rface above him caved in, and--joy to his panting soul!--the air,
the pure air of heaven, rushed in through the aperture! Hastily
enlarging the cavity, and removing the earth to the inside, he ascended
to the surface of the ground. A feeling of gratitude thrilled through
his frame, as he once more inhaled the free air of heaven, that he had
escaped the terrible fate which a few hours before had seemed
inevitable.

With faltering step,--for now that his Herculean task was accomplished,
the reality of his weakened physical condition was painfully
apparent,--he walked round the jail, to satisfy himself that no one was
in the vicinity. The sun was set, and the shades of night were gathering
upon the earth. The time was favorable for his escape. Having satisfied
himself that he was unobserved, he hastened to the garden, which was
close at hand, to procure the means of invigorating his own body, and
restoring to life and animation the partner of his captivity. Fruit of
various kinds--melons, figs--rewarded his anxious search. Filling his
handkerchief with cantelopes and figs, he hastened back to the jail,
with all the speed his weary limbs would permit. His thoughts were fixed
upon his wife, whose suffering had pierced his soul more deeply than all
the anxiety and doubt he had experienced on his own account. As he
tottered along, he asked himself if he should eat of the fruit he
carried ere she had tasted of the banquet. He drew one of the
rosy-cheeked, juicy figs from the handkerchief. It was no loss of
time--no deferring of the succor she needed--to eat as he walked; run he
could not, though he fain would have quickened his tardy pace. It would
restore his strength, and enable him the better to protect and rescue
her. It was not wrong, though, from the deep well of his affection, came
up something like a reproach for his selfishness. He ate the fruit. The
effect was, or seemed to be, magical. He thought he could feel it
imparting strength to his exhausted form. Again he ate, and in the
pleasant sensation to his unsated palate, his imagination, as much as
the fruit, nerved his muscles, and he walked with a firmer step.

He had not completed one-half the distance back, when he discovered two
men in the vicinity of the jail. A cold shudder nearly paralyzed him.
Was his labor all in vain? Had he with so much trial and suffering
effected his escape, only to be incarcerated again? The thought was
maddening, and he resolved to di