The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1884-08-07

AAll1A6As us eyes met LH6 ElIl > AulA OF
contempt and anger. Stung by the
look he took q hasty step toward the
edge of the cliff and bent down to make
the attempt For a moment he re-
manned in that position as if entranced,
scanning the depth below, a sheer three
I hundred feet, and then q green ledge,
/ and then, far beneath, pale-blue Crum-
mock Water. With a quick shudder
| he passed his hand across his eyes and
recoiled, white to the lips.
II can't get il for YOU" he said
| hOarsely falling back, while the others
| looked Mt one another in astonishment.
And quite right, too, Mr.. Losford;
| don't try any such foolhardiness, beg"
cried Mrs. Goodwin loudly. Loudly, but
not so that he failed to hear the one
/ word Coward" or to distinguish the
| tone of contempt i'm which it fell from
her daughters lips. as she turned away.
/ The next instant he was his old calm
| self again, but be knew that he had his
! dism ssal.
| AS for the bit of blue gentian, Bob
/ brought it up in a twinkling. and chat
/ tered on in such a way as 10 earn every
ones gratitude. Yet it was a dull party
/ that wendell its way down the hill, and
/ clear it was to more than one that bud
| ding romance had come TO an end over
! the little blue flowers which nestled so
| harmlcssly in Gertrude fair hair. Yet,
mothers are sanguine, and Mrs. God
wins face grew scarlet with anger when
| the spray appeared again at dinner con-
| spicuously fastened in the bosom of her
/ daughters dress.
| If it was only an awkward hour at
! dinner that Mrs. Goodwin feared, Fate
was to save her hospitality from, to do
| her Justice, an unwOnted slur.
Where is Robert?' she asked, pet
/ know, Violet ?"
| Miss Marston did not. Bob was not
wont to be punctual, and she was about
| to say so, when the butler, who had
/ been called from the room, entered
| hastily and VIII ispered something IN his
masters ear. Mr.. Goodwin rose quickly.
my dear, this is bad news. There
| has been a fall at the lead works.
How unfortunate! l am thankful
/ the men were not at work. Or even
worse, we might have been viewing
/ them, as Robert had been plaguing us
I to do. and been all crushed together,
like any common laborers! Shocking!
/ But where can Robert be?"
81 am afraid, ma am" put in the
butler in a low voice VIII oh every one
/ heard well, with preternatural distinct
ness. that Master Rohert-leastwse he
went that way when he came back-is
in there. John has gone to the village
/ for help
There was dead silence round that
/ fair show of linen and glass and CLEAN
/ ing silver, rs if the hand which warned
/ Belshazzar had appeared upon the wall.
/ Then Gertrude 81 ded to her friend s
/ side and put her arm around her. The
/ gentlemen hurried from the room. But
/ almost as soon as they reached the
| scene the women appeared there also;
/ the poor boys sister could not be re-
1 strained, and Mrs. Godw n, whose wo-
mans heart was sound within her,
S gned to Gertrude to let her go. Any
/ thing was better than inactiOn.
Mr.. Godwin's wad hole and works
were hardly quarter of a mile from
/ the house, though hidden from it by a
steep shoulder of the hill. He guessed
! at once that the boy anxious to exhibit
| to the ladies the wad hole, had taken
the private key, which generally lay
| upon the study mantelpiece, and had
/ gone, it might be, to make some prep
erations, whereby his darling effects
would be enhanced. A servant seeking
! him when dinner was ready discovered
/ the accident, and, after giving the
alarm in the servants hall, had gone on
to the village.
rs there any bopeP' said Gertrude,
in low vo ce, with Violet Marston' s
hand tight clasped in hers. 'Are they
digging?'
The rariRg light of pine-knot fire,
Just kindled in the little Enclosure at the
mouth of the hole, fell upon a score or
two of strengthening figures, chiefly
/ women. Some were moving to and fro
before the blaze, but most of them stood
still and impressive. The shining clothes
of the men proclaimed their trade, as
they brushed, all distinctions forgotten,
against the gay dresses of the house
party.
No" replied her father, with a
groan.
The props at this end are gone, and
the men say the whole hill is coming
down. We must wait for help from
Kesw OK"
Gertrude was turning to the group in
diguantly, but one was before her.
'.Now, men, 1 can handle a pick
though l am a LondOner. Ten pounds
to every man who joins me! Don't let
them say that the Cumberland men left
their masters guest to perish because
they were towards"
The cold impassive face was aglow
with energy and excitement. Was it
Gertrude's fancy, or was it that that
| word in his voice really struck her like
a whip
''The Hill is on the move, master, and
| he be dead, too" said the foremost
man, but shame-facedly.
Hush, his sister be there,n put in a
woman, softly.
There was an instant's hesitation
while all watched the big miner; then,
after a glance at their faces:
We're with you, master ~ cried he,
Selling the tool at his feet like a giant
1 aroused.
The spell was broken; and who then
so reckless as the Cumberland men?
| Losford soon had to check them, and
assist the foreman to compel them to
uuderp;n, and take other proper pre-
cautions as they worked. In time,
more men flOcked from neighboring
/ pits to the spot, and the task was car
l ried on by gangs. Notwithstanding
Mr.. and Mrs. Godwinis entreatfes, the
poor girl most concerned would not
leave, and hour after hour, while SEEM
ingly countless loads of earth were
wheeled or carried from the deepening
/ entrance, she walked to and fro, or lay
with Gertrude's hand in hers on the
wraps laid in corner formed by two
walls. How each shining worker was
gazed at as he came from the darkness
into the blaze of the fire and deposited
his load! Whoever worked by spells,
the figure Gertrude knew best did not
appear But, when the faint lingering
4 II Al Al