hough he was by the
contrivance of the pulley, to open it. This weight was partly due to
the fact that the door was of manifest purpose hung so as to throw its
weight downwards, so that it might shut of its own accord when the
strain was released. The inside was honeycombed with rust--nay more,
the rust alone that comes through time would hardly have eaten so deep
into the iron walls; the rust of the cruel stains was deep indeed! It
was only, however, when we came to look at the inside of the door that
the diabolical intention was manifest to the full. Here were several
long spikes, square and massive, broad at the base and sharp at the
points, placed in such a position that when the door should close the
upper ones would pierce the eyes of the victim, and the lower ones his
heart and vitals. The sight was too much for poor Amelia, and this
time she fainted dead off, and I had to carry her down the stairs, and
place her on a bench outside till she recovered. That she felt it to
the quick was afterwards shown by the fact that my eldest son bears to
this day a rude birthmark on his breast, which has, by family
consent, been accepted as representing the Nurnberg Virgin.

When we got back to the chamber we found Hutcheson still opposite the
Iron Virgin; he had been evidently philosophising, and now gave us the
benefit of his thought in the shape of a sort of exordium.

'Wall, I guess I've been learnin' somethin' here while madam has been
gettin' over her faint. 'Pears to me that we're a long way behind the
times on our side of the big drink. We uster think out on the plains
that the Injun could give us points in tryin' to make a man
uncomfortable; but I guess your old mediaeval law-and-order party
could raise him every time. Splinters was pretty good in his bluff on
the squaw, but this here young miss held a straight flush all high on
him. The points of them spikes air sharp enough still, though even the
edges air eaten out by what uster be on them. It'd be a good thing for
our Indian section to get some specimens of this here play-toy to send
round to the Reservations jest to knock the stuffin' out of the bucks,
and the squaws too, by showing them as how old civilisation lays over
them at their best. Guess but I'll get in that box a minute jest to
see how it feels!'

'Oh no! no!' said Amelia. 'It is too terrible!'

'Guess, ma'am, nothin's too terrible to the explorin' mind. I've been
in some queer places in my time. Sp