The Old Sawmill.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 177, 29 July 1939, Page 2 (Supplement)

The Old Sawmill.

(By Valerie Barnes, SI, Ilryden Street. Grey by nil.) Idle it stands, forsaken, forgotten. Flowing swiftly and silently along, a river, once used as a means of transport for the sawn-np timber, added to the picturesque setting of the old mill. Outside, four girls were standing, prior to entering the old building. "Come on,*' called .Mavis, the obvious ringleader. "or we shan't be through before dark." Kagerly the ".iris trooped through the open door-way into the gloomy interior, ("ashing on their torches, they proceeded slowly up the stairway. Here and there a rotting board gave way beneath their heavy tread. Squeaks sounded loud as large rats scampered over the dusty floors. Stacks of slowly decaying wood filled the corners of the rooms. A small ladder and trapdoor led up to a tiny boxlike room. For what it had been used no one could guess.

Descending the ladder again they entered ii room Hooded with brilliant sunshine. This surprised the explorers, fir the other rooms had been dark and dismal. Here, however, a large glassies* window occupied the space where there should have been a wall. Peering out of tlie window, the four saw the great sails whirling round in an eddy of wind. Unlike the top floor of the mill this room was full of rusting machinery. A great wheel from between thirty and folly feet in diameter claimed most of the space. At regular intervals small protruding handles gave it the appearance of a large steering wheel. Interesting though it all was, the four adventurers at last decided that it was time to }>o. Turning to the door, to their horror they discovered that it had jammed. They were trapped in the old mill. After pondering for a few minutes, Mavis at bet,thought of a plan. "Do you see that wheel?" she asked. "Well, where it disappears into the room is a gap. We'll climb down the wheel into the next