The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1866-03-30


in both hands. t5s ,loI7-t-y
"Bricklayer p says he, smiling.
5 Fright" says l. T., 'r-.rr '0,.--sa e-.
d HFrom the country ?" says he.
eyes," says I. '0 : BIZ. ts
@Work slack there ?" says he.
"Awful," says /. r.. .-5-..s.
"You'n do" says he. "Here, Jones, put
this Teller in number four lot" -d
If you'll believe me. l could have taken
hold of him and Rugged him; but didn't,
tor KEEP it for Polly. $40 -
Well-I wonder how many times Eve said
well. since begun was in work now, and
/ meant to keep it. Didn't make the bricks
and mortar fly! My holman did his days
work that day, if he neverdid it before. Ihen
some of the men began to take it up, ana got
to chatting; one SAYS there'd soon be no WORK
left. and another saws I'd better have cou-
pie of Paddles to keep me going, one for Dicks
and another for mortar; while one fellow
makes hisself precious unpleasant, by Keeping
on going "puf2 plnfF IKE a steam mgln, be-
az long as they liked, and bimeby comes to
be working alongside of my steaming friend,
and Jest as he had been going it a little extra,
I says to him quietly: 1qf-g wNg .
"Ever been out o work matey?',
"Not to signify" he says.
"Cause if you ever are, and come down wer-
ry close to the ground, you'll be as glad to han
die the trowel again as am" He didn't putt
any more that day, not as heard.
London work was something fresh to ine.
fused to think that I'd been about some tidy
buildings down our way, but what was the IT,
dest or 'em to the London jobs was put onl
Jobs where the scafolding must have cost
hundreds upon hundreds Of pounds more
than the house, land, and everything else put
together, of the biggest place l ever worked
upon. used to think was pretty strong in
tile head but soon began to sing small here
specially when had been up about week
and was put on at big hotel Right up so
high that one turned quite creepy, and used
to get thinking of what would be the conse-
4uences if sharp puff OF wind come and up
set ones balance. I could never have believ-
ed, neither, that such a Jacobs Ladder of
scaffold-poles could have been built up to stand
without crushing and Swapping those at the
bottom like SO many reeds or tobacco pipes
but suppose them as builds them knows best
what should be done, and what they'll bear.
But though did not like it much, l took good
care not to mention it to my lass, for 1 knew
she'd have been on the fdget all day if had
told her. fT0T rfft 1-ern FrfA
BY degrees I got to stand it all pretty well !;
and we began to feel a bit settled in our own
one room. Not that we much liked it, but
then it was very pleasant to go in the crowd
on payday and draw your weeks wage, good
wage, too, jest as 1 had seen it when settin'
in my own room at home. We still called it
home, for we couldn't get to feel that we were
at home in London, and Polly said she never
should, after having little house of her own
but as there was only our two selves, we made
things pretty comfortable.
The big hotel was getting on at a tremen-
dous rate, for there was a strong body on us
at work, and it used TO make me think and
think of the loads upon loads of stuff the ho-
tel swallowed up, and how much more it
would take before it was finished. One day
when was a bricklaying up at the top-I
don't know how many feet from the ground,
and never used to care to look to see, for fear
Of turning giddy-one day it came on to blow
a regular gale, and blew at last so hard that
the scaffold shook and quivered, while, wher-
ever there was loose rope, it ratified and beat
against the poles, as if it was impatient Of be-
ing tied there, and wanted to break loose and
be Off ld e4e Nif-lf '@ifsi2 53ll1af
1t blew at last SO VERY hard, that I should
have been precious glad of an excuse to get
down, but l couldn't well leave my work, and
the old hands didn't seem to mind it much;
SO l KEEP at it. Whenever the wind blows
now, and shut my eyes, can call it all back
again the creaking and quivering OF the poles,
the rafting of the boards, the bowling and
whistiing of the gale as it swept savagely by,
in rage because it could not sweep us away
A high wind is pretty hard to deal with some
times on the ground, and have seen folks
pretty hard driven to a corner. lit may be
guessed what sort of fun it is right upon a
spidery scaffold, where man, is expected to
work with both hands and hold on by moth
ing, and that, too, where single step back
wards would be-there it's thing. as allus
makes me nervous to talk about.
1t was getting to be somewhere about half
past three, and was working hard, so as to
keep from thinking about the storm, when all
at once happened to turn my head, and see
the men were a scuffiing down the ladders as
hard as they could 60. And then, before had
time to think, there was loud crash, and a
large piece of the scaffolding gave way, and
swept with it poles, boards and bricks right
into the open space below. leaped up at a
pole which projected from the roof above me,
just above my head. caught it and hung suls-
pended, just as the boards upon which 1 stood
but an instant before, gave way and fell on to
the next stage, some twenty feet below
Tightly clasping the rough fir pole, I chung for
life. l'' 70 --1@
Think? Ibid think. thought hundreds
Of things in few seconds, as shut my eyes
and began to pray, for felt as if could not
hold on long, and knew as should fall first
on the stage below, when the boards would
either give way or shoot me off again with a
spring and then 1 knew there would be a
crowd round something upon the ground, and
the police coming with stretcher : III /
"Creep out, mate, and come down the rope"
cried voice from below. I turned my head,
SO that ] could just see that the pole was
hanging to had block at the end, through
which ran rope for drawing light things up
and down to the scaffold. For an instant /
dared not move; then raising myself, went
hand over hand towards, the pulley, and in
another instant should have grasped it, when
heard a rushing sound, and the creaking of
wheel, as the rope went spinning through
and was gone, the weight Of the longer side
having dragged the other through. As hung,
distinctly heard it fall, perhaps hundred
and fifty feet s 'oi ,<7 ,..e.. l1's Eae b /
As the rope fell, and hung there, I could
hear regular shrek from those below: but
nobody stirred to my assistance, for I was be-
yond help then; but seemed to grow stronger
with the danger, though my arms felt as il
they were being wrenched out of their SOCK
est and my nerves as il they were torn with
d Sobbing for breath, I crept in again till /
was over the stage first; then close in to the
lace Of the building, and there hung Once
tried to get some hold with my feet, but the
smooth bricks let my toes slip over them di-
rectly. Then tried to get leg over the pole.
SO as to climb up and sit there; but the time
was gone by for that. had hung too long,
and was now growing weaker every moment.
can't describe what felt. All know is.
that it was horrible, and that long afterwards
l used tojump up in bed with a scream: for
so sure as was little out o. sorts. came a
dream of hanging to that scaffoId pole, expect
ing every moment to be ones last. Ican't saw
either how long hung, but feeling at length
was going made one last try for it. /
thought ofmy poor lass, and seemed to see
her looking at me in a widder's cap; and
then clenched my teeth hard and tried to
get on to where the end Of the pole was fas-
tened. got one hand over the hard bricks
and hooked my fingers and held on: then I
got the other hand over, and tried to climb up.
as cheer from below encouraged me but NV
feet and knees slipped over the smooth bricks.
and in spite of every effort they hung down