She glared at
Rosalie through the semi-darkness, frequently addressing her with the
vilest invectives cautiously uttered--and all because her victim had
beautiful eyes and was unable to close them in sleep.

[Illustration: "Rosalie was no match for the huge woman"]

Rosalie's heart sank as she surveyed the surroundings with her mind
once more clear and composed. After her recovery from the shock of
contact with the old woman and Sam she shrank into a state of mental
lassitude that foretold the despair which was to come later on. She did
not sleep that night. Her brain was full of whirling thoughts of escape,
speculations as to what was to become of her, miserable fears that the
end would not be what the first impressions had made it, and, over all,
a most intense horror of the old woman, who dozed, but guarded her as no
dragon ever watched in the days of long ago.

The cave in which they were housed was thirty or forty feet from side to
side, almost circular in shape, a low roof slanting to the rocky floor.
Here and there were niches in the walls, and in the side opposite to the
entrance to the passageway there was a small, black opening, leading
without doubt to the outer world. The fact that it was not used at any
time during her stay in the cave led her to believe it was not of
practical use. Two or three coal-oil stoves were used to heat the cave
and for cooking purposes. There were several lanterns, a number of
implements (such as spades, axes, crowbars, sledges, and so forth),
stool-kegs, a rough table, which was used for all purposes known to the
dining-room, kitchen, scullery and even bedchamber. Sam slept on the
table. Horse blankets were thrown about the floor in confusion. They
served as bedclothes when the gang slept. At other times they might as
well have been called doormats. One of the niches in the wall was used
as the resting place for such bones or remnants as might strike it when
hurled in that direction by the occupants. No one took the trouble to
carefully bestow anything in the garbage hole, and no one pretended to
clean up after the other. The place was foul smelling, hot and almost
suffocating with the fumes from the stoves, for which there seemed no
avenue of escape.

Hours afterward, although they seemed drawn out into years, the men
began to breathe naturally, and a weird silence reigned in the cave.
They were awake. The venerable Maude emerged from her doze, looked
apprehensively at Sam,