Sharp County record., 1881-01-20


riven, and with a mighty burst the sea
would rush in and whelm them all! He |
took out his knife and proceeded to open /.
the lid of the canister, which, by some /.
means had been fastened down too
tightly.
But, bark! Close beside him, just
beyond the ending of the path, he heard
a rustling. cracking sound, thena crash, I
and huge fragment of rock rolled
down and he was only just in time to
leap aside before the place where he
had stood was covered with shivered
portions of as it descended, and, leap |
ing from ledge to ledge, at last, with
sullen roar. was lost in the depth below.
Still he listened, for another and more F.
dreadful sound caught his ear--the low,
swishing sound of falling water. He
crept as near as he could along the
pathway, and as he did so his face was
sprinkled with the cold spray of the tor
rent. He held out his hand, and then,
touching his lip, tasted the water. 1t
was salt!
Still and breathless as a statue he
stood for a moment; the next, holding
the lamp before him, he was rushing
with wild speed down the broken path
way away from the place, As he ap-
preached the entrance he stopped, and
for a moment looked around in bewilder-
ment-he had mistaken the road, and
instead of taking that by which he had
come, had followed another, which ab-
ruptly stopped "a mass of coal had fallen
and broken it off He had no time to
turn back. He threw his lamp down,
and, as fortune would have it, it was
not broken, but only fallen on one side
about ten feet below; then, drawing in
his breath, he prepared for the leap.
He did not know the ground-the lamp
had gone out. If he leaped he might
fall into some deep fssure; but there
was no time to hesitate. He took the
leap and fell; the firm ground was be-
meath him.
His arm was bruised and his ankle
sprained, but he hardly felt it. Relight-
ing his lamp, he dashed along through
the narrow passages towards the main
where the men were at work.
At last he met boy slowly dragging
along a small coal wagon. He caughtthe
lad by the shoulder and shouted to him:
"Can you run, WHIP"
"Ay, OF can," answered the boy.
"Then run your hardest, viii. Tell
them in the lower main the waters
coming in, and in an hour it'll be
fooded.n
"Fayther's there" the boy cried, and
without another word rushed off.
Other boys were sent to the other
parts of the mine, forced by Georges
stern voice to obey, as he told them he
would not let one man leave the pit till
they were all there.
Then he waited. And if any one had
seen his faceas he stood alone, strange
change would have been noticed in it.
There was now a look of such triumph
rant gladness as for many year had not
Tesfed there. He Stretched out his
arms like one who had just ended some
weary labor. Then his hand sank on
his bosom and he muttered'
80 God! Saved! Saved! Thou hast
kept me from it and 1 may yet save
them all"
Quickly he recovered himself and
went into a small Office where he kept
his books and instruments. He took
from a box a small revolver and some
matches and went out again. He then
set light to a heap Of shavings and dry
wood lying near the door and this soon
blazed up, Illuminating the whole place.
And again he waited.
Soon troop after troop Of the men,
flying at their utmost speed, reached
the pits mouth and a fearful sight it
was to see the struggling mass Of men,
each one, with maddened shouts and
blows, striving to come nearer to the
basket. But George Heimers' voice
was heard loud above all:
The first that touches that basket
before | tell him, I'll shoot that MANI
They saw the levelled barrel of the
revolver and drew back.
"Those that are married stand here"
And in silence the men obeyed him.
He then signaled to q certain num-
ber of them to enter the basket. Not
an instant was lost and they were hoist
ed out of sight.
The others strained their eyes to
watch the ascending mass, calculating
how soon itwould return to rescue them.
Some of the men who had their sons
with them clasped them tight in their
arms, whispering messages to be given
if they were lost, for in nearly every
case the fathers chose that the boys
should 90 in their places; some sank to
the ground muttering prayers that they
had meyer spoken since childhood, and
Others listened to George Heimers as he
told them there was still hope if they
would obey him.
Jim Massey had been in one of the
most distant workings, and was one of
the last to reach the pits mouth, and
now he stood by the wall apart, with
eyes bent down on something he held in
his hand-a lock of Agnes hair that
she had given him the night before.
More than half the number of men
were now safe; and the basket, whirled
up by those who knew just how much
depended upon their work, had just left
when George, in the calm voice with
which he had spoken before, said!
Men, who's to go next3" There
were only about twenty left, men and
boys, whom George had many time
hainod hv- words on1 daadS. thew rp-