The Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1885-1886, 1886-01-30

coffin, or purse, leaped out of the fire and
fell at her feet almost upon her dress He
stopped swiftly and picked it up, and tossed
it into the CRATE When he looked at her
again their eyes met He remembered after
ward how he had observed the convulsive
clasp of her hand on the mantelpiece A
sudden timidity seized him-he began to
apologize.
Forgive me. only speak of it because
have your welfare at heart-and his
"But you say he is dyingi'
Love has conquered death before now"
"If love him might save him"
II think So"
Again Mr. Browell's step was heard-he
WIS crossing the hall to the drawing room
now Rose shivered
"Oh," she said, how dark it has grown!@
There was yearning sound in her voice,
a kind of double entendre that be recognized
vaguely, and the next moment the door
opened and food of light from the gas in
the hall streaIned in around the hosts portly
figure and that of servant carrying the
coffee.
There was hustle thea and noise-a poking
of the drowsy fire, lighting of candles, talk
ing; in the midst of it Rose escaped for a few
moments. She came hack TO perform her
quota in the evenings proceedings. Garry
hardly looked at her again. When he said
goodnight he found an opportunity to ask;
Are you angry with me-"
"For surprising my secret! Oh, nor
She gave him a cold little hand that trem-
bled in his grasp Thank you" she said,
''you are so clever, and
He held the hand closely Again that
dumb bewilderment was in his eyes. The
words that came to his hps might or might
not be the Interpretation of his thoughts.
"The whole thing perplexed me so am
glad have found out, he said with faint
smile; these things are difficult to under
stand"
Then he left her and went home He had
faced the problem, he was on the point of
securing two peoples happiness, and yet
These things are difficult 10 understand"
he repeated to himself Perhaps, after all.
i is mistake TO theorize-on love"
He threw himself back in the huge, leather
covered easy chair that had been the back
ground to 50 many dreams, day or night
and Lit pipe, and through the curling
wreathes Of smoke he saw innumerahle Wis
ions Most of them concerned Rose Browell;
her face came before him with curious per
sistency. He began to picture her future if
she married Mark Taylor. Well, it was the
fate he had sometimes imagined for her.
Then his pipe went out and he dreamed a
dream-a tiresome, perplexing dream, in
which he was perpetually feeling for some
thing that eluded his grasp; bright, mys-
terious something without which he felt con-
scious that all else was valueless. When he
awoke the fire was out and he was shivering
with cold. He looked at himself in the mir
ror; his face wore a blank and chilled ex-
| preston.
Just as If / had gone ont too" be
thought Then he looked at a photograph
| of Rose Browell that she had given him,
that stood on the chimney piece, and touched
h irresolutely first; then he surprised hun
self by Selling it and passionately kissing it.
As he did so he caught sight of his own
face in the glass again; it looked old and
wan and desperate He faced himself
| gravely.
$50 that's it," he said "You fool, your
1t was as if the man lived through life
| time in those few moments that he stood
there, holding the photograph to his breast
in passionate cares When be put it back
| in its place his very lips were white. He
took up candle mechanically; the clock on
the bracket pointed to quarter to one.
| Suddenly the silence of the night was
broken by strange, confused sound Of feet
and voices outside There was hurried
clatter on the doorstep, a violent ring at the
bell
He stepped out and opened the door to
face group of eager, scared faces as white
| as his own.
"An accident, doctor, at the pit, said a
voice Its an explosion; how bad, isn't
known. Will you comep
The doctors Overcoat and hat were hang
ing close by; he seized them without stop
ping to ask questions The little crowd hung
breathlessly to hurry him away.
sour Toms down." said voice among
them. Then woman's sob was heard Then
they all hurried away in the darkness to the
pits mouth.
The tragedy had come on them so sud
denly and silently. Even when they got to
the pit there was nothing much to see; only
people fitting about with lanterns, only q
| NhSb iii cdoAiiS u WHICH tAih
children running, as the news spread, to
seek for affirmation or contradiction of it.
1t was true that an explosion Of gas had
occurred; it was awfully true that the mouth
of the pit was blocked by the debris, and
that several hundred men were entombec
below
There was very little said among the by
ISLANDERS, very little said by the officers who
were gathered soon TO revolve means Of res
cue. The night was so cloudy and blacl
that the people hurrying to and fro coul6
only see each other indistinctly; the catas
trophe was so awful that it struck them al
dumb.
DR.. Gary did what he could. He movet
about among the trembling, stricken women
he ventured with the desperate men as neal
as they could get to the mouth Of the shaft
Soon there was way into the pit opene'
by means Of staple, and the first of tn
rescuing heroes descended, clinging fear
lessly to the rope that was to lower him int
a scene of horror and probable death. Whel
this explorer came up again he reported tina
certainly some of the entomed men wer
alive, and then rescue parties were prompt,
formed
1t was toward the breaking of dawn whel
they brought up the first victim to the fata
after-damp He was a middle-aged man
and his wife and daughter had been waitin
since tho news of the catastrophe hurrie
them from their homes, shivering ind awe
stricken ut the pits mouth.
They received the rescued one with sob
ana walling-their overrought nerves givin