The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1886-10-06

| took my lace between her two trembiin!
hands, and kissed me on the forehead.
God will bring you backr' she sobbed
and turned awav.
Scarcely realizing the significance of wha
had occurred, / descended rapidly, followe,
by Michael and the volunteers AS went
the roar from below increased, and the sole
rock on which the ladder was set seemed Il
shake as with earthquake. In pitch dark
ness reached the first platform.
Here l paused. and striking a light, lit thu
candles on my person. Ny companions did
the same. The lurid light lit up their pale
anxious faces, and shot faint rays down int
the mine.
Now, then, ladsr' cried, descending til,
second stage of ladders. Some of these wers
very shaky, and had TO use great caution
but knew the way bIindfold. and all my
old experience of the place stood me in goot
stead.
At last, with no harm done to any one, We
reached the central platform. Here the roal
was deafening, and the solid rock seemed
splitting with the sound
bent over the abyss, and held down the
light, using my hand as reflector Sure
enough, several of the ladders had broken
away, leaving only the precipitous shaft,
steep as the sides of well. | strained my
eyes into the darkness, and fancied l dis
cerned, far beneath, something like the
CLEAN of dashing water Then / shouted
but my shout was drowned in the subterra-
mean tumult.
On the central platform was windass,
| with portien of an old disuSed crane.
| Round this | passed one of the ropes, in
strueting the men to hold one end and grad
ually give way or draw in as | should direct
Then | took the other end, and fastened il
securely under my arm-pits.
1T be nav use, Measter Hughr' cried
Michael. ',Dawn't zee go. 1t be gawing to
your deatht''
But finding that | was not TO be persuaded,
the brave fellow wrung my hand, and prom
| ised TO do his best to help me; nor were the
others less kindly and sympathetic. As they
lowered me over the platform, | partially
| supported myself against the Shiny rocks I;
but the next moment l was suspended in air.
| Slowly, carefully, they lowered me down,
| the candles on my person Pickering and
flaming, and lighting up the damp and Oozy
walls. AT last, some twenty yards down my
| foot rested on a ladder, descending which
reached the lowest platform of all.
| Looking up, l saw far above me, as in
narrow frame, the faces of the men. shout
| ed to them, but they could not hear; but
waved a signal to them, and they answered
back. Then | released myself from the rope,
and prepared to look around.
Suddenly my foot struck against something
soft, like body; and. stopping down, light
in hand, l saw two of the miners lying
| among the debris of the broken ladder, stone
dead, and dreadfuliy dishgured. One was
Jem Tredgar, colossal young fellow from
Penzance, six feet high, and weighing over
fifteen stone. The fall had smashed him like
an egg, and death had been instantaneous.
Full of new horror, leant over the
platform and looked down. AS did so, my
head went round and l should have fallen
had | not clutched again at the rope, which
swung loose close to my hands.
Right under me, flooding the bottom of the
mine, rOared the sea, boiling backward and
forward with wild pulsatiOns along the
shafts and galleries through which it had
broken in. A salt spume rose from it, and
the walls of the shaft were dripping and
dashed with clots of foama From the point
where stood, the last ladders had been en-
tirely washed or broken away.
The roar was deafening, but shouted
with all my might. l paused and listened !;
no answer came.
Again shouted; again paused and list
ened.
heard a faint voice answering me.
My heart stood still. Then, with an effort
l shouted again.
The faint cry was repeated.
who's there?' called; but the sound of
my voice was blown away, and only the
same faint cry came in answer.
| seized the rope and, looking up to the
men above me- pointed downward they
Signaled. and seemed to understand. Then
secured the rope again under my armpits,
and, signaling to them to give way, swung
over the platform.
My instructions to the men had been sim
pie. When tugged once at the rope they
were to lower away, when | tugged twice
they were to stop lowering, when / tugged
three times. sharply, they were to haul in.
The further L descended, the greater grew
my peril; for the rope was not strong one,
and many of the outjutting points of rock
were sharp enough TO sever it by friction;
acd to which, that the long swing at such
distance rendered it liable to break, should
there be anywhere a weak or rotten strand.
As went down, was conscious of flying
spray and splashing water, and when had
descended some fifteen yards, my feet touch
ed the sea. However, L made no sign, but,
entering the water, found myself waist-deep,
twice at the rope, and looked about me.
The spot where l stood formed sort of
submerged shingle, sloping down to the
deeper portions of the shafts and galleries.
On every side the sea rushed and boiled. As
stood there, it surged up TO my breast and
extinguished the lights | carried on my per-
sOn-only those escaping which were stuck,
mineT-fashion, in NV hat
| shouted again, almost despairing of an
answer. To my amaze. voice answered
close by, and. straining my eyes, L saw,
cr0uchng on a ledge of rock just flush with
the water, two human figures.
One sat recumbent with his head against
the wall; the other lay senseless, resting his
head on the first ones lap. More like
gnomes or wild beasts they seemed, dripping
wet, and covered with filth and ooze. But
even in the faint light l recognized them.
The man sitting was my uncle. John Pen
dragon. The man lying senseless was
George Redruth.