The Storyteller.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7848, 14 June 1905, Page 4

The Storyteller.

MAK'JS CHAER, ■r" .. B®," Look ! " he Said, pointing with. to tbe towering Cliffs. I Bj|6«SSk"*niy head. Bbßmmw. *- cwn't. thrij# 1 a #tone over Pfewi," I said th»ugfetTulty. '■' Uutj gSpFweeoukl luaks a Stout bow and i|jm , o*s we might 6rt massages sfUfifs6gh the opening oirt to sea. One. |gjnight bo picked up, ami " are «t t« uuita the bow are some pieces, of stout) I said. " Let us try." !>S®feo '-we triai ; but all the yam pT%hich we ueH for tin bow-sftrigsl &3prbVi<l rotten, .aali bwke when we Kjjried to, flp» h&rd ; go «• abandoned' wJEtia' plan also. . t v'fe kept (ft BhoSitaig^—l shoutoi until'X bavelodt £ y°i<» for days/: be «ajki fluletiyj' i ; :.f H ]}fo one heard.' t- ■vWh W e" made U p a bigger lira | |.\thoy might see the smoke." f "It. would dispeite before it came near tire top," he pointed out. & Other and wikiaf Echcraea proved of gj TO ,avail, So for a I. abandon- & «F myself to despair. My brother olf so relapsed into' gloom—he had aged «.<HiTOiUy during his captajtivity, I no=i - tiqedr-jand, for days together we p rtsrcoy spoke a word. bj. The summer passed isto aatumn, j; Mil we UegiJi to drtajd tile approach ' pf. wintey. • - ' "WIA **d atwWWna to do," I & desperate!]!, " or I shall go mad. t Can't; you eesetlUmg, oldi ) «nan ?He rouse* Wmiself with an f! effort.

"Poor old Frank,"' b» said pityL' ingly-" I*o j trj(; upo» ay word If .will try," S The next morning he announced I' that he had an idea ; that we might p catch aoino fish-where the current) 5, ran,out through, the Assures. R- After several failures we made a P sort of net out of Some wickers and K yarnt and by hanging this over the K. opening we caugbt a number of small flatfish. 31» improvement in |j?i diet had * a marked effect upon" Gin I bodily and mental vigour, and 1 bejp gan to plan modes of escape oncd K more. *

i ." We -might -cwt steps up the rock « by uaingf soma at the large nails and s" bars out of the wreckage," I pror poßjd." Ijf wo could only show ourr selves at the top, they' would soon ; bud some means ol getting us off. j* They .would Sue up a line with rockL, Bts, or •' i *' We couldn't cut the steps in fift* ty years," ho Objected. X "At any rate," I insisted, "it ? will bo something to do. Let us jjS*lr>-" - f' So we set to work:. In about £ \ fortnight we extracted from the wreck- & age a Dumber ot largt nails and t' three large bolts, which we usodas R hammers. Then, starting' from our f platform, we commenced to mako >9 our steps—'at the rate of alxout ono jr" a> fortnight. Wo deliberated ovcrevery eighth of an inch on account of e,, the cast of labour and tools. W« were in the middle of the sixth" £ ' sbef*—whieh would raise us ■ about &.< foui* yard.i alien die full severity of L:.< winter, began. During th® next two months wo only reached the eighth g/ >step, pad our tools, began to Jail. , Ofvall the aid days of Uiat sad | ! winter I rejpembCT Qtenstanas Day ( the best 5 bow I gave my brother a g ; ; pair of foot qovera made of feathers t atnf lur gave me four large nails, asi [j- Christmas pr&eftts; how we satandi Z shiveved and "looked out of t&arapuihi* E-. of*our cive at the fast tailing snow; how we'talked M wiiat they would at homo ;"how lis told ine i y he had hoped to Win pretty Annettq *■* Grey; how I ownpd io my Jove for i sweet Lucy Bryant; how—l cannot p' bear to write, an;: mom about it! ' <•" When Uie spring, "at last reached I" down 'inKb our depths' we hftii cut fourteen steps. By June one tools bad utterly given out before .we p reached number eighteen-. y We had let our fire ■ euft, and when f the sun returned vro did not trouble* to light it. Jl» supply of food had. r grown and we hardly touched what little we could find. We r did nothing: but ait—two gaunt aid : woo-begooe figures in ridiculous atr ' tire—looking away from one another into the depths of the liool. After about a week's gazing I had a sudden thougfeft. > " The pool has grown quiet, brother," I said* . ? ;P , * He nodded. He bated" to hear him- • self speak in those days. I put my • hand suddenly upon his arm. ' If tHe current no longer runsi " in." I said excitedly. " They ara - building a breaWwatcr at Storm in. Point. If that has stopped the set r , of the tide " laughed an hysterical laugh. " You could swim out ! " be cried.- " I cojild swim; out-! " * r We gathered littlo bits ol stick and i ; threw them into the pool. Not an u eddy, remained. . ,

The next day ho lit the fire again with the lens, and we sought food, with new vigour. I was to recruit my strength for a week, and then try to swim out, it was agreed, being the swifter and the betU'i' swimmer. If I succeeded his rescue would be merely a matter of time. I grew stronger every day. The; water sank low or than before, we noticed, at low tide, that I could swim several yards into the hollow before going under water. I practised diving into the pool, and found that my old skill was. little impaired. When the time came we grasped one another's hands and looked intq, one another's eyes. 11 I do not hear from you soon " he said meaningly. You will hear," I vowed. "We will fire a cannon 01* send rockets( over tho top to-night;. Good-bye, oldi man." " Good-bye," he said. " God help you ! lien I took to the water. When I reached tho place wHcrc I f must go under the rock I drew ai deep breath. Then I swam as. X had' 1 never swum before. I was alomst} , exhausted when I reached the place! I where the roof was above water,, out I passed swiftly through it. The drumming in my ears (began, and I feared that I had overestimated my strength, and that, without tho current to guide mq, I might fail to find the passage. My heart seemed stopping, and my limbs almost refused to move. I re- 1 sisted the temptation to try to* J*eathe the vacuum, and plunged under again. There in front of me ! There was a glimmer of light in the water ! I< struck, out wildly, and felt myself goiing on slowly, like one in a sul'-t focatiqg, nightmare, with the water, roaring louder and louder in my ears. My strokes grew feebler and feebler, and I was constantly carßiedj upwards and bruised against* tho roof of the. cavity ; but still I struggled on. .The veins- in my body seemed 'bursting ; but tho p a ie light grew nearer and nearer.

The breath hegan to escape from my mouth, and the water to bubble ill. God have mercy ! I scraped up the side of the rock", and floated, bleeding and barely conscious, to tho top of the water.

Some men in a boat picked me up after a few minutes'. A diver was telegraphed for, and went through that aftrnnoon with* a spare dress, in which he brought out "my brother. Annette, to whom I had given his message, waited for him at th« I water's edge.

Among all, the excitement one thing stands out in my memory. They Sold mo that Lucy had come to seo me, and' 1 ran out of the sittingroom to cut off my long beard and hair, for fear of looking repulsive in her eyes ;| but she met me in the passage, and threw herself sol(bing into my aril's : and for tho next'iive minutes I felt myself repaid, even for the horrors of Dead Man's Chair.