The Hot Springs star. (Hot Spings [Hot Springs], Dakota [Dakota Territory, i.e. S.D.]) 1886-189?, 1888-08-10

had descended perhaps q hundred
yards when suddenly its movement
was arrested. Don Rafael felt q aud.
den chill that penetrated the very MAJ.
row Of his bones and CONCEALED his
blood. He comprehended the horrible
plot. Jose was going to cut the cable
and dash him to . mass of lifeless.
shapeless flesh by a fall of six hundred
yards to the bottom of the shaft.
Directing . look of desperation
toward tho nearest wall, he perceived
projecting from 1t, half a yard OF a IN
tie more. q piece Of timber that he'd
served to support a scaifold.
To cast the torch to the bottom Of
the shaft. swing himself upon that
t~reacherous support. and detach HIM
self from tho cable was the work
OF a few seconds, and hardly had
he accomplished it when the cable
parted far above, and fell with a great
splashing noise into the water almost
two thousand feet below. Involuntarily
q cry of terror escaped him. which was
answered at the mouth of the shaft
with q sarcastic and savage horse-laugh
that, in spite Of himself, made him
tremble.
Afterward profound silence rcigned,
aud Don Rafael, submerged in dark
ness. remained seated on that fraiD
piece OF wood, vaciliating OVER that
enormous abyss, into which the slightest
circumstance might hurl him, with the
certainty of being dashed to fragments
at the bottom.
The silence was broken only by the
crcaking of ropes, the water drippcd
from the ascending buckets, and oc-
casionally by the smothercd con-
cussion Of the miners tools some-
where in the black depths below. But,
suddenly. among these divers sounds.
was distinguished one that filled Don
Rafael with horror.
The wooden perch on which he was
seated begant to manifestsigns o fbrcak.
ing!
Time and moist mir had caused de.
cay, and the timber was Welding
under his weight. In cffccting his
safety he had only prolonged q little
while his agony.
Pressing closely against the wall, he
tried to find some fissure in the rock
for his hands; but his fingers were only
torn by the pitiless rock, which re-
fused To permit any diminution of the
weight on his fragile perch in this
manner.
Presently. alugubrious chant swelled
up from the depths of the shaft-an
Immense sound of human voices that
seemed q cry of agony wrenched from
many hearts by the pain of toll. It
was the alabado which is sung by the
miners upon the death of ono of their
fratcrnity-a melancholy medley of
ayes and lamentations that forms 4
kind of s0rrowful and pathetic melody
with which those who are condemned to
ihurssant labor to the end of life salute
the happy departure of an emancipated
soul.
Already notice of the supposed death
of Don Rafael had arrivedin those sub.
terranean caverns, and all the habi-
tants of tho mine were chanting the
song Of praise, which also was the song
of mourning. Meanwhile . the
treacherous beam on which Don Rafael
sat, hearing. far below the song that
announced his own death, was crack
ing!
The sad cadence of that song, mclo-
dious and mournful, like a psalm at
the threshold of the tomb, ceased, and
the muficd sound of the strcam-cables.
going up with water and returning for
more, SEEMED to Don Rafael a pcndu-
lum marking the moments of his de-
parting life.
Tho fragile beam was already i'm
clining toward the horrible depth Of
the abyss; the hands of Don Rafael
were sgrasping the jagged points of
rock with desperation; the moment of
his precipitation to Il horrible death
was very near. Suddenly the sound of
many voices came from the mouth of
the shaft. The criminal had notified
the directory of IN acciicnk, and all the
employees came to see the body of tho
administrator brought from the bottom
of the shaft.
Looking up. Don Rafael saw .
rapidly descending torch. In the next
moment a man suspended on a cable
of descent. with his back toward him.
passed his fearful perch. 1t
~as the %cajoncro. Jose.
Instantly Don Rafael sprang from
his perch and seized the cable, some
distance above the man atthe end Oft.
This movement lossencd the beam from
its anchorage aud it fell. Tho noise
aud the movement of the cable caused
Jose to look up. Seeing Don Rafael
he commenced to blaspheme, and hold.
ing u dagger between his teeth, to
climb toward him. Between the two
men there was u space Of some twenty
yards. and while Jose assembled Don
Rafael fastened himself in u stirrup OF
cable that was swinging violently.
Asthe torch was impeding tho ascent
of Jose, he east it to the bottom, and
the shaft was again in darkness.
Seeing that the light was cXtinguish-
ell. the employees feared some new ac-
cident, and began to haul up the cable
will. great rapidity.
Having secured his position, Don
Rafael drew from his pocket q clasp
knife and tried To cut the cable below
him. He could hear the labored
breathing of his adversary, who com-
pretended the design of the admins
traitor. and vas asserting his utmost
strength To gain the position of the
latter in time to avert his own plunge
to the bottom of the abyss to which
he had u short time before, dispatched
the man who had SO strangely, esq
capped the intended death. Theduel in
the darkness between the two combat
ants suspended by acortl ovcrtliat horri-
BILE abyss was prosecuted by both with
equal haste and desperation. Each
knew that his W escape from that
frightful situation depended on the de.
struction of the other; yet each wa
losing the consciousness of his own
sNosssh Sn his ctsssafrrv.A tn AscsNntnh his