurgle of water or the lapping of waves. Filled with a vague hope, Ben hastily lighted the lantern with one of his few remaining matches and, creeping down the short slope, step- ped into the water. He waded out until it came to his waist, then to his armpits.. Again he heard the lapping, sound, apparently from the wall. Thrusting his arm along the wall, just beneath the surface, he felt a sort of recess or opening in the solid rock. As be moved about he touched a rough ob- ject. Feeling under the water with hie hands he found it to be a timber—a pole that extended • from the rock wall across the pool. "Might be On underground—Under- • water— muttered Ben; then :he stopped abruptly as the significance.of his discovery- flashed into his mind. • .Why had the pole been placed there, he reasoned, unless for a guide or handrail? The water doubtless 'came. .gym-,ath.e.,... rise r, perhaps aw.pass.tge led under the rook .tt . the : -outside world. It would have been easy for the moonshiners, when. the river was not. so high as it was then, to take their product out that way, and to bring in sacks of charcoal and grain. Feeling along the wall at the edge of the water, he discovered that the water' had recently been higher. The falling of the river had • .doubtless caused the sounds that he had heard. Ben hurried back to the slide where he had lett his rope, cut off as much of it as he "could reach, and hastened back to -the pool. , Removing his shoes and hat, he again stepped into the water. After assuring himself . that the pole was firmly wedged in a cleft of the rock he tied. one end of the rope to it. The other end he tied round his waist as a safety line. Ben,was a good swimmer, but never- theless the feat that he was preparing to perform made his.heart beat like a trip hammer. Summoning all his resolution to his aid, he took a full breath and dived beneath the sur- face. About two feet under the water he found the opening 'in the rock and groped forward. His . head touched the top of the passage, arid in a sud- den panic he. drew back. As *he stood dripping in the middle of the pool, he felt ashamed that he had been so easily discouraged. Again he tried, but again he retreated before be had penetrated the passage for more than a yard. As be was trying to* make up his mind, to risk the chance of getting caught in a. blind tunnel, he bit_ upon a plan that, he thought would be safer. Working the' end of lbhe • pole out from the craek ih the rock, he guided it into the passage under the water. The pole struck the rock somewhere, but instantly floated free. Ben put his arms beneath the surface to give it a final shove, and the pole disap- peared in the watery passageway. The rope was still tiers to the pole, and Ben held to the other end -of it. In a moment he felt a tug at. the rope, and knew that the pale was being carried - by a current. In spite of this ho1e- ful sign, his heart beat with appre- hension as he drew himself up ,for,, the final plunge. Ile could gain noth- ing by waiting. . With the rope In his teeth. he dived beneath the water. Once he touched head brushed the top. Fearful lest he ccmc too soon. -and :pettish in a watery trap. he struck out with all the speed of which he was capable. His head roared. 111i -throat was on fire. He let a little air escape front his bursting lungs, and struck out to gain another yard if possible. Sud- denly he felt that he had reached the limit of his endurance. Unmindful of what night be above him, he raised hist hands and shot upward -into the glare of the early morning sun.. For a moment he was blinded by CROSBY'S KIDS WowWill,e felt the first - .. tiltl)'fe his giri called him up . the sudden light. The gray cliff loom- ed a rod behind., He had swum twice as far under the water as had been necessary. • Content that he had lost nothing more precious; than the lantern and his shoes, Ben swam easily with the current and, coming to shore on the gravel bar at the lower end of the big bluff, gave a great shout of joy at being alive. Finish the Job. How you start is 'important, very important, but in th_e end it is how you finish that counts. The victor in the race is not the one who dashes off •swiftest, brit the one who leads at the finish: In the race for success, speed is less than stamina. ' Columbus finished his job. So did Wellington. 'So :did Haig. Look around to -day. Andrew Carnegie' earned rFlst of bis • fortune by boldly buying out dis- couraged partners who lost their nerve and their sticktoitiveness. John D., RQchefeller held on grimly and resolutely when others lost their faith in so mercurial and uncertain a commodity as oil, with its frequent disasters from fire. Finishing the job isn't always •easy. Very often the easiest thifig would be to quit. We all are tempted to suc- .umb to difficulties, discouragements, failures, hardships, disasters. We all have moments when we feel, '•%flat's the use?" - But if we are made of firm stuff, if we have the ,backbone of . a man and not a jellyfish, if we have confidence° in ourselves and faith in God, if v'e know that we are giving our lives to a clean, worthy, healthy, helpful pur- pose, then . we pull our beats a notch tighter, we grit our teeth a little harder, we face east, eyes front, and with unfaltering step push forward determined to halt not and whimper not until we finally gain our goal. He Spoke With Feeling. It was the good fortune of an auto- mobile tourt to have his machine tweak down in front of a farni the owner of which augmented his income by serving good 'board to persons who fled the city in summer. "Fine see .'r " .•._ motorist as the farmer obligingly help- ed him on the repeiree _ 'y>Et is tor. wild enotigti to be attractive." ,"Yes,""was the reply, "it night be worse." "I don't suppose wolves round here?" "No, not exactly, farther, "but if you next hest. thing jes' open the dinin;-room you have any " chuckled the want to see the stay here till I doors. ' Everyone Knew Him It happened, writes a returned sol- dier, while the battalion was holding a section of the trenches in the Bois Grenier sector. We had . just bad some new officer •details sent out as reinforcements to fill the gaps caused by the misfortune of our position. The brigade on our left had pulled a big' raid, and we had been unfortunate in catchin, the retaliation. One of the subalterns was an earl in his own right, and, as such, a' source of pride to certain members of the outfit, thu'ugh he could not have been called the pride and joy of the C.O.'s lite •at that time. During one ao! the usual sanitary in- spections of the trenches I stopped in at one of the company -headquarters for ,lunch.' We were through, lunch when the captain of the •cotrlpany .o the right came in, accompanied by the earl. , The captain's face .was beamirdg with joy, and he couldhardly wait for the formality of his cup of tea before he began his story. "Say, do you know, I had no idea I Was s'o well known in the battalion. I knew my own men would all know;-' me bay sight, and was quite sure they all knew nay name, but I had no idea I was ,so well known in this company, • for this is the first time B .and ,l) have been in together in a long time. "I was telling the earl that my own men all knew me, and could call nae by name right away, which he rather doubted. Didn't you, Con?" - "Why, yes, really, don't you know, names are such beastly hard things toremember and -get straight I was ready to bet a quid half the men in our own company wouldn't know you," "Just to prove that I was right, I took the earl 'here and we made an in- spection tour, and I asked all the men on guard to tell who I was. We Just went up to one, and I said, `Do you know who I am?' The fellow said, 'Yes, .sir.' So I said, 'What Is my name, then?' and• he taste right out' with the whole of it, 'Capt. 1. Mont- gomery Jones.' Pretty soon we came to another party, and 1 said, 'My boy, do you know wlio I am?' 'Yes, sir,' he said; and I asked hint for nay name, and he said, 'Capt. T. Montgomery Jones, sir.' Well, do you know we' asked six different men in our section, and- every one of them said the _same right off, without a bie.of hesitation. As we were up this way, we thought we would just drop in and give you a word. On the way we passed one of your picket posts, and I thougia I would try and see it any of your men knew me, ,so I tasked one of the men if he knew me, and he said he did. ,So I asked him my name and be just re- cited, it off. 'Capt. T. Montgomery Jones.' S, I tried it ,ontwice more, and do you know, every one of them just rattled it off the same, 'You are Capt. T. Montgomery Jones, sir.' Along in the latter part of the cap- , 'tale.% story 1 noticed the ,captain of D begin to grin, then one of the other officers began to smile rather blandly, % ►ud I saw them looking fixedly at Capt. Jones's gas mask, which he had. kept in the alert position. As he moved a bit in winding up his marvel. ous story of his well-known identity, he brought the mask toward me so that the light struck it plainly, and 1. too, began to grin broadly. • Capt. Jones noticed the smiles when he finished, and he became a bit peeved; but before he had time to say anything, the captain of D said, "Capt. T. Montgomery Jones, take off your gas mask and look at it.". Capt. Jones loosened the string and swung his mask up 0.get a look, and he ha& t}e grace to blush and invite us all mown to B mess for a treat; for across ,the gas : mask in letters two inches high, very black and clear, was writ- ten "Capt. T. Montgomery Jones." Dana's Mother. ry's trembling handseemed to the, It seemed to Dana as though every girl so exquisite a thiarg that it hurt her. They were Leaving the table. mouthful would choke her. They were all so unsuspicious --the fancily; so sure that she was as glad to be home as they were to have her back. Of •course, she was glad to be home -- nothing could ever change her -love for the home people. But even. before she went away for her fairy vis't, at 'Marie Kimball's it had worried her to see Uncle Jerry. Of *course she was sorry for Uncle Jerry, but all the same it was awful to •see him lift his food in his shaking hand and tip his head sideways to get it.into his mouth, and as often as not drop it/ and have t to begin all over again. Imagine any- one'like Unele Jerry at the Kimballs' table! • And. then everything about the table was wrong—the way it. was set and served—the. very things they ha& to eat. Betty • had been so jubi- lant over the cherry. dumplings— imagine having cherry jlumplings at the Kimballs'! A question from her mother pierced her abstraction. - • "How was Aunt Kate; dear? You didn't write a word about her." "Aunt Kate?•" Dana repeated, be- wildered. "Don't you remember? I've to'd you what lovely times Mary and 1 used to have at Aunt Kate's when We were schoolgirls Aunt Kato almost then—the cherry dumplings disposed of—and the girl.caught her mother her strong young arms. "Oh, I'm so glad You're you!" , she+ cried chokingly. She. did not guess, that she had given her mother one„of the greatest gifts of her lite: Eskimo's Two Houses. The Eskimo of Greenland, no mat ter what his station in life may be. always has both *summer and winter home. The winter house is described by a traveller as being a dugout with an upper structure built of turf , and beams of driftwood. It has •but one window, as winter in Greenland occurs during the four -month-long arctic. night. - Entrance bo the one large room ol: which the house coRtsiats is gained through a long tunnel about five feet in height, in which the dogs live. In the rear of the living room is a raised ,tats, on --•which the entire family Sleep. and in the front. part stands • the stove. This stove consists of a hollow stone filled with seal oil, in which burns a rag wick, which lights and heats the no"use and cooks the meals. lu the summer months, during four rnenths of which the sun never sets, the Eskimos live.in tents. These are .I course I couldn't expect y ot, to remoni•, her, chuff _s elite .4t11-5, fru tc utter seen.” But -Dana did remember now. And •son►ething made a hot color flood ner face. .'I believe -•she's at a Horne." she faltered. She remembered Mlarie's Impatience one day because she had to go there for her mother. ''It'd a!1 nonsense having to go t.o see Aunt hate once a'month!" Marie,had -tied The premisinfte young man may. be petnlar.tly. She• was glad, sontohrtc, all right, but a paying one is better. that mother did net knew- that--- mother who was looking at Le"r with such a " stat't!oii 4-xpressitln :,fid ex- claiming. ":A honk? %Vhese leaner ''A Homo for er• and the woi-s t is- yet to come ►a pl.tiued nti:er.bly. • "Aunt hate! Aunt 'Kato, in ;t 1ic,•,:o0. She who used. to have the in+►,t hos- pitichle house it-Elmtcford. oi•gn to every sick 'or, tired or trc•uiiled soul that passed her door' Why, she gave the hest years of her life to Mary--" Arid snddenly. at the tone in her mother's voice; -tlt`e tningied pain Old hurt and indignation.-- a truth that Dana had been trying to thrust away , stood, a majestic acid commanding figure. and touclred ilio beautiful home tl►at site had been visiting - beautiful and t;olfi,lt ..and-- imitation. • Tier ,mother's gentie help for t.rit•le .1er- what like a boat_cut in halt.. In the rear of the tent the bed is spread, while in the wide, high 'open (rout a siotidge burnsday and night, This amoke fire nerves to drivo away the- , mosquitoes, whicli are large and • ferocious. Opportunities Still. There are people alio keep saying seltil they believe it themselves that . ,• the time. has passed whets young fel- law can begin at the bottom of a big corpordtion and work t;► the top, but it is still trtia. Chet-.e-_veres.lat-ge ,tna• jority of highly 'paid exeeuti,-;$ havo' risen from the ranks. t)f ;i r.;rtnber of n:e►r taken at tat:don from a li;t of railway officials who aro t'©ce:vii:,r, raiarIes of -fifty theis.cud colitis cr ratite a year, (;rt' entered the service ct tue railway as :txetuan. ttr.ottver as tritinnia; ter's citric, another as a tele- graph cperat•sr, another 'as' a ffremai; and another as a w,rclluusein.ci: and brakeman Masi. oL 1hem. 'moreover, - began rail oodiog Oldie they .were still in their testis. As ,many opt►or ttinitles as ever bef.;re are wait:ng to - 'd;, y for the tarn . wt cnn rect•,b alre anti gr.tsp them: Buy- Thrift Stamps. • Old Enghsh Customs or'd device a; C'eentry fairs ."few i,w;tic of • prit'king ;he .gar,. -i- " Tho centuries ego •iti tweed wa: to septi v;ctim • is invited to ."sr:ek51,•q►•er s cat for a sucking pig! Or.e pig was through• a folded belt so .•ta• to pin it to t:xpn ed to' view ; all the others were the table. Ther c..tt n tit; ;iractleal jt,kc r. supposed to' he tied tip ready 1a carry taking the ttit., c•►ds rrr'tc-a that itha ' away. If .re t'rehaset; i'isi .;�`.i on un belt has i;c'tleani it:ado fa:,t' ;ill it tying the `-ac'k h,•ft•re p:.y :nf• for it,• was porn 'irily c a!"'el ' the ,cat letree.1 e'a', ..1:(I iii^ frJ'.,! tva; 1,,iti4P tt',tii a:mac.; . discovered. •.\.s to the t i•'tima who ' In tho;e days•, *len they fibril t;lq had., taken away timeirr on tt-us,i they p*n ttcaf •joko, the it wale .y"-,, ,;t,! ;1 were forced to ,a;in:it. Hera: ;;, r� g i ct��al of, (li !1^ktng 7:,t sacks cor.tained 1tei,it1 R•lt; . R'hc'7 ae clitrc,.'. r' secret'. unintention.ctf%'. ::ani ang tt. Surprise planned.. ice gay we 'c1 'the c;:t out cif the hag.. .\nother old trick ott.ek known as "pricking t'► ' 1;, : ! still- Biot a•it1tin n ni' 1itirti i 1'7:1 country fair: in Euglaad (1t1, rt-. to- her 0.. It .+•.c it.. ,t11it} to. 1,, • ;'n le t` :1 t' •' - 't : ;tit f.,rther ir,.1 ;i• ,.. ! it t'o pit' In lith.., ' .,, i i•7.1 ,,, tuintl P's and tj s • •