The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1885-02-20

them to Ben Burnley.
II give you two, and keep two my
self" said he. "But my daughter shall
have room to herself even here; and
if you modest her I'll brain you with
this hammer"
IL don't want to modest her." said
Burnley. at amt my fault she'shere."
Then there was gloomy silence, and
well there might be. The one lamp,
twinkling family against the wall, did
but make darkness visible, and revealed
the horror of this dismal scene. The
weary hours began to crawl away, mark
ed only by Hopes watch, for in this
living tomb summer was winter, and
day was night.
The horrors of entombment in a mine
have, we think, been described better
than any other calamity which befalls
living men. Inspired by this subject,
novelists have gone beyond themselves,
journalists have gone beyond them
selves; and, without any affectation, we
say we do not think we could go through
the dismal scene before us inits general
details without falling below many gift
ed contemporaries, and adding bulk
without value to their descriptions.
The true characteristic feature of Mis
sad scene was not, we think, the alter
nations Of hope and despair, nor the
gradual sinking of frames exhausted by
hunger and thirst, but the circumstance
that here an assassin and his victims
were involved in one terrible calamity;
and as one day succeeded to another,
and the hOped-fOr rescue came not, the
hatred of the assassin and his victims
was sometimes ut odds with the fellow
ship that Sprang out of joint calamity.
About twelve hours after the explosion,
Burnley detected Hope and his daugh-
ter eating, and moistening their lips
with tea and a spoonful of brandy that
Hope had poured into it out Of his flask
to Keep it from turning sour.
what, haven't youa morsel for III y"
said the rufllan, in a piteous voice.
Hope gave sort Of snarl of contempt,
but still lie flung d crust to him, as he
would to dog.
Then, after some slight hesitation,
Grace rose quietly and too. the smaller
can, and filled it with tea, and took it
across to him.
There" 'said She, "and may God for
give your
He took it and stared at her.
1T amt my fault that YOU are here"
said he: but she put up her hand as
much as to say, "NO idle words"
Two whole days had now elapsed.
The food, though economical. was all
gone. Burnley's lamp was Pickering,
and utter darkness was abOuttO be add
ed to the horrors which were now be-
ginning to chill the hopes with which
these poor souls had entered on their
dire probation. Hope took the alarm,
seized the expiring lamp, trimmed it,,
and carried it down the one passage
that was open. This time he did not
conline his researches to the part where
he could stand upright, but went on his
hands and knees down the newest work
ing. At the end of it he gave shout
of triumph, and in few minutes re-
turned to his daughter, exhausted, and
blackened all over with coal; but the
lamp was now burning brightly III his
hand, and round his neck was tied can
of oil.
"Oh. my poor father" said Grace, "is
that all you have discoveredp"
THANK God for it," said Hope. You
little know what it would be to pass
two more days here without light, rs
well as without food"
The next day was terrible. The vio-
lent pangs of hunger began to gnaw like
vultures, and the thirst was still more
intolerable; the pangs of hunger inter-
mitted for hours at time, and then re-
turned, to intermit again; they exhaust
ed but did not infuriate; but the rage of
thirst became incessant and maddening.
Ben Burnley suffered the most from
this, and the wretch came to Hope for
consolation.
where's the sense of biding here"
said he, "tO be burned TO deeth wi
drought? Let's flood the mine, and
drink or be drooned."
"How can ] flood the mine?" said
Hope. -, 49,.
man. "Why, how many tons of water
did We draw from yon tank every day."
"We conduct about five tons into q
pit, and we send about five tons up to
the surface daily"
Then how much water will there be
in the tank now"
Hope looked at his watch and said.
"There was good deal of water in the
tank when you blew up the mine; there
must be about thirty tons in il now"
"Well, them" said Burnley, you that
knows everything, help me burst the
wall o. tank; it's thin enOw."
Hope reflected.
"If we let in the whole body of water"
sad lie, 1T would Snatter us 10 pieces,
and crush us against the wall of our
prison, and drown us before it ran
away through the INSTRUCTED passages
into the new workings. Fortunately
we have no pickaxe, and cannot be
tempted to self-slaughter."
This silenced Burnley, for the day,
and he remained sullenly apart;still tho
idea never left his mind. The next day,
toward evening, le asked Hope to light
his own lamp, and come and look at the
wall of the tank.
"Not without me-" whispered Grace.
81 see him cast looks of hatred at you.'
They went together, and Burnley babe
Hope observe that the water was trick
ling through in places, dropat time;
it could not penetrate the coaly veins.
nor the streaks Of clay, but it oozed
through the porous strata, certain strips
of blackish earth in particular, and ii
trickled down, a drop at time. Hope
| looked at this feature with anxiety, for
he was man of science, and knew by
the fate of banked reservoirs, great and
small, the strange explosive power of q
little water driven through strata by q
great body pressing behind it.
you'll see, it will burst itsen," said