Explore "The Leopard's Spots" by Fred M. White on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
It has all happened in the twinkling of an eye, one of those little things that no can foresee, and which yet have far-reaching consequences. Hawthorne was safe enough inside there, and the man who remained on the far side of the door knew exactly the peril in which the other stood. And there was no opening the door from the inside either. Hawthorne had clearly forgotten that the heavy door, if pushed too far back, would swing the other way again with its own weight; but so it was, and there he was inside beyond the faintest hope of escape until someone came along and released him.
But how long could he live in an atmosphere like that? Not more than an hour at the outside. The deadly cold of the place and the restricted amount of air would be fatal ere long unless help was speedily procurable.