[vscweb-devel] ruin,

[Santrmire <wal...@ea...>]

Le else. All at once he hit upon a plan, and two minutes later had drawn
aside the curtain, swung out the little derrick, and was letting himself
down towards the ledge by means of its tackle. Lying flat on the rough
rocks, he drank and drank of the delicious water, lifting his head for
breath or to gaze ecstatically about him, and then thrusting it again
into the cool flood for the pleasure of feeling the water on his hot
cheeks. At length a slight sound caused him to turn quickly and look
upward. To his dismay and astonishment the tackle by which he had
lowered himself had disappeared. Unless he could make up his mind to
swim for miles through water of icy coldness, he was as truly a prisoner
on that ledge of rock as ever he had been in the underground depths from
which he had so recently escaped. CHAPTER XIX "DARRELL'S FOLLY" AND ITS
OWNER Ralph Darrell was possessed by a passion for accumulating wealth,
and, not satisfied with the certain but slow gains of his legitimate
business of banking, was always on the lookout for extraordinary
investments, in which he was willing to take great risks on the chance
of receiving proportionate returns. During an excitement caused by
marvellous finds of copper in the upper peninsula of Michigan, he, too,
caught the fever, and became convinced that here was his opportunity for
acquiring a fortune. From experts in whom he placed confidence he
received such good accounts of a certain mineral tract locate