The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1875-11-19

tainly made the inventors eyes do the
most II the looking. Whether he felt a
kind u reckless trust in the instinct 81
his half-Witted companion. or indOlently
concluded that nothif- wrong could
happen. he was sadly 10 blame for
charging himself 80 little with the inn
portant duty before him.
Not a word was said by either watch
or. and only the deep IHar Of the fur
mace was heard through the vast ioun-
dry.
George finished his supper, and saur-
tered into one Of the tool shops 20 find
hi, pipe. :. Inventor sat alone before
the great blast. The one rational fac
ulty Of his feeble mind enabled him "a
comprehend what il meant. and even
something 81 the magnitude Of the en-
terprise that was ripening inside those
burning walls. He knew that the fur
mace was full OF valuable metal, and
that close beside him. buried out If
sight in the deep sand. was the huge
mold. So soon % be filled with the pre-
cious cast. He knew and could see that
al the channels for the flow Of the fiery
liquid We're ready. and that near the
mouth Of the furnace stood the long
iron rod that was "a be used when the
ONE came 10 LEI on the motion
stream.
All this his limited thoughts took in
bv habit. Dimly conscious that some
thing was soon 10 be done. he sat with
his ewes on the furnace absorbed and
intent.
Suddenly something startled him.
There was a slight noise and a burning
crack appeared near the top If the fur
mace. Then another crack, and n
scorching brick fell out and rolled 10
the ground At his feet.
The lad opened his mouth 10 shrek.
but 20 terrified was he that the sounds
stuck in his throat. as if he had been in
= III u nightmare.
\ thin red stream followed the fallen
hrick. and trioklcd down the furnace
side ike running lava. Then came an
other alarming noise. and a thin gap
half way down the masonry let out more
OF the kissing metal.
Where was George? Wasthe unfaith-
full fellow still huntington his pipe? The
furnace WAS bursting with only a poor,
half-idiot lad to guard it.
What could he do? He did what per-
haps a lad in his right mind would not
have dared TODD. Kushingtothe mouth
of .he furnace. he seized the long iron
rod that stood near. andtapped thevent.
One desperate thrust with a sharp point
up the terrible funnel few quick pry-
ing strokes. Stand back now. The
combining clay fell away. and the yellow
white flood spurted out with resistless
force. IL leaped into the clay-lined
troughs. and Kissed it, way. flaming
down to the mouth Of the bell mold.
The fool" had done a deed worthy
u a general on a field If battle.
Was il too late2 Every moment new
assures opened in the doomed furnace.
Some Of the upper stones toppled over
still the metal poured out into the mold.
But the waste was great from those gap
ping flaws. The pressure was relieved
by the open vent. but the leaks multi
Piled continually. 1t vas art running a
race with ruin.
Poor Mopus stood powerless he
fore the coming catastrophe. Ills knees
knocked together and his head swan.
A great heapo Of red-hot bricks and rub
bish fell at his feet. He had barely
thought 10 get out II the way and save
his life. He heard a wild shout Of hui
man voices in the distance, then an
awful roar behind him, and h. saw and
felt himself pursued By surges OF seeth-
ing fire. Sharp, blistering pains pierced
hi flesh ut a hundred points. The rest
was all a horrible. unintelligible dream.
Ii wa a. il he had suddenly sank into
the earth and had been swallowed up
forever.
BY seven o'clock comparative quiet
reigned again on the scene Of the dis
aster. Ruins Law everywhere. The
engines had quenched the flames that
had caught the building, and the men,
blackened with smoke, stood in silent
groups around the remains Of the fur
mace. 1t had fallen to pieces and moth
ing was left but heaps Of steaming rub
biSh.
Poor Inventor, who had been found
with the ta~pping-rod in his hands, lying
on his face in the sand, frightfully burn
cd. had been carried to his home.
Little was said. but the few words spo-
ken uttered with no mild emphasis the
natural wrath Of the master andhands
against the man George, whose
for himself only exaggerated his Of
fense.
See what he. DONE said they, a
few DAYS later, as they stood in the
half-burned foundry. Five thousand
dollars gone 70 waste in n minute. The
best job in twenty years spoiled. The
rascal. To 20 hunting for his pipe, and
leave that suffering idiot to watch. Is
that ali he can say for himself? Out
upon such carelessness, Why. the hoy
didn't even know enough to bawl out
when he must have seen the furnace
tumbling TO pieces!n