The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1873-10-22
ing q lamp, aud the young man
WOnderin9iN. did 50. - .-...-

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: wonderingh' Gdyso. ...e:.
: A ladder brought them intoa sort
Of cellar int be rock, from wilielllcei
u narrow passage. On each side lay
glittering heaps of rich quartz,
and there were rudely construct
ed machines for crushing, etc.
Several strong boxes stood about.
"You wonder at what YOU sec. "
said Carter, whose excited man.
ner now left no question as to his
mania; land this is mine. They
all think me poor, but am RICH
er than you can imagine. No.
body knows Of this vein but me.
l have worked it all alone: and
even Nell don't know oti.. These
boxes contain thousands Of solid
! gold. Your precious nugget shall
be added to my store, and you
shall never live 10 tell of finding
it?"
Weyland had scarcely timo to
comprehend what be had heard be-
fore he WAS felled TO the ground
by a terrible blow from a pickaxe.
When he became conscious he
felt a giddincss in his head that
told him he was considerably hurt.
Then came a sensation Of heat
and suffocation, then the sound Of
cracking flames overhead and i
glow Of the red light.
The cabin was on FIRE!
Too weak to rise TO his feet, Wcy-
land still was too much bcwildered
to fully comprehend his terrible
situation. The crazy man had
stumbled with the light and set
fire to the building. There SEEM
ed no avenue Of escape, unless by
the cxcavated vein in the rock
Weyland crawled 10 it and found
it to- bea small passage. 1t was
inky dark, but he crcpt on, still
too weak to walk. !
The flames cracked louder, and
the air became thick with smoke.
Close as he was to the ground he
could scarcely breathe. Making
bis way along the passage in the
darkness, with a deathly faintncss
arising alike from his injury
and partial suitocalion-crept over
him ; but, well-knowning that to
faint now would be death, he
crawled on. ".....
A few feet further on, a barrier
Of solid rock hemmed him in.
"The excavation goes no fur
ther," he cried. IL am lost. The
air, with no outlet will become
too foul to breathe in i've min
utcs I"
At that instant he felt Il strong
current of air blowing in his face.
Ie could have shouted for joy, had
his strength been sufficient.
The draft told him. that the fire
was creating an influx Of pure air.
Then the vein must have an open
ing somewhere. Feeling about he
found that the passage took an alb
rupt turn to the right. Revived
by the comparatively fresh air, he
managed with great effort to
prodceed.
On and on he went--the dis
tancc, although really not very
grcat, seeming so to him, cnfeebled
as be was. =
At last he saw . faint glimmer
Of light ahead, and then he came
to a loose stone wall, through
which the rays streamed. This
part of the excavation was an
abandoned one. which Carter had
struck into at the abrupt turn men
toned. and he had walled it up to
prevent discovery.
AS Weyland reached the wall,
he heard the sound Of q human
voice. Was it a fancy? Was he
becoming dclirious? 1t was the
voice Of Nell, singing song that
he had often heard. >.... ~. -.
Giddiness again came over him !:
but, with despairing cry, he tot
tered to his feet, and fell heavily
against the wall.
The loosely-piled stones fell out
ward under his weight, carrying
with them the mass Of vines and
twigs with which they had been
clevcrly hidden on the outside.
The next instant, Nel! ,astonishcd
by the sudden appariton. wasl kneel-
ing over the form Of her uncon-
cious lover. Returning from her
crrand, she mad passed the masked
opening at the instant Weyland
tumbied from it with tho stones
and debris.
Help was obtained, and his bad
ly.gashed head properly attended
to. Scarcely had this been done,
when the news Of the burning of
the cabin was brought, and that
"Old Grip had perished in the
flames.
Wcyland and Nell were subsc-
quently married, and the product Of
Cartcr's insane and secret mining
furnishes them with ample wealth.
And they can sincerely forgive
his attempted murder, knowing
that an irresponsible mania iucltcd
him to lis mission.
An Omaha man, desiring to get rid
of hic mother-in.lav at very short no.