Omaha daily bee., 1885-09-17

arrived there they arranged all In q few
W ords: thirty sous a day, 1t was hsrC
work, but he would learn quickly. Ma
hon advised him to keep on his shoes snC
lent him an old cap, a leather head dress
designed to protect tho head, q precau
Ition which the father and children dis
dslned. The tools were taken ont Of tht
chest where they found all ready thu
shovel of Florence, Then when Mahor
had shut up their sabJts and also Anton't
bundle, he suddenly became impatient
"what's the matter with that fool of
horsel We are half hour late to-day.
Zacharie and Levaque shrugged theiI
shoulders quietly. rhe first said al
length:
Is 1t Chaval we're waiting for7 He
got here before us and went down al
once"
"Whatl you knew that and you said
nothing. 4 n n Come onl CONS ool
hurry upl"
Catherine, who was warming her be.
numbed hands, started to follow the
party. Anton let her pass, then fol.
lowed. Again he found himself In a
labyrinth of stairs and blind passae es,
where the bare feet made o soft noise
like old socks. But suddenly a small
light blazed up, showing a glazed place
filled with racks where a number of
safety lamps were ranged In rows of a
hundred, inspected aud cleaned the even
Ing before, shining out like tapers at the
end of q lighted chapel. At the door
each workman took his own, placed at
his number, and examined 1t, closing 1t
up himself, while the t.me-keeper seated
at a table inscribed upon q register the
hour of the descent. Mahon was obliged
to ask for a lamp for his new pusher.
And there was still another %precaution
taken; the men walked in single file be-.
fore an Inspector who satisfied himself IL
all the lamps were we'll shut up.
"The deucel It's not warm here" muir.
INJURED Catherine, shlvering.
Anton c~ontentsd himself With nodding
his head. He again had that shrinking
feeling before the shaft, In the midat Of
the vast hall, filled with currents of air.
True, he thought he was brave, but there
came q dissgreeable sensation In his
throat ct the laundering of the cars, the
heavy blows of the signal, the smothered
belrowing of the speaking trumpet, in
the sight of the continual fight of the
cables which wound and unwound on
their drums, with the engine at full
steam. The cages rose and fell with
their stealthy movement of an animal of
the night, always taking down soma men
which the mouth of the pit Seemed to
swallow. 1t was his turn now, he was
very cold, he maintained a nervous silence
xphloh ,,olo " ,ob,,to o~l T.,o ..l,
both had disspproved the hiring OF that
unknown, Lsvaque especially, who was
offended by not having been consulted.
But Catherine was pleased at seeing her
faith er explain things to the young man.
"Sse hero, above the cage, here Ia a
safety break, some iron clamps stick into
the guides In case of a break. That
works. Oh! not always. Yes, the shaft
is divided into three compartments, in
closed by planking from top to bottom.
In the middle one are the cages, on the
left one is a ladder.
But he stopped to growl without rails
Ing his voice.
whats the matter2 Good heavens.
Is 1t right to freeze us In this msnner?'
The boss, Richmond, who was likewise
going down, his lamp fastened to a stud
on his leather esp, heard the complaint.
"Take care, the walls have ears!'
kindly said the old miner, true to his
companions. ''the work must be done.
Hold on! We are there, get In with your
people,"
The cage, composed of bars of iron and
a fine wire mask, waited for them, held
up by the locking bolts. Mahon, Zacha-
RE, Lsvaque and Catherine crawled inso
q car OF the bottom; and as 1t should
hold five, Anton entered also; but the
good places were taken, and he was
obliged to crouch down close to the
young girl whoZe elbow stuck into his
side. His lamp annoyed him, they ad-
vIsed him to fasten it to o button of his
vest. He did not hear, and held 1t
awkwardly In his hand. The loading
continued above them, q mixed mass of
humanity. 1t seemed to him 30 long
that he lost all patience. At last a jerk
shook them up and all became dark, the
objects around him disappearing while he
experienced a strange sensation of falling.
The only light of day came from above
the two stories of the Office, struggling
through the network of tImbers, then
falling into blsckness Of the pit it dissp-
peared until no longer %perceptlble to the
"Now we're off" raid Mahon, quietly.
They were all easy. But he eachmoment
asked himself lie he was rising or falling.
He was mot!onless while the cage went
down without touching the
and with sudden bumps finally
producing a shaking of the j~olsts which
him fear an accident. Meanwhile
he could not distinguish the walls Of the
shaft beyond the grating against which
he had put his face; the lamps badly lit
up the people at his feet. Only the open
lamp of the boss In the neighborIng car
burned like beacon.
"This one is thirteen feet In diameter"
continued Mahon, instructing him. "The
ought to be repaired, for the water
filters on all sides. Hold on, we are ar
at q level, do you hear?'
Anton suddenly asked himself what
that noise lika a shower. Great
finally sounded upon the top of
the csge, at first like the beginning of o
and then the rain had increased,
streaming down and changing into a
verltabls deluge. Without doubt, the
was broken in, for a stream of
water ran down the shoulders of the
uoupo man. he ramhled all ovar Tho