ast idea in which direction to
look for us. Goodness knows how long we may have to stay here. We may
never get out." Her voice sank to a whisper.

"Why, Phil," Madge feigned a hopefulness which she did not feel, "I am
surprised at you. You haven't given up hope. It is just the darkness
and being hungry that makes things appear so dreadful. I have been
thinking about our plight, and when daylight comes I am going to try to
climb up the wall to the window. The mud has broken away between some
of the logs, so that I can get my foot in the opening. We shall have
to dig it away in other places too."

"But what can we dig with, Madge? We haven't a knife."

"With our fingers and hairpins, if we must, Phil. Sh-sh, Nellie is
waking. I want her to sleep on till daylight."

Toward morning, however, the two girls' eyes closed wearily. In spite
of their resolve to keep awake, the gray dawn creeping in at the
windows found them fast asleep. It was Phil who first opened her eyes.
She touched Madge, who sat up with a start, then springing to her feet
exclaimed, "I'm so glad it's morning. Now for my great circus stunt."

"You can't possibly climb up there without hurting yourself, Madge.
You will surely fall," expostulated Eleanor. "Please, please don't try
it."

"Please don't discourage me, Nellie. It is the only way I know to get
out of this dreadful place. Phil, if you will try to brace me, I can
climb up and dig in the mud farther up."

Eleanor was feeling down in her pocket. Suddenly she gave a little cry
of surprise. "O, girls! I have something that may help. Here is a
little pair of scissors. You can dig with them, Madge."

The girls hailed the scissors with exclamations of joy. They were very
small embroidery scissors, but they were better than nothing.

Lillian, who was bent on a foraging expedition around the room, came
back a moment later with a few big, rusty nails and an old brick she
had picked up out of the tumbled down fireplace. "If you can hammer
these nails in the wall, Madge, you will have something to hold on to
as you climb."

For two hours Madge alternately dug and climbed. In each hole that she
made between the big logs she would set her foot, then hammer a nail
above her head and dig a new opening. At last she actually did climb
up the side of the wall, but her hands were scratched and bleeding, and
her hair and face were covered with mud. She had taken off her dress
skirt,