Page:Randall Parrish--My Lady of the South.djvu/166

MY LADY OF THE SOUTH this innocent man. I cherished no liking for Calvert Dunn, and the old Judge seemed to me a cold-blooded individual, but, almost insensibly, I ranged myself beside Jem Donald and Miss Denslow, convinced of their worthiness. But I could neither serve them nor myself by lying there motionless.

From what little sense of direction I retained, I judged this cellar room to be at the north side of the house, and a brief search along the walls of the shadowy interior revealed nothing which could aid me in any way. It was totally bare, bricked solidly to the floor beams above, the single entrance by a heavy oak door, evidently barred without, as I could discover no lock, and the only window, scarcely large enough to admit the body of a boy, secured by stout strips of iron, between which the daylight filtered weakly. I went over it all, foot by foot, testing everything, feeling the necessity of discovering any existing weakness while daylight remained. But I met with no reward. Without tools of some kind the walls were impregnable, and there was absolutely nothing I could use as wedge, lever, or hammer. I dug at the bricks, tested the window strips, and exercised my strength and ingenuity in every possible manner, driven to new expedients by recollection of my perilous position; but such efforts were all useless. Wearied and heartsick I had fallen back upon the blankets, when food was suddenly shoved through the quickly opened door. I caught merely a glimpse of a black hand and arm. Before I could so much as sit erect these were withdrawn, and the heavy outside bar rattled into its socket. [ 156 ]