Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1875-12-01

out of sight in the deep sand. WAS the i'm
AGE mold. SO soon to be filled with the pre-
cious cast. He knew and could see thai
al! the channels for the flow of the ficr,
liquid We're ready. and tha; near the monll
of the furnace stood the long iron roc
that WAS to be used when the moment
came to let on the molten stream.
All this his limited thoughts took in by
habit. Dimly conscious that somcthin.
great was soon to be sOnr. he sat with hi
eyes on the furnace absorbed and intent.
4 Suddenly something startled him. Thcr,
WAS 4 slight noise IN Il burning crack tp-
pearcd near the top of the furnace. Then
another crack, and Il scorching brick fell
out and rolled to the ground ut his feet.
/ The lad opened his mouth To shrirk, but
50 terrified was he that the sounds stuck in
/ his throat, as if he hal been in 4 fit OF
! night-marc.
a thin red stream followed the fallen
brick, and tricklcd down the furnace side
ike running lava. Then came another
alarming noise. and Il thin gap half WY
down the masonry let ont more of the his
sing metal.
Where was George? Was tllc unf,ilh
ful fellow still hunting for his pipe ? The
furnace was bursting. with only L poor,
half idiot lad to guard it
What cou d he do ? He did prrlrp~
what Il lad in his right mind wouId no;
have dared to do. Rushing To the mouth
of the furnace he scz -d the long iron rod
that stood near, and tapped the vent. One
desperate thrust with Il sharp point up the
terrible tunncl--;l few quick, uryin4
strokes Stand back, now The confin-
ING clay fell away. and the yellow whit,
food spurtcd out with rr>istlc>s force. Il
lcapcd into the clay-lined trough, anc
missed its flaming way down 10 tile mou.l
of the bell mold.
The" fool had done Il deed worthy OF 4
general on 4 field Of battle.
Was it to late? Every moment new
ii>sures opened in the doomed furnace.
Some of the upper stones l"pplcd over
Still the metal poured out into the mould
Bat the waste WAS great from these gap
ping flaws. The pressure was relieved by
the open vent, but the leaks multipljr,
continually. 1t WAS art running u race
with ruin
Poor " Mopus stood powclle>> before
the coming catastrophe. HIS knees
knocked together and his head SWAN. y
great heap of red hot bricks and rubbish
fell at his feet He had barely thought t,
get ont of the way and save his life IL
heard a Wild Shout of human voices in the
distance, then an awful roar behind him
and he saw and felt himself pursued hI
>urges of >cething fire. Shnp, bli>terin4
pains pierced his flesh ut :, hundred points
The rest WAS all Il horrible un;ntcliyihl,
dream. Ii WAS rs if he had suddenly >tnI
into the earth and had been swallowed n
forever.
BY seven o clock comparative q ict wa,
rtigning again on the scene OF the oii~:,>tcr
Ruins lay everywhere. The engines hr'
qucnchrI the flames that had c,u-h. tn,
building. and the men, hiachcncd Witt
smoke, stood in silent groups around tA
remains of the furnace. Il hld fallen +
pieces and nothing WIS left bat heaps oI
steaminy rubbish.
Poor " Inventors" who had been found
with the tapping rod in his hands. lynn
on his face i'll the s.,n,l, flighttu!ly burned
had been carried to hi, home.
Little was said. bat the few words >p"h
en- uttered with no mild emphasi, the n.t-
ural wrath of the master and hands
against the man George. whose excuse,
tor himself only cXtTTerltet his offence.
See what he's DONE" sid they. a few
DAYS later rs they stood in the hat burned
foundry. Five thousand dollars -on,
to waste in i minute The best juh il
twenty wears spoiled. The rascal 10 Z,
hunting for his pp, and leave that >tuttrr
ing idiot to watch / llat al he can >Il
fur himself? Out with such Carclt>>ur>>
Why the boy didn't even know cnou4h /,
bAwl ont when he must have seen III" fur
mace tumbling To pieces
The master who had more IT Stake thar
the men, of course felt the loss more keen
ly than they. He almost wrpt with min
gled grief and rayr. suddenly something
peculiar caught his eve among the debris
and he cried in 4 startled voice:
" Halo. What's this? What's th>?"
He snatched up Il fragment of one OF tia
trouyhS which had led from the fpu"dry t.
the mold. There were traces of the STREAM
of hr"nzn still running III il. Then tn
possible meaning of the iron found in The
injured boys hand flushed upon him.
. " Bring me a shovel, quick. he shout
ed.
\ >l:, lie WAS pat into his hands. AMI h
began nervouslv to hr:.vc away the hu
mass HAT lay piled over the bell mnid.
was :. hcrculcan task, but he worked like
giant, and three or iouv OF his men tool
, hold and Eelp,d him.
HrickbltS. ore, Stag and ashes flew il
every direction. Presently the master
spade penetrated the sand and he tourhc
something hard. He stopped down. Tnc
he lcapcd tIp Ike one hnli trantir an,
: plvinr hi, spa,l. with redoublcd energy
tolc away the remaining sand, disclu>In;
what looked like 4 great metallic rinr.
, Men, he cried out. lifting his tiu>hr
face. :. The bell is cast
Who did this? asked every excite
voice, us soon as the cheering died away
Come with me. two OF three of You,
+ cried the master. - think know VII
did it. It's a miracle"
, They hurried away to the home of III
half witte,l boy. The attendant me; then
, with her finger on her lips.
q The poor boy is in brain fever 81
said.
" Does he say anything iii his '.'l;r
{ um? " whispered the master.
:. Oh, yes he raves all the time loou
;, the bic bell mold. | hop" j: Will fill
:. hope it will fill he SAYS.
: The men exchanged glnncc,. il Wa
}, indeed true The idlo; had cast The ere:
- bell of ST. Johns. Just then the phys
elan came out. - Perhaps he may Icco\
= er his reason hy this shock ;tni sickness.
,, he said. q" Such things have hrppcncd. "
). " DO You think 50? Pray heaven il
o may" solemnly calculated the na>trr IN
:, his men; and they turned :twaT icepl
\ moved.
Two months later the great bell hutt
from Il huge derrick in the lathe room
the factory and beneath it stood :, nclv
, truck upon which it WAS about to he low
" " cred. A silence fell upon the group
workmen rs the pale face and feeble forl
>. Of. Inventor appeared, borne in u sma
i reclining chair. He had recovered Ii
y reason, and WAS fast getting Dack Ii
h Strength. His large gray eyes in>tnntI
~ fastened themselves on the bell,t exec
: lent master piece. whose making meant
much to him. They had told him ii
- whole story of the casting. an the dis L
,. ter in the foundry, bat it all sounded lik
:, a wild romance to him.
~ Il remember nothing that happened.
,, said he shaking, his he.th with Il smile
-. III Ill Il