The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1881-12-29
UNDER A rIY-wHREI.
BIZ urNRY cLe4Exs rrcAnsoN.

IA 4--y AAn- LnC /
sighed as, with its brawny arms of pol
ished steel, it impelled the main shaft |
10 turn the wheel of the factory.
Tom worked by the door near the en-
CINE room. He could, therefore, easily /
see the engine and all its surroundings |
The interest of its rapid, ceaseless mo-
lion partly reconciled him TO the fact |
that, while most boys OF thirteen were |
enjoying full liberty outside, be was |
shut up within doors
This morning, Inore than usually, he |
had been watching the forbidden splen- |
doris Of the engine room, for the engi- |
neer allowed no one in his sanctum. |
The great machine fascinated Tom with |
its easy grace of movement. His eyes
dwelt long on the neat finish of the
hexagonal bolt heads that cleaned
about the cylinder. He tried to tell
from his position how full the glass oil
cups were, as they flashed TO and fro on
the polished arm; and then his eyes
rested on the fly wheel that revolved so
gracefully II its narrow prison. Only
One-half of the wheel could be seen at
once, the other half being below the
floor, almost filling a narrow, rock. lined
cavity called the pit"
As Tom watched the whiTling spokes,
II seemed as If the mass of iron stood
still, so swift was its motion. He re-
membered that once the engineer, seeing
his interest in the machinery, had invit-
ed him in, and that he had stood lean
ing over the frail wooden guard, his face
so close 10 the fly-wheel that the wind
from its surface blew back his hair while
he looked down into the pit with wonder
and dread. He remembered asking the
engineer if he supposed any one could
climb down there while the engine was
in motion. The answer had come:
There isn't q man in the factory that
has nerve enough, even ii there were
room"--the space between the wheel
and the wall being hardly foot and
half in width.
The boys eyes next wandered from
the object of his thoughts, and rested on
the bright brass domes of the force
pumps that occupied brick settle" on
one side of the room; and then up to the
maze of pipes that crossed and recrossed
above the toiling machinery.
Suddenly, glancing down, he saw a
little child standing beneath the guard,
close to the great fiY-wheel.
The engineer was nowhere in sight,
and little May was his only child. Toms
heart gave great leap. In an instant
he had scrambled down from his perch
and was in the engine room.
As he passed the doorway he was just
| in time to see the ckild toddle forward
and into the pit! With an awful shud-
der he waited to sec the monster wheel
spurn the baby-girl from its cruel sides
but no such sight came.
| He dashed forward and looked into
the pit She sat ON the hard, rocky
bottom, sobbing softly to herself. The
fall had not harmed her, yet she was
in great danger. ANY attempt to move
from her position would give the relent
less wheel another chance.
Tom slipped out of his brown Jump
err" tore off his light shoes and stood in
side the guard. One eager look in the
direction of the iron door through which
the engineer would come, and then hi
began the descent. The great mass o.
iron wbirled diZzily close TO his eyes
the inclined plane down which he wa
slowly sliding was covered deep will
dust mingled with oil; the thick, oily
damp air, famed by the heavy breeze
from the wheel, almost took his breatl
away. Where the curve of the whee
was the nearest, it almost brushed hi
clothes. With his back pressed tigh
against the rocks, he slid down until hi!
feet struck the bottom. And now came
the worst part of the ordeal-the pom
derous wheel sweeping in giddy curve:
above him, so affected his nerves tina
his strength began to fail. There wa
one space where the wheel curved away
from a corner, so he dropped on hi
knees there and for an instant shut hi
aching eyes.
The child was in the other corner o
the pit, sitting in an open space simila!
to that in which Tom knelt- A!
he looked past the terrible barrier, she
made a movement as If to stand up
That brought back Toms fleeing senses
If she should stand up, the vince
would strike her. Lying carefully fla
upon the bottom of the pit, he began
slowly and cautiously to work his wa
beneath the mass of hying.iron. HI
could feel the awful wind raising hi
hair as he crept along. Nearer and near
er he came 10 the child, and near to til,
curve of the wheel. AS he passed be
meath it, an incautious movement and ;
sudden burn on his shoulder showed
that he had been touched.
The little one had not seen him at al
yet, as she had been sitting and rubbing
her eyes, but she looked up now, and
seeing the pale face streaked with oil
and dust coming toward her, she COY
cred her face again with her little
hands and sobbed harder thar
|. | ever. lOm vi unbll nC ClA1lC >
near to the child that he could lay holt
of her dress; then he stopped /
strange dizzy blur kept throwing vel
over his eyes, and he tried in vain 4
overcome longing for sleep. ID
could feel the ceaseless whirl of tn
great wheel, and il made him almos
} wild. Curious vagaries and half d.
lirious fancies danced through the head
With an effort he threw them Off an
raising his face from the rock couch
called for help.
Instantly, a dozen mocking voice
from the sides of the pit flung back tn
cry into his very ears. But the whet
caught the cry and whirled it away, u
into the engine room in distorted echoe.
, He called again, and the sounds SCENE
less terrible. The little girl tried to sc
np, but he held to her white dress, an
sOothed her the best he could.
A moment later, he distinctly hear
footsteps in the engine room, then b
felt that some one was looking into tn
: pit, and then the gathering of the pisto
r IN the empty cylinder showed that tn
engine was soon to stop.
Less swiftly, and at last slowly, an
e more slowly, whIrled Toms massiv
, jailor; fainter and fainter came the ella
ter of the piston, until both ceased, an
! the engineer, with great beads of pc
! spiration on his white forehead, swun
/ himself between the harmless spokes {
the fiy-wheel and got down close to I'll
two prisoners.
/ as she hurt, Tom" he gasped.
I mo, sir" said Tom, family. aft you
only stop the fiy-wheel, I'd lift her out
: at is stopped, my lad-it's your diz2
= head that deceives you. Let me TAX
q nv little Nav"
The engineer reached down and LITE
his darling up from the dust, and, hol
: ing her fast ON one arm, climbed out.
y Tom lay still. He did not seem
: care, since the little one was safe an
u the fly-wheel had stopped. He felt
= fearful WEAKNESS stealing over him. {
Q would like to sleep year.
The engineer was by his side N
ment later, asking if he was hurt.
g mo, sir, ] think not-only a lit
n tired" said Tom, and slowly and wea
: lily his eyes closed.
u Without another word, the stroI
It man lifted him up from the rocky flo
], and its foul air, and, elm
; ing again by the spokes of q
fly-wheel, bore the boy out of his du
i geon. The AR from the open windo
soon cleared the "sleepiness" away, al
he was able to tell the whole story. III
engineer graSped his hand, but ne cou
n not speak. and there were tears in b
n eyes.
!, Many were the words of praise fro
the sturdy workmen that crowded
y from the 'steel works" to why the e
r CINE had stopped. Tom was the hero
l. the day.
When the superintendent heard of
he sent for hack and had Tom TAX
home in style, with a comfortable lit
:, present IN his pocket, and the permissi'
to be out until he should feel all rig
L again It took about week to clear 4
n dizzy feeling entirely away, and at q
" end of that time he was working at b
: machine as if he had never been und
:, a fly-wheel
P THE SWEET BY-AND-BY.
N A TaIk with the Counposer OF 4