ences of the past few years. There was but one way to account
for this occurrence--some human, aware of my presence, had removed the
candle, had stolen through the pitch darkness silently, and as swiftly
disappeared. I was locked in, trapped, and not alone!

I confess for an instant I was panic-stricken, shrinking back from the
horror of the black unknown which enveloped me. I could see and hear
nothing, yet I seemed to feel a ghastly presence skulking behind that
impenetrable veil. My first inclination was to creep back to the door,
and escape into the outer passage. Yet pride restrained me, pride
quickly supplemented by a return of courage. It was a man surely, a
thing of flesh and blood, I was called upon to meet. He was no better
armed than myself, and he possessed no advantage in that darkness,
except his knowledge of surroundings. I straightened up, and advanced
slowly, testing the wall with my hand, every muscle stiffened for
action, listening for the slightest sound. I encountered nothing,
heard nothing, until my groping fingers touched the rough plank of a
sleeping berth. I explored this cautiously, lifting the edge of a
coarse blanket, and reaching up to make sure the one above was also
unoccupied. Satisfied that both were empty I worked my way blindly
along to the second tier. As I reached into the lower of the two bunks
my finger came in contact with some substance that left the impression
of a human body beneath the blanket. I jerked away, startled,
expecting my light touch would arouse the occupant. There was no
movement, however, nor could I distinguish any sound of breathing.

Convinced I had been mistaken, I reached in once more to assure myself
of the truth, and my hand touched cold, clammy flesh. The shock of
discovery sent me reeling backward so suddenly that I slipped and fell.
It was a man--a dead man! In imagination I could see the wide-open,
sightless eyes, staring toward me through the dark. Trembling with the
unreasonable terror of unstrung nerves, I yet managed to regain my
feet. It was not the dead body, so much as the black gloom, which
robbed me of manhood. I could not see where to go, how to escape. At
whatever cost I must procure light. The very desperation yielded me
reckless courage. Shaking as with palsy, yet with teeth clinched, I
reached forward, groping my way back to the side of the bunk. I
touched the edge of the blanket, and thrust it away, feeling the body