Omaha daily bee., 1885-09-17

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again, resppsarlng at the end of fouI
minutes, only to take on q new gang o
men. For a half hour the shaft swSl
lowed them up in this msnner, with
mouth more or less greedy, according t
the depth Of the level to which they de-
scended. But without a pause, Away
hungry, with the stomach of . gisnt ca
psbls Of dlgestlng a family. 1t filled
itself repeatedly, and while the shadows
still remained the cage rose out of the
pit In the same eager silence.
Anton was again overtsken with the
dIsheartened feeling which he had already
experienced outside. Why trouble him
self that superintendent would dismiss
him like the others. A vague fear sud
denly determined him, he went away and
stopped outside Just before the boiler
building. The door, wide open, showed
seven boilers and two furnaces. In the
midst of white steam and a kissing noise,
a fireman was occupied In charging one
of the furnaces, the scorchiug heat OF
which could be felt as far as the door
sill; and the young man pleased with the
thought of getting warm was approach
Ing, when he nearly ran into another
company of coal men who were arriving
at the mine. 1t was Mahon and Levaque,
when he perceived Catherine ahead with
the air of q quiet boy, the wild idea
seized him of risking a last inquiry.
"Say, now, comrade, they have NO
need of a workman here for anything,
have theyl'
She looked at him In surprise, a little
afraid of that sudden voice which came
in out of the shadow. But, behind her,
Mshon had heacd, and he replied, stop.
ping o little as he spoke. No they had
no need of any one, But that poor devil
of a workman dying upon the road, in
terested him; when he left him he said
to the others:
"Well, we might BIO like that; we
shouldn't complain, every one hasn't
work to kill them"
The company entered and went straight
to the waiting room, A great hall, rude
ly plsstered, surrounded with closets
which were secured with padlocks. In
the csnter a huge furnace, a kind of
stove without cover, was glowing, 80
stuffed with burning coal that pieces were
cracking and sizzling upon the floor of
beaten earth. The hall was only lit up
by that fire of living coal, the reflections
of which danced along the dirty wains-
coting up to the ceiling which was GOV.
cred with black dust.
When the Mahons arrived, laughs
broke forth in the great heat. Thirty of
the workmen were standing, their backs
to the flame, roasting themselves with an
air of enjoyment. Before the descent
they all came there to take and carry
away in their skins a good bit Of fire, to
brave the dampness below. But that
morning they were more cheerful, they
joked with Morquette, o coal scraper of
nineteen years, a jolly girl, whose large
breasts and hips swelled out her vest and
breeches, She lived In Requilsrt, with
her father, old Moque, a groom, and her
brother Moquet, a miner. The hours
Of work were the same for all, but she
came alone to the mine, and among the
wheat fields In summer or behind walls In
winter she met her lovers of the week.
She had had the whole mine, q fact
mentioned by her companions without
further notice. One day when a nail.
maker of Marchiennes had tainted her,
she nearly died of anger, crying that she
respected herself 30 much; that she would
cut off an arm IL any one could say they
had seen her with another than O
miner.
liant 1t the big ChRval any more?'
said a miner, laughing. "And you're
takln' that little fellow. He'll have to
use a ladder, I've seen you bshind
Requillart, and to prove it he was stand
Ing on a stone" "Well2" responded
Moqustte, in a GOOD humor, 'what's
that to you2 We didn't call you to help
u.s."
And these rude pleassntrles increased
the mirth of the men who were thro wing
forward their shoulders, scorched by the
fire, while they shook with laughter.
She walked among them, with an impu.
dent air and tantalizlng joke, with her
projecting Jumps of flesh exaggerated
even to a deformiLy.
Meanwhile thu fun ceased. Moquette
was telling Mahon that Florence, big
Florence, could come no more; they had
found him the day before dead upon his
bed, some said Of a disease of the heart, |
and others, of a pint of gin drunk too
quickly. And Mahon was In despair
the mishap, that was a loss of one
of his scrapers, without being able to
Immediately replace him. He did piece.
work there were four beavers associated
at his work, he. achsrie, Lsvaque and
Chaval. If they had only Catherine to
push the cars, the work was going TO
suffer. Suddenly he had an idae:
"Hold on! there's that man who was
looking for work."
Just then Dansaert passed through the
waiting room. Mahon RELAXED the trouble
to him, asking leave to hire the man;
and he insisted upon the wish of the
company to gradually replace the push
ers like youths az at Anzln. The sup
erlntendent smiled at first, the idea of
excluding the women from inside was
generally repugnant to the miners, who
were not uneasy at placing their
daughters there, little touched by the
question of morality or health. Finally,
after having hesitated, he gave permits
sion, but with the reservation that his
decision should be ratified by NJ. Negrel,
the engineer.
SAIL right" declared zacharls, "the
man Is not far off II he has walked at
ALL"
"No," said Cathsrine, 81 saw him stop
at the boilers"
go after him. idiot" cried Mahon.
The young girl rushed out, while a
crowd of minors started down the shaft,
the fire to the Others. Johnnie
did not wait for his father, but also