New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1872-04-18

ing that 1 should be away on important BUSH
ness for the next two or three days, and urg-
| ing her to keep good heart, as | might
have some good news to tell her when we
next met.
| | alighted at NantygoIyn Station, and en-
gagged room at the sole inn the village
boasts of. 1t was still early in the evening,
and started after dinner to walk as far as
Lleydem, distance ofabout two miles to re-
connoitre. The road ran along the hillside
nearly all the way. \ shower had laid the
dust, and the wet foliage of the trees that
| eIung to the rock on my right hand, and over
hung the path, cleaned brightly in the dying
| light. Far down on my left ran the Drawing
river, just colored with the rain, and from all
| about arose the soft steam from the moist
ened earth, speaking eloquently in its grave
| like odor of the sad end of the year that was
coming so quickly. Autumn is pleasant
| enough among the gardens of Kent, but very
| sad il is among the hills. The trees are
| st,nted. and the leaves soon futter slowly
| downward from their barring branches and
| those who have only heard the musical sigh
| ing OF the wind through the trees ola lOwland
| landscape, can have no conception OF the
weird-like feeling that steals over one as we
| listen to the soughing of the gale among the
| swaving and creakinc boughs of the mountain
pines and birches, and its fiercer shrek as it
sweeps UP the ravines and over the desolate
| moor. The wind was rising, laden with oc-
casional showers, as / reached the brick-field.
| The state of affairs was worse than had inn
agined The engine had been left on an ex-
posed part of the line, and where there was
sharp curve, causing the outside rail to be
much higher than the other. Inclining at
such n sharp angle, it had been exposed to
| the full fury of recent gale, which, catching
| it at so great disadvantage, had tilted it
completely over, and it now lay on its side
on the embankment, with the hindeImost
| wheels, however, resting on, or only partly
off, the rails. 1t was a small and very light
engine, and had been originally intended for
| the Crimea.
1t was wild and lonely place where the
brick-yard was situated. 1t was just where
the moorland commenced and where there
was nothing tointerupt the eye as it roamed
over the purple fiat, strangely fit up in places
| BY crinsoning CLEANS and patches of golden
brown, as the light of the stormy sunset was
reflected from the surface of pool, or shone
on lighter ground of dead rushes and ling.
Beyond all was long gray line, which could
not be mistaken for anything but what it
was--the bOnny, open sea. Ii you listened
intently you could even catch, borne on the
wind, the faint roar Of the surt on the flat,
sandy shore.
| Nothing could be done that night, and. on
the morrow, mounted a sorrel animal, which
mine host called saddle horse, and rode OFF
| to the mines to bespeak the services OF a
dozen men and three horses--all they had to
spare-for eight O'Clock that night, and then
| back to the station to put all right with the
station-master. To disarm suspicion, l took
rod and made my way down to the now
swollen stream. Few fish were there in it,
for the deadly water from the mines had
played sad havoc with the iinny tribe. More
time was passed in reverie than in fishing
and tender memories of the past mingled
| strangely with dreams of the future. How
happy Mary and could be in a little cottage
ornee l had had my eye upon, and which l
| knew was to be had at low rent. How
| pleasant to hurry home from business, and
| find a bright face to welcome me with a kiss
and a bOnnv smile, instead of my lonely
bachelor rooms. All, me! would it ever
come to pass, 1 wondered. Surely it must
/ some day; and yet, somehow, L could not
| look hopefully forward. Perhaps it was the
| lowering weather and the dull, spiritless air
| that everybody wore that depressed me and
it was absurd, yet felt as if l were going to
be hung, or meet with some serious accident
| in this midnight abduction | was engaged in.
Vainly trying to shake off the feeling, l re-
traced my steps to the inn.
At eight O'Clock it was already quite dark.
When reached the bank over the line, saw
that the men, by the light of lanterns, had
rugged up temporary crane, and were Juggling
away at the ropes, trying to raise the fallen
engine, and prying away with levers and
screw-jacl1s, working quietly and well. Most
| of them were brawny Englishmen, imported
by Mr.. Haywood; the rest were Welshmen,
smaller made, but wiry and strong. Steadily
the work went on under my directions, and
all the while soft, unpleasant drizzle grad
tally soaked through and through. The wind
was fiaful, and many and mysterious were the
sounds that it brought out Of the glens. Ii
moaned dismally through the pine woods
showing that the spirit OF the storm was
abroad, and ere long would be upon us in all
its savageness. Suddenly form fitted by,
then another, and another, and three strange
men passed by the engine and vanished in
the gloom. Other eyes were as quick as
mine, and saw them. We instinctively knew
that they were the vanguard of the enemy,
and that soon we might expect opposition.
As we afterwards learned, one of the men at
the mine had not been able to keep the secret
from his Delilah.
"LOok sharp, lads, and get her on the line
before they come" l cried, and lent a hand
| to the ropes myself. AT last, with thud,
she was righted, and then the screw.iacks
l
rails. This was done without interruption.
The horses were hanessed to, and she began
to move merrily enough, though a rafting
noise inside made it evident that some of her
machinery was broken. 1 was beginning to
hope we might soon gain the main line, about
half mile away, when over the bank there
came some twenty or thirty men and lads.
The wheels were scotched before we could
preventit. They harnessed a couple of horses
and half dozen donkeys to the other end of
the engine. Two tar barrels they had brought
with them were set alight, aad blazed furiously,
aiiording plenty of light. / warned my men
not to have recourse to violence, and in this
was seconded by the leader of the opposite
side, who was, in fact, the purchaser of the
| engine.
:" 1t shall be fair fight" he said. "Let
US see which can pull the hardest now, and
you take your chance in the law after
| wards"
| BY mutual consent, we unscotched the
| wheels, and the tournament began. First
one party gained few yards, then the other.
The animals lugged their very hardest, aided
| by the men. The Englishinen were the
strongest, although the fewest in number,
but the incline was i'll favor of the Weshmen.
| and at first il seemed as If they WouId fri