The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1878-02-09


Until seventy times seven.'' .ss.
He adjusted his hat patiently told himself
! tnere was never so worthless a sot on Gods
earth, so damnable an incubus on a decent
man 5 life. Which was, probably, true enough
! Nicholas had been sorelv tried and had borne
MS trial with patience for years.
/ The meadow was a stretch of dark deer
weeds; one or two old cedars grew in the cen
ter, and then gloomy shadow,
~, Mr. Harbour suddenly remembered its name
The Cedar Pasture. What was it that he had
/ heard of an old shaft sunk for iron. and moi
! properly covered! What if poor Jack should
TALL into it He started to ran after him, and
| then stopped suddenly
Bah He's not born to that sort of ill-luck.
~ send him to New York Tomorrow and re-
mt to him regularly. He'll live to goodly
! OLD age, to blaeken my life" HNH.ff
| He turned and walked toward the town,
skirting the field, His pace was angry and
| hurried Capt. Harbour paused and looked
back at him. In the red evening glow the
hgure crossing the dreary field stood out clear
and dark. "HH..|
! And that is my mothers sonw muttered
John bitterly, land my last chance"
He. heard stifed cry and stared with
amazement over the vacant meadow. The
| dark figure was gone.
Ill news flies fast in village like Kerr's
FORD. In ten minutes there were excited
| groups crowding from all points to the cedar
meadows, and everybody knew that the minis
ter had fallen into the old shaft. ......
They stood about the black gap from which
the brambles had been torn away by his fall,
with pale faces, saying little. No vulgar pre-
tension or malicious sneers now. Here was
| genuine grief genuine human feeling. The
women, black and white, stood apart sobbing
silently. Only such men spoke as had some
| practical suggestion to offer-the Judge and
the, young Hollis and Burwells. The men of
fashion of the village, with their coats off,
worked under Plumer the blacksmith orders
They had rugged up a pulley to let rope
| down.
Col. Caldwell, on his knees, shouted into the
hole; Mr.. ,Harbourr'
| No answer. .t.
s. Do you hear me, sir!' r
! The silence was like death. The women
shuddered. o.
could the first fall have killed him?'' said
Caldwell, looking up to DR.. Peters.
Hardly. The shaft is narrow. His fall
would be broken.' ..s.
Does anyone know how deep it is!"
| Old Mr.. Holt pressed forward. sit was
reckoned sixty feet in my time.'
There was young girl standing apart from
the others. She noticed that the men uncon-
| sciously spoke in whispers, as in the presence
of the dead. She came nearer
He is not dead,n she said. Good could
not do that. Lower the rope.n
They did So The iron bar at the end
knocked against the sides, the stones and clay
ratified down. But no other sound came up
| from the yawning pit.
The Judge leaned over. Mr. Harbour! If
you cannot speak, take the rope and give it a
jerk"
There was amoment Of absolute silence; but
the rope hung loose.
The Judge stood upright. eve are too
late, doctor"
"No, no. We forgot. The shaft is, no
doubt, full of foul gases. The man is stupe-
fed. A bunch of hay, quickr
The hay was lighted and sent down. 1t was
at once extinguished. -
81 told you So More, morel We must
burn it out"
They began to let down burning bundles of
it. The process was slow; the hay had to be
brought from distance.
In the meantime" said the doctor, " Har-
bour will die Somebody must go down.
Not man spoke. In the digging of WELL
a year before, three laborers had been killed
by the fire damps. They had all seen their
limp bodies as they were dragged out The
horror of it was upon them still.
Somebody must CO." said Caldwell, look
upon his arm. ''You! Poor child! What
could you do3 Mother, take Miss Clevedon
away. This is no sight for her. Come come
Who is going!"
81 am ready" A man stepped forward. He
wore ragged evening suit; carried himself
his face, which ugly blotches made more con-
spicuous.
The Judge hesitated, the ropes in his hand.
" Yes-ah-you mean that you will go down
the shaft!"
'Of course. Go mp holding out his arms
There's no time to be LOST
The Judge looped the rope about his waist.
''You-you understand the risk, suppose? 1t
is good deal to take for stranger You
know Mr.. Harbour, probably!n
The man nodded. 81 knew him. Now lower
me-, When | jerk the rope once, lower me
farther; twice, pull me up, and quickly"
They lowered him. In moment the rope
was jerked violently twice and he was dragged
up breathless and livid.
''You see ~ said Caldwell 'We must burn
more hay. No man will throw away his life in
this way"
John had revived by this time. "There is
| no time to burn hay. Lower me again. | am
ready. will not come up so soon again"
The rope went down again. Minute after
| minute passed before the signal was given. 1t
was feeble then, two faint pulls but the
weight was doubled on the rope
HE has tied on the body" they muttered,
| Juggling away.
| Two bodies-two dead bodies, as it seemed
were brought out and laid on the grass.
! Strangely enough, it was Nicholas Harbour
who revived the first His temperate life and
youth told in his favor. When he opened his
| ewes Safan OleNeQOn was C0aNng MS HdHu.
| When he stood up she held it still, as though
| she had been his wife, and did not blush be-
| fore all the people 1t seemed right and nat
ural in Gods sight that it should be so.
"Who was it that saved me!' he said The
| crowd drew back. The stranger was lying or
the grass, his rags covered with clay and
| blood, a darker pallor on his face. But there
was in it a look which had not been there fol
years; a look which belonged to the innocent
| boy which he once was.
The clergyman was seized with a great
! trembling; he pushed them aside, ran anC
threw himself down beside him, held him tC
his breast, rubbed the cold hands. They die
| not warm in his. r4.
An hour ago he could have saved this man
| soul and body. Now
SIm afraid it's of no use," said Mr. Holt
"The poor fellow has given his life for you"
Nicholas drew back to make way for the ply
stefan. -
He stood under the cedar. Sarah spoke t.
him and touched him, but he did not see OF
hear her. The blood of his brother cried
against him from the ground. He remembered
Jack when they were at school together
What a warm-hearted, gallant little chap he
was How he fought all his battles for him
All the years between were wiped out HI
thought of one day when their mother tool
them home on half-holiday How happy
they were; how they hung about her; ant
when they fell asleep how she was kneeling by
their bed, her arms about them both. The
very last thing, they heard her whisper: My
-. L. hat no =