The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1888-02-01
THE DEcTIvE's PRISONER.


downs Of a miners life. the topic hein:
suggested by landscape dotted witt
coal breakers and furrowed with Goa
roads
The freedom and interest of their con
versation did not seem to be iamped b,
the fact that the younger Of the tw,
carried revolver, while his companion
wore pair of those uncoveted articles o
jewelry which are known in criminalcir
cieS as . hracelets.T
The few passengers who hal observed
them learned from the Confidential
brakeman that they were noted ietec
tive and his prisoner on the way TO trial
As far as ages went. the pair might have
been taken for father and son, the fine
gray head Of the one contrasting strong
" with the crisp brown eurls Of hIi
capter.
What crime had been committed tins
brakeman did not know, bat hazzarded d
conjecture that il must have been q
pretty bad one, or John Munsen wouldn't
haze took the trouble to put them thing
on his wrists"
Presently the brakeman and the con
dnctor satisfied the joint demands of eti-
quette and curiosity by stopping to ex-
change few words with the detective
the former then Perched himself upon
the coal-box directly behind the prisoner
and the latter dropped magnificentIy into
the seat in front The train was sweep
ing around curve and past ruined
tresstle on the hillside at which both Of
the passengers looked with some inter
est.
g remember that place" said the old
er man
50 do |, responded the younger;
was born there Came near being bur
led there. too" he resumed, after a mo-
ment's pause.
How was that ?''
Its a pretty long story said the de
tecsive, bat | guess we'll have time for
II between here and the next station
Way up there on the slope Is the little
settlement where / made my dsJsli. 50 to
speak from il 10 the bottom of the hill
there used TO be gravity road-a long
winding track reaching from the settle
ment down to the top of a black wall Of
earth where slide occurred the year |
was born On both sides Of the track
grew saplings that had sprung up since
the disaster what am telling YOU hap
pened fiye years later, and they crowded
the road and hung over the old rusty
rails on which the coal cars used TO
run. You must remember tha;the h0us-
es were built near the mouth of the pit.
That was one OF the first mines worked
in this country, and one Of the first to be
abandoned. At the time am telling
about, some men. were walking up the
track, and LOT of children playing near
the top, climbing in and out Of an oldear
which had lain there since it made iss
last trip, with the broken sprarys still in
its wheels.
The men we're miners, all but one of
them, who questioned his companions
about their work and the country they
were living in. He was evidently
Presently, as they talked, shout from
the top Of the slope attracted their atten-
ton, and they looked up just in time TO
see the car begin to move slowly down
the grade.
There WIS an impatient exclamation
from the oldest man ia the party Them
brats i always up to some mischief he
said. They have started that old thing
OF at Inst I've been expeeiin' to see it
20 any time this five year. THEY'LL be
breaking their necks vet with their tom
fooling.
And another Of the group added We
must dust out Of this lively. unless We
want to get our own necks broke shell
either jump the rail, or go to pieces at the
bottom lucky there amt no one aboard
Of her
q The stranger was looking anxioGsiy
up at the approaching runaway. His
quick eye had caught sight Of something
round and golden above the blackened
rim
- There IS a child in that ear he said
qsietiy.
1t was a second or two before his
cosa apanions realized the awful meaning
Of that statement A child That was, as
if he had said that in a few moments
some one-perhaps one Of themselves
world be cfiidless.
With one impulse they turned to
look al the brokea rails by the edge of
the fault shuddering. they fixed their
eyes again on the approaching mass, and
then hopelessly on each ether They
could not dream of stopping the progress
IF the ear But as quick as thought, al
most. the stranger took hold Of a saplin-
md bent Il dosn till il nearly touched
the track
Hold it, he said, to one Of the men
it will help to check ner
A rod further down another, and then
l third and fourth were held down in the
same way So four of the party waited
'or few breathless seconds, while the
.wo remaining ones hurried further down;
1ut one more effort. and the ear was upon
hem. The first obstacle was whipped
)ut Of the hands Of the strong man who
leId it, and the car rushed on to the SER
md with scarcely lesseued force Again
he barrier vas brushed aside, but This
line the speed of the old wreck was per-
,eptibly less By the time the fifth OBJ
was reaches. the newcomer was
lble to Chamber aboard and throw the
hid into the arms Of his comp lnion, but
,efore be had time to save himself the
ID truck had regained something Of It's
aad was plunging on towards
he precipiee-
We'll, the man jumped Just as they
cached the edge. just before his vehicle
hot oser into the air. but he had very
little time ~ choose bis ground, and 50
anded, as luck would have it, on the only
heap Of stones in sight. The Others pick
a him up for dead, and carried him up
o the settlement, where the miners held
wake over him But he came 10 life in
he middle Of the festiv-the obsequies.